Protesthe Barclays Center Boondoggle Ceremonial
Groundbreaking
On
Thursday, March 11...
Two Groundbreakings to Protest Ratner's Boondoggle Ceremony
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Are you riled up?
Many of us are angry, no...mad, and lots have already said, "I'll be there."
THIS IS THE MOMENT to express your anger and outrage:
Take off work or take a long lunch to express all of your anger and outrage
about the abusive, destructive, and corrupt
Atlantic Yards project...
Thursday, March 11. 12:30pm
What: Two
Groundbreakings to Protest Ratner's Boondoggle Ceremony
Who: Three foot tall bobblehead Bloomberg, Markowitz, Pataki,
Spitzer, Paterson, Schumer, Cuomo, Prokhorov and Ratner
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
Where: Outside of Freddy's Bar, 485
Dean Street (corner of 6th Avenue)
When: Thursday, March 11. 12:30pm SHARP
Project opponents should gather at Freddy's
to start the protest at 1pm.
Bring your signs, whistles, noisemakers, effigies and anything else
suitable for protest...
Forest City Ratner will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking for the developers
billion dollar Barclays Center Arena. The Atlantic Yards Project was once supposed
to bring 2,250 units of publicly subsidized "affordable" housing. On Thursday,
March 11, the developer, Mayor and Governor will shovel dirt for an arena that
will house nobody and will be a money loser for New York City. There are no
designs, renderings or models for any other part of the project.
Join Bloomberg, Markowitz, Pataki, Spitzer, Paterson, Schumer, Cuomo, Prokhorov
and Ratner as they convene a Groundbreaking to Bury the Soul of Brooklyn.
Prior to their own Boondoggle Celebration at 1:30, three-foot tall bobblehead
versions of the Atlantic Yards enablers will shovel dirt to bury the soul of
Brooklyn. This event will feature Borough President Markowitz's Proclamation
Marking the Events of the Day.
The Groundbreaking to Bury the Soul of Brooklyn will take place at 12:30
pm on Thursday, March 11 in front of Freddy's Bar in the project footprint at
the corner of Dean Street and 6th Avenue.
It is not to be missed.
The Groundbreaking to Bury the Soul of Brooklyn will be followed by
a protest of Ratner's Boondoggle Celebration if the City and State
and Ratner allow Brooklynites (remember, this project is for all Brooklynites,
they've told us, not just the connected, powerful, wealthy and bought out) to
get anywhere near their celebration of eminent domain run amok, subsidy abuse
and a money losing arena in the middle of a housing crisis.
Project opponents should gather at Freddy's
to start the protest at 1pm.
Ratner has announced his groundbreaking ceremony will take place at 1:30 pm
on Thursday, March 11 at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and where Fifth
Avenue was before it was condemned to eventually give to Ratner for $1. Depending
on how many levels of security cordons used to keep Brooklynites away, the protesters
could be anywhere in the project footprint. DDDB will be able to tell you more
at Freddy's starting at 1pm.
ALL HANDS ON DECK
Thursday, March 11th, Forest
City Ratner will stage a “groundbreaking ceremony”
for the money-losing Barclays Center Arena. We
presume it will take place in the Atlantic Yards
project site though we do not yet know exactly
where. We also presume they will do all they can
to keep Brooklynites away from the site and limit
our free speech. We are working on that.
Note there will be no groundbreaking for any "affordable
housing" and the Barclays Billion Dollar
Boondoggle will not house a single Brooklynite.
The ceremony of dirt shoveling politicians will
signify the start of prepping to eventually build
an arena, not the promised affordable housing
Bruce Ratner still claims he is going to build.
It is a ceremony to celebrate a money-losing arena
and at least 25 years of blight and interim surface
parking where a neighborhood once stood.
It is a classic
bait and switch.
This is why we ask you to join us this Thursday
first at our Groundbreaking to Bury the Soul of
Brooklyn, then to loudly protest Ratner’s/Bloomberg's/Markowitz's/Paterson's/Prokhorov's
“groundbreaking."
Mr. Ratner apparently doesn’t know Brooklyn very
well.
Because by now, he ought to know that Brooklynites
are mad, very mad, about his project.
We’re mad that a top-down, developer-driven, Big
Brother-style project has been billed as “involving
the community.”
We’re mad that our city laws have been overridden
and our democratic city land use review process
has been bypassed and subverted.
We’re mad that billions of dollars that belong
to taxpayers will be wasted on a folly whose prime
beneficiary will be Bruce Ratner.
We’re mad that the unelected, unaccountable Empire
State Development Corporation has abused eminent
domain for the benefit of a private real-estate
project.
We’re mad that 22 acres at the heart of Brooklyn,
including city streets, private homes and businesses,
and publicly owned land are being given to Ratner
in a no-bid, no-vote deal, granting him a land
monoply at the Borough's crossroads.
We’re mad that publicly owned land is being awarded
to the lowest bidder, in a faux bidding process,
by the unelected, unaccountable Metropolitan Transportation
Association, the same MTA that has neglected to
properly maintain the Vanderbilt Railyards so
Bruce Ratner can claim “blight.”
We’re mad that public money is being wasted on
a frivolous, money-losing arena while public transportation,
schools, infrastructure and social services go
wanting.
We’re mad that our own elected representatives,
like Tish James and Velmanette Montgomery, have
been ignored by the powerbrokers in Albany and
City Hall who try to hide their cronyism by saying
that they know what’s best for Brooklyn.
We’re mad that for all the phony Brooklyn and
Dodgers nostalgia pushed by Bruce Ratner and his
supporters, the naming rights for the arena have
been sold to a British bank with a sordid past
while Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov and Bruce
Ratner pocket all the money.
We’re mad that a project that will do nothing
but cause blight has been falsely sold as blight
removal.
We’re mad that public streets are being closed
and discredited superblock designs are taking
their place.
We’re mad that Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson
have continued to keep their head in the sand
about this boondoggle.
We’re mad that the ESDC railroaded through a sham
environmental review, ignoring comments from thousands
of citizens and telling Brooklyn residents that
we’ll just have to deal with the project’s many
unmitigable adverse impacts.
We’re mad that Bruce Ratner has told us that his
out of scale, out of character project is what’s
best for Brooklyn, when we know much better.
We’re mad that Bruce Ratner and his political
supporters have exploited the housing crisis in
New York City to sell the public a project that
will cause instant gentrification (if it is ever
built) and cause the displacement of thousands
of lower-income residents, while never fulfilling
its affordable housing promises.
And on and on and Etc.
It is greatly important for all those who oppose
Atlantic Yards and its abuses, whether you have
been involved in the fight against the project
to any degree or not at all, to come out to this
protest and demonstration.
Let the political dignitaries who have allowed
this corrupt project to proceed hear and know
of your opposition and anger.
Let them know that they are not getting away with
this unnoticed. Let them know that WE, the people,
are angry and watching…. very closely.
If you, too, are mad about this miscarriage
of justice and abuse of our political system,
taxpayer dollars, about this irresponsible, unsustainable
boondoggle, about this Land Grab, join us this
Thursday from 12:30 onward to express your anger.
Bring your signs, slogans, posters, effigies
and noisemakers—drum, horn, trumpet, kazoo, a
pot, a whistle—make some noise, and let
Bruce Ratner and his political cronies know that
Brooklyn is mad as hell, and we’re not taking
it sitting down or quietly.
(More to come as details emerge about the event.
Please check back at www.dddb.net/upcoming
for more details on precise locations for the
two groundbreakings.)
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