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October 13, 2010
Brooklyn’s Angry Man: Norman Oder Plans to Keep Up the Fight
NY Observer
by Matt Chaban
Norman Oder was standing at the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and Dean Street in Prospect Heights last Saturday explaining the cappuccino test. "I have a friend that says if you can get a cappuccino within one block, the area can't be blighted."
He was referring to Atlantic Yards, the 22-acre project that will include a new arena for the Brooklyn Nets and possibly 6,400 apartments, assuming the developer, Bruce Ratner, can find more financing for the $4.9 billion project. Mr. Ratner had acquired much of the land between here and Atlantic and Flatbush avenues based on the argument that the area was blighted. With the backing of the state and the attendant threat of eminent domain, he forced a number of businesses and homeowners out, though not before a seven-year fight.
Mr. Oder led the Transom on a brief stroll down Dean. He knows the place well, having written 3,980 posts—and counting—on his Atlantic Yards Report, the blog he launched in September 2005. He is accustomed to giving tours, operating a company that leads them all over Brooklyn, though far less often since the blog took off.
..."I'm motivated by my recognition that reality as I understand it does not comport with what's being represented," he said. "It requires skepticism and what may be perceived as advocacy journalism. I argue the opposite, that taking a lot of this at face value is a dereliction of duty."
He points to the lead Metro story in a recent Times about the drinking habits of MetroNorth riders compared to LIRR riders. "What the fuck?" Mr. Oder said. "That could be a cute little blog post, but why that needs to take up prime real estate in the paper, I don't know. It's a dereliction of duty."
NoLandGrab: Oder is not so much angry as he is aghast at the failure of any mainstream media outlet to blow the lid off the biggest land-grab scam in New York's history.
Photo: Jonathan Barkey
Posted by eric at October 13, 2010 11:27 AM