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September 9, 2011
Brooklyn’s Fractured Faces
URBANPHOTO
by Christian Szabla
A long, intellectually dishonest (or deeply naive) appraisal of the Atlantic Yards fight ("much of Atlantic Yards will be built over train tracks") uses the Bergen Street stoop art project "Inside Out" as a jumping off point — and, most improbably, Norman Oder's review of Battle for Brooklyn as a vehicle for criticism of Atlantic Yards opponents.
It’s true that Ratner’s partnership with the city government, and their joint efforts to whip up local enthusiasm for the project, can read as cynical exploitation. But it’s not inconceivable to many Brooklynites that the developer is actually more responsive to the cultural and economic concerns of most of the rest of the borough than the project’s detractors. Atlantic Yards has been scaled down, partly as a consequence of its opponents’ activism, and many of its initial promises will never come to fruition. Still, the project’s arena is projected to create many jobs, and they will largely go to low income borough residents. Many are also bigger pro sports fans than the creative class professionals who have taken over nearby blocks.
This might all be spotty conjecture if Atlantic Yards’ formula weren’t one Ratner had deployed for the benefit of Brooklyn’s low income residents before. The Atlantic Terminal mall is a mecca of low-cost retail options for borough residents who live outside the picturesque brownstone belt. And on Court Street, the ragged edge of tony Brooklyn Heights, Ratner built a modern cinema that caters to wide audience, not just the monied sophisticates who live nearby. It’s become a popular destination for many Brooklynites, ensuring the surrounding streets remain a fairly diverse cross-section of borough residents, rather than the exclusive preserve of the wealthy.
Click through for more on Bruce Ratner, man of the people.
Posted by eric at September 9, 2011 8:33 AM