Rally Round the Mega-Project
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and AY Report bring word of a rally Forest City Ratner is organizing at Borough Hall this Thursday afternoon to demonstrate support for Atlantic Yards. The event is called “Brooklyn Day,” and, as AY Report writes, it suggests FCR isn’t considering Atlantic Yards a “done deal.” The poster for Brooklyn Day…
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and AY Report bring word of a rally Forest City Ratner is organizing at Borough Hall this Thursday afternoon to demonstrate support for Atlantic Yards. The event is called “Brooklyn Day,” and, as AY Report writes, it suggests FCR isn’t considering Atlantic Yards a “done deal.” The poster for Brooklyn Day says it’s being held in honor of “Brooklyn’s renaissance; The progress of Atlantic Yards; Affordable housing, union jobs and community development; and The return of professional sports to the borough.” The event seems primarily pitched to construction workers (they got their own invitation separate from the poster above) and, aside from the promise of union jobs, the promo material emphasizes that AY will bring the Nets to Brooklyn. Per AY Report: “The rally poster suggests that the developer is de-emphasizing the promises of affordable housing—after all, the developer has 12+ years to build Phase 1, and no deadline for Phase 2—and returning to the old mantra of basketball. After all, the basketball motif dominates the poster and, at the top, ‘The Nets moving to Brooklyn!’ appears in larger type than ‘support the Atlantic Yards Project.’ Can the iconographic power of the flag and the Brooklyn Bridge nudge the stalled project forward?” Desperate times call for desperate rallies? It’ll be interesting to see how many legitimate supporters of Atlantic Yards the event draws and whether any anti-AY people show up for a counter-rally.
At Borough Hall on Thursday, Another FCR-Organized AY rally [AY Report]
Ratner Calls Rally In Support of…Ratner [DDDB]
Good point, 10:05. At this point, any and all union members are routinely dismissed by the anti-AY crowd as “paid supporters”, even though they likely were born and raised in NYC. The phrase that you quoted should not come as a surprise, given this site’s anti-AY bias.
There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.
There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.
“It’ll be interesting to see how many legitimate supporters of Atlantic Yards the event draws…”
I suspect it means: who will be there to enjoy the freebies and meeting some Nets stars, and who will be there because they know what the project is, what its status is and are there to show their support (and aren’t on a paid break from their construction site.)
As someone who started attending Brooklyn public schools in 1956, I can tell you that Brooklyn Day (or Anniversary Day) was one of our favorite holidays, starting in 1959 or so by act of the state legislature:
NY State Consolidated Law, Article 52, Section 2586:
S 2586. Anniversary day as a holiday in the public schools of the borough of Brooklyn and in the borough of Queens, city of New York. The first Thursday in June in each year, except in those years when the first Thursday in June occurs in the same week with Memorial day, and in such years the second Thursday in June, known as anniversary day, and celebrated in commemoration of the organization of Sunday schools, is hereby made and declared to be a holiday in all the public schools in the borough of Brooklyn and in the borough of Queens, city of New York, and the board of education of such city is hereby authorized and directed to cause all the public schools in such boroughs to be closed on such day.”
– Richard Grayson
Not sure what this means:
“It’ll be interesting to see how many legitimate supporters of Atlantic Yards the event draws…”
The rabid anti-AY crowd is notorious for claiming to speak for the broader community, while the reality is that most residents of the boro are either neutral or in favor of replacing the hole in the ground with the nets, affordable housing, and amenities such as retail and parks.
If some guy who moved in to his luxury apartment just before the project was announced has decided to be the voice of the opposition, then surely some life-long Brooklynite union member should have a say as well.
“I like how this is scheduled such that employed people cannot attend…”
Well, look on the bright side. At least Dan Goldstein and Lumi Rolley can attend, given that their considerable financial assets enable them to go through life without the drudgeries of conventional employment.
I think that above posters pegged this correctly: this is an event aimed at childen and was scheduled on a day when they will not be in school.
I believe “Brooklyn Day” is a yearly thing put on by the Boro Presidents office
I like how this is scheduled such that employed people cannot attend – anyone else find this a little fishy?