All ye Brooklynites who have watched in silent horror as Bruce Ratner and the forces of evil have rolled steadily forward with their plan to build a little midtown Manhattan — complete with traffic congestion, dusk-like shadows from the skyscrapers above and absolutely no place to park — in the middle of our fair borough, now is your time to speak. Or shriek. Or at the very least let your voice be heard on the hateful Atlantic Yards Development this benighted son of Cleveland is prepared to shove down our throats.
Tomorrow evening (Wednesday, August 23rd) the Empire State Development Coporation will hold its only public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and all public comments will become part of the record of this fiasco. It is our best, and perhaps last, chance to slow down this behemoth. Even if you have sat on the sidelines until now, even if you were not swayed by Chris Smith’s excellent New York magazine story, or the stories in the New York Times, the Daily News, the Village Voice, the Brooklyn Papers et al that have painted this land grab as the biggest violation of public trust since the invasion or Iraq, surely the facts of the DEIS itself has made you queasy.
Say what? Haven’t had time to read the 2000 page report? Funny, you would think that Ratner and his political cronies would allow more time to digest such an important document. By cutting off all comment in September (and having the only public session at the end of August when even Brooklynites head for the beach) you would think they were afraid of a little give and take.
Don’t take it. Give them a piece of your mind. Show up early at Metrotech tomorrow (Kitgord Auditorium, 285 Jay Street) before the 4:30 kick off to sign up to speak or just cheer the speakers on. Even though you may send comments via email or snail mail after that (look at the Develop Don’t Destory Brooklyn website for addresses and links) a HUGE TURNOUT IS ESSENTIAL. The media will be in attendance and a groundswell of opposition has to be visible to counter the union types, ACORN whores and friends of Ratfink who will be sure to make a lot of noise themselves. To the barricades, people. The neighborhood you save may be your own.