Atlantic Yards Development - Commercial, Residential, Retail, NBA Arena

**Alonzo-ny** · July 17th, 2005, 09:21 PM

I do admit my opinions being slightly short sighted as i havent seen, explored, experienced, all of brooklyn yet but having spent a month looking for alternate accomodation for the rest of summer i visited a good few apartments in some of those areas you mentioned and i didnt feel anything good about them really, didnt feel safe or welcomed anywhere didnt, see anything that made me want to stay there and as a result ive given up my search and im stuck at crappy dekalb and flatbush in liu dorms if your wondering. In response to my people who cant afford manhattan remark you must excuse my british sarcasm you americans never get, what i basically meant is if someone who wants to be in the hottest parts of the city (i say this as i know of nice neighborhoods like bay ridge but thats the 'burbs man) and had a option of two similar apartments, one in brooklyn, one in manhattan i wouldnt understand anyone who picked brooklyn. What you have to understand is i dont know brooklyn, i know manhattan so tell me where the good neighborhoods are and why they are good, start a "why brooklyn is great thread" and i'd be happy because when i graduate and come to new york permanently id like to know of good safe nice affordable close to manhattan neighborhoods are at!!! In closing i have been disappointed by what ive seen of brooklyn so far, i was looking forward to living here over the summer after all the good press you brooklyn people give you borough on this website but i think the good neighborhoods have been passin me by so tell me where they are so i can visit them and change my opinion!!

**sfenn1117** · July 17th, 2005, 10:32 PM

Originally Posted by alonzo-ny

(i say this as i know of nice neighborhoods like bay ridge but thats the 'burbs man)

We're getting off topic but Bay Ridge is NOT the burbs. It's as urban as the rest of Brooklyn. Something like 110,000 people in this neighborhood which in some parts of the country would be a large city! Like someone said you need to know where to look, even here in Bay Ridge there's hip restaurants and clubs and there's always Shore Road Park to enjoy. There's a subway line in the heart of the neighborhood, is that suburban?

You need to get out of your dorm and explore!

**Clarknt67** · July 18th, 2005, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by alonzo-ny

In response to my people who cant afford manhattan remark you must excuse my british sarcasm you americans never get,

Few people of any nationality can detect sarcasm filtered through a keyboard. Especially a statement that reflects many people's serious and heartfelt (if misinformed) opinions.

start a "why brooklyn is great thread" so tell me where they are so i can visit them and change my opinion!!

Why Brooklyn is great reasons are all over this board, click around. It's impossible for anyone here to have meaningful suggestions for you as we know almost nothing about what you like to do and what type of people you like to do it with.

Myself I've been having a blast in bk this summer biking to the Coney Island Mermaid parade, bocci bowling on Atlantic ave, seeing films, dance recitals and the New York Philharmonic in the Brooklyn Bridge and Prospect Parks.

**BPC** · July 18th, 2005, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by Clarknt67

Myself I've been having a blast in bk this summer biking to the Coney Island Mermaid parade, bocci bowling on Atlantic ave, seeing films, dance recitals and the New York Philharmonic in the Brooklyn Bridge and Prospect Parks.

If you have not done so yet, be sure to try a twilight stroll and Russian dinner on the boardwalk at Brighton Beach.

**Alonzo-ny** · July 18th, 2005, 10:40 PM

I think the main reason i havent experienced it is because i dont know where the popular places are. or im too busy working all day (if any yall visit the statue of liberty soon and meet a scottish guy in the white tent or outside asking if you want a photo thats me!) another reason i havent explored is because all the neighborhoods i visited on my apartment search seemed unsafe so it has put me off exploring for fear of ending up somewhere unsafe. If anyone can tell me some safe cool places to see id appreciate it alot!!!! also i know im pretty opinionated but thats me!!

**pianoman11686** · July 19th, 2005, 01:20 AM

Sharpton Backs Developer's Plan for Brooklyn Arena and Towers

By DIANE CARDWELL

Published: July 19, 2005

The Rev. Al Sharpton said yesterday that he was backing a plan by Bruce C. Ratner, the developer, to build a canyon of skyscrapers and an arena for the Nets over railyards near Downtown Brooklyn.

Mr. Sharpton, much as he did when he announced his support for the proposed Jets stadium on the West Side of Manhattan, argued that the building plan, designed by Frank Gehry, would provide needed jobs and lower-cost housing for largely poor and minority areas nearby.

"We have real problems in the neighborhoods surrounding this project," Mr. Sharpton said in a statement released by his office. "We need a plan that is inviting to newcomers while avoiding the type of gentrification that pushes out the old while in the same breath romanticizing the old.

"It's not about a new Brooklyn or an old Brooklyn; it's about a thriving Brooklyn where people of all colors have a chance for a better home, a better job and a better life."

