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June 4, 2010
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The Indypendent
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Responses to “Life After Atlantic Yards: An Interview with Daniel Goldstein” May 12:I thank you for your good fight, Daniel Goldstein. I did not consider you a sellout after taking that deal one bit because it was not the first offer. The fact that you stayed in your place for about seven years when others left long before you shows how you were willing to stand up to fight when others could not.
—Tal BarzilaiThere was something I neglected to say in the interview. Develop, Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and the community that opposed the Atlantic Yards development (it was not a “small army” but a large movement) did not just oppose Ratner’s project, we advocated for the fair development of the rail yards and found a developer willing to bid for the yards and propose a version of the community plan. That developer, Extell, outbid Ratner for the MTA’s rail yards $150 million to $50 million. In its infinite wisdom, the MTA chose the low bidder. The “develop” in Develop, Don’t Destroy Brooklyn was not rhetoric. We wanted the yards developed, but with the community’s input and vision, not developed in the vision of one single developer through an undemocratic process.
—Daniel Goldstein
Posted by eric at June 4, 2010 11:49 AM