Brooklyn is one of the most blogged-about boroughs in America. Not a day goes by without an onslaught of news, no matter how pertinent or seemingly insignificant. Whether there is a new bodega opening, a condo for sale or a mysterious car parked on the street (I kid you not, take a look), Brooklyn bloggers don’t miss a beat. A first snowfall is as momentous as a child’s first steps in Dumbo.

A day in Brooklyn would not be the same without some news concerning the Atlantic Yards project and the new Nets arena. Everybody has something to say about the project. Over the past few years, the argument against AY has become so stretched and so overanalyzed that somehow a recent decrease in Nets ticket sales this season has been portrayed by AY blogger opponents as a bad omen and further proof that an arena should not be built in Brooklyn. If you’re scratching your head right now, you’re as confused as me. Call me a simpleton, but here I thought that a decrease in attendance translated to a team playing poorly in an undesirable East Rutherford arena location. Spending the night at the Swamplands sounds enticing, doesn’t it?

Is it an obsession with news itself or a fear of change that news subsequently can bring that propels Brooklyn community members to report on every little development in their neighborhood? One would think a borough that prides itself on its diverse creative palette would embrace a more colorful Brooklyn architecturally as it does culturally. Substitute the red rose for a glass-clad tower and we got ourselves a modern day “Pleasantville” in peril.

Unlike the movie where Reese and Tobey go home and the picture eventually fades to black, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for Brooklyn. Opponents of the Atlantic Yards project refuse to concede. Everyday they continue to scrutinize every last detail and what-if. The question that is at the core of the debate between both sides: as a developer, do you effortlessly try to blend into a neighborhood or do you inspire change by pushing the envelope to break from the spell of mundane life?


The brownstone is the norm. But, perhaps, there is no right house in Brooklyn. How high is too high? Should Brooklyn’s architecture follow a canon of precedents or embrace a chronicle of progress? If people are constantly changing, doesn’t it seem natural for neighborhoods to evolve also?

Some feel that the lively juxtaposition of streetscapes, the mixture of old historic architecture with tasteful contemporary, is what makes a city so surreal and spectacular. While others counter that Gehry’s contemporary design is inapt, sharply contrasting with the current Brooklyn streetscape.

With one debate after another, the development plan slowly creeps along. Much like the red rose was a symbol for liberalism in the movie “Pleasantville,” AY opponents have now embraced a new angle by portraying Miss Brooklyn as an emblem for terrorism. Critics are claiming that the height and close proximity of Gehry’s arena to residential streets and a major transit hub make it a wanton terrorist target like the World Trade Center towers.


This claim is dangerous and a bit extreme on par with Nick Saban’s over-the-top post-game comments comparing an upset in football to the catastrophic Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Both comparisons, although not to be taken literally, are misguided and veil their purpose, which is to convey a simple emotion, disappointment or fear about a sports event or neighborhood-altering development project.

The terrorism concern over the Atlantic Yards project comes at the heels of news surrounding Newark’s new Prudential Center and the recently mandated street closings during events. Despite claims by the ESDC that the NYPD has thoroughly reviewed the AY plan, critics continue to blog about their fear of security with a glass façade and the arena’s susceptibility to terrorism being only 20 feet away from the busy Atlantic and Flatbush avenues.

AY supporters could turn this latest argument on its head claiming that we are living in “co-existing ages,” a period as much defined by green consciousness and energy reduction as is defined by terrorism. The Hearst Corporation’s new 46-story headquarters in Manhattan boasts over one mile of glass office fronts. Yet, this building, with its reinforced blast-resistant glass, is being praised as a new “green” wonder with its use of natural light and sensor-control lighting.

It’s all a matter of how you spin it. Positive preventive security checks and proper planning are important, but using talks of terrorism to create a heightened sense of panic among residents does not encourage healthy discussion. Are we supposed to embrace a no building buildings policy in the 21st century? This recent argument is as transparent as Gehry’s glass-clad arena. With this neverending wave of debate, the AY development project remains in a perpetual state of suspension. With any luck, the Nets will move into their new arena by 2020.

Let’s hope these talks of terrorism are dispelled quickly…