Mr. Sharpton praised Mr. Ratner, whose company is the development partner for the new Midtown headquarters for The New York Times Company, for signing an agreement with community advocacy groups. That agreement promises to use minority and female contractors, to offer job training, to provide community use of the arena and to preserve half of the rental apartments for families earning less than $100,480 a year.

The plan faces several hurdles. Mr. Ratner's proposal to buy and develop the railyards is under review by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and is competing with a bid from the Extell Development Corporation. That plan was designed in consultation with a group of opponents, including area residents, advocates and elected officials who say the Ratner plan is far too big and dense for the scale and infrastructure of the existing low-rise neighborhood.

And although Mr. Sharpton has plenty of influence in some corners, his support did not in the end help the Jets, whose stadium plans were scuttled by Albany leaders. Tom Kelly, a transportation authority spokesman, said that a decision on the proposals could come next week at the earliest, but he cautioned that it could take months longer.

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

**BrooklynRider** · July 19th, 2005, 10:12 AM

I imagine the bank accounts at Sharpton's "National Action Network" must be bulging at the seems after this second major development endorsement.

**NoyokA** · July 19th, 2005, 10:16 AM

Up until Sharpton ran for president I had zero respect for him, I thought he was a blow hard and nothing more. Behold, he ran for president and I started to actually agree with most everything he had to say and it continues to this day, I’m as surprised as everyone else…

**BrooklynRider** · July 19th, 2005, 10:19 AM

Stern,

I totally agree - and he's funny to boot - my only problem is "Tawana Brawley". If he would just apologize for that, I wouldn't have the reservations I still hold.

**Clarknt67** · July 19th, 2005, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Stern

Up until Sharpton ran for president I had zero respect for him, I thought he was a blow hard and nothing more. Behold, he ran for president and I started to actually agree with most everything he had to say and it continues to this day, I’m as surprised as everyone else…

I couldn't stand Sharpton either, but even though I hated him, I had to concede he was about the only life the dems showed at their convention. So he went off message, it beat the dems "we're republicans LITE" message.

**JMGarcia** · July 19th, 2005, 02:27 PM

Sharpton has obviously got a much better poller nowadays telling him what to say. Sorry, but I just can't trust the man for having any actual beliefs beyond what makes him the most money and what makes him the most popular.

**fioco** · July 19th, 2005, 04:28 PM

Originally Posted by Sharpton Backs Developer's Plan

"We have real problems in the neighborhoods surrounding this project," Mr. Sharpton said in a statement released by his office. "We need a plan that is inviting to newcomers while avoiding the type of gentrification that pushes out the old while in the same breath romanticizing the old.

"It's not about a new Brooklyn or an old Brooklyn; it's about a thriving Brooklyn where people of all colors have a chance for a better home, a better job and a better life."

Sharpton not only has a better pollster to advise him, he's gotten a better speech writer too. The tasty little soundbite quoted above gives both sides something to chew on. This is rhetoric that skillfully avoids the shoals of a fully stated opinion, but lordy, it says something substantial nonetheless. From cotton candy to a peanut, at least this soundbite has a bite to it.

(BTW, I'm enjoying all the delicious cynicism but I need to play to form: I'm so appalled (by 0.17%)!)

**Alonzo-ny** · July 19th, 2005, 07:47 PM

I apologise if this is a dumb question to you but i have no idea who sharpton is really so why does a rev have any say in this?

**lofter1** · July 19th, 2005, 08:54 PM

Originally Posted by alonzo-ny

I apologise if this is a dumb question to you but i have no idea who sharpton is really so why does a rev have any say in this?

Oh, that's along NYC story...

This is the Reverend Al:

For info you could start here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Sharpton

And here's an article in the VIllage Voice (with a silly picture):
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/040...t,50745,1.html
Sleeping With the GOP
A Bush Covert Operative Takes Over Al Sharpton's Campaign

And an Interview @ SALON from 1999 (and another silly pic; Rev. Al makes for good caricatures):
http://www.salon.com/weekly/sharpton1.html
AL
Sharpton's
second
act
To many blacks, he's a
voice of salutary
outrage. To many
whites, he's a dangerous
buffoon. Will the real Al
Sharpton please stand up?

**BPC** · July 20th, 2005, 12:19 AM

Sharpton is this local scumbag pretend-reverend (he does not minister to an actual church) who knowingly perpetrated false rape charges against an innocent upstate prosecutor, basically ruining the poor guy's life. A jury found Sharpton guilty of defamation. He refused to pay the award, claiming he has no assets (his home, cars, fancy suits are all held in the name of his organization), and has yet to apologize. Later, he incited a riot against a white-owned Harlem store, leading to seven of its (minority) employees being burned to death. He is a media whore whom the guilty white liberal NYC media feels compelled to report on as some sort of respected figure. You can read some more of Sharpton's lowlights here:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2087557

http://slate.msn.com/id/76476/