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May 16, 2010
Nets' owner Mikhail Prokhorov should move to Brooklyn - and earn the borough's trust
Daily News
By Alex Nazaryan
This is a pretty odd op-ed. After giving every indication that the Atlantic Yards development was pushed through for the benefit of developer Bruce Ratner, the idea is that things will be fine if only Mikhail Prokhorov moves to Brooklyn.
Moving to Brooklyn would help Prokhorov understand that the borough of homes and churches is neither Manhattan nor his native Moscow. In Russia's capital, entire neighborhoods are razed at the whim of city officials, while its traffic jams are among the world's worst.
This statement is apparently meant to contrast Moscow and Brooklyn, but ignores the destruction of a neighborhood for an arena and the traffic congestion that will come with the development.
By committing to live in Brooklyn, Prokhorov can signal that he intends for the communities around the Barclays Center to remain livable. American cities are rife with unsightly sports arenas, out of sync with their surroundings and unfriendly to pedestrians; Barclays Center must avoid that fate.
An arena surrounded by parking lots sends a clear message as to what Prokhorov thinks about keeping Brooklyn livable.
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The more Prokhorov incorporates Brooklyn into his plans, the more thoroughly we will embrace him. I hope that the Barclays Center forgoes bland, corporate and instead offers the beloved Latin American cuisine sold at the Red Hook ball fields, along with sublime stromboli from the Bari Pork Store in Gravesend and, of course, hearty Russian fare from Brighton Beach. All beer should come from locals like Brooklyn Brewery and Sixpoint Craft Ales. Heck, there's enough space in the Barclays Center footprint for its own organic farm.
The idea that an area can be understood and honored merely by eating representative cuisine is simply silly. And yes, there might be plenty of room for farming, but cultivating parking lots will be a challenge.
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The real point of this op-ed seems to be a hope by the author for a bromance with Prokhorov.
As someone who lives four blocks from where the Nets will someday play, I hope that Prokhorov treats our borough as more than a distant outpost to be visited in a town car. I hope he walks along the graceful brownstone blocks of Fort Greene and acquires a bit of Brooklyn patois. While he's at it, he should also cross the Brooklyn Bridge on foot and ride the F train to its end in Coney Island.
As for Italian food, I'll take him to a wonderful little place in Brooklyn Heights. We'll split the bill.
NoLandGrab: "Mikhail, you've destroyed my neighborhood. So why do I find you so irresistible?"
Posted by steve at May 16, 2010 7:39 AM