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In a move likely to cloud his legacy as the Brooklyn’s biggest professional cheerleader, Borough President Marty Markowitz purged Community Board 6 yesterday of nine members, apparently as retribution for having voted against the proposed plan for the Atlantic Yards project back in September 2006. I’m rather disappointed. I think that it could have been handled better and I think that I will continue to work for my community and the greater good of the community through the Community Board, Jerry Armer, who had served on CB6 for more than two decades, told the NY Observer. What we were doing was giving the community a voice and reflecting the community. Today on the Atlantic Yard Report, Norman Oder notes that Armer and other dismissed members purposefully did not align themselves with the most vocal opponents of the project. Instead, Oder notes, he “participated in numerous meetings of the Brooklyn Borough Board Atlantic Yards Committee, cordially raising some worthy questions…He spoke courteously, even ponderously, in testimony to the Empire State Development Corporation.” What an embarrassment.
Project’s Foes Shown Door in Brooklyn [NY Times]
Markowitz Purges Community Board 6 [NY Observer]
The Ironies of the CB 6 Purge [AY Report]
Arena Foes Slam Dunked [NY Post]
CB6 Letter, 9/29/06 [DDDB]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. 5PM, surely you jest. Not? Kick Marty and Bloomie out of office? Never. They represent the future of Brooklyn! They are taking Brooklyn to a place where the average townhouse in brownstone Brooklyn will fetch in ten years well over $6 million (yes, even in the far out fringe areas of Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights and PLG).

    When you get down to the crux of the matter, this is the biggest reason why most of us living in brownstone Brooklyn do not support the crunchy granola anti-development hippie set (e.g., DDDB, NLG and “Oddly Oder”). We understand that they do not represent our biggest interest – our pocketbooks! Yes, this is still America and the almighty dollar STILL rules!

    Ratner, Marty, Bloomberg and Pataki sought to put more money in our pockets whether your white, black, Asian or Latino. They are simply accelerating gentrification which is the most impactful form of wealth redistribution in the entire history of this country! My African-American neighbor sold a house that she paid $30k for in the early 1970’s for $2.4 million in ’06. Because of gentrification (i.e., “white re-entry”) she was able to buy herself and her two children beautiful homes in South Carolina for cash!! Now that’s the American dream. All things come around in full circle. White flight from New York City during the ’60s and ’70s enabled her to purchase a home for nothing in the ’70s and now she is able to sell it to the same people who thought that it was worth nothing years ago for a mint today! I think that’s a beautiful thing! America….love it or leave it!!

    The money machine knows very well that Brooklyn is the new frontier and no one – either them or us brownstone Brooklyn homeowners – are going to allow some weed smoking hippies from the “silly sixties” to dictate our future and what’s in our best interest!!

    AY is totally going to take the nabes east of Flatbush Avenue to new heights. How can you have a problem with that?