Inadequate Commentary

The reliably underwhelming  New York Times reports on the DDDB rally in today's metro section (emphasis mine):

In the largest public demonstration so far by opponents of the Atlantic Yards project planned near Downtown Brooklyn, a crowd that may have exceeded 2,000 gathered at Grand Army Plaza yesterday in a rally condemning the project’s scale and what many called inadequate public comment.

Inadequate comment?!

COMMENT?!?!

To employ a bit of the Brooklynese I've picked up in the four years I've lived here - "Hey Gray Lady, I gotcher comment...right here! (include appropriate vulgar gesture)"

Those three words demonstrate why development in New York City is completely dysfunctional. Comment has never been the issue. We can comment until we are blue in the face, and frequently do. We can write letters to the editor, bitch about this project at our local watering hole, or even bloviate on a blog. For now, at least, we have not been unfairly prevented from commenting on the various and sundry developer driven mega projects that are sprouting up like concrete mushrooms all over the city, nourished by a fragrant bed of pure bullsh*t from the fertile minds of the professional flaks and the feeble wills of many of our so-called "leaders." The only people that can't comment are the ones that signed away their free speech rights in early deals with Ratner under threat of eminent domain. Frankly, I don't feel sorry for them.

No, this isn't about comment. This is about empowerment and control of the destiny of our neighborhoods. As an earlier DDDB button used to say "our community, our taxes, our choice." When public land and taxpayer dollars are impacted by a proposed development, then the process needs to start and end with Brooklynites. We demand input on the vision, local oversight of the bidding and implementation, total transparency, and accountability for actually delivering any promised benefit.

When our assets are on the line, we want to do more than just mouth off.