Photo of the Day: Atlantic Yards Destruction Continues

Sad: each day seems to bring news of the destruction of a new building in Prospect Heights. Two weeks ago the Underberg Building disappeared, and yesterday Curbed reported the razing of buildings along Dean Street. The picture above, by Horseycraze on Flickr, shows the Vanderbilt Products Building coming down at the beginning of the month. All of this is intended to pave the way for construction on Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards Project-- a bunch of court cases are still pending, but at this rate, in a couple of weeks there aren't going to be any buildings left to defend.

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By Jake Dobkin in Arts and Events on April 28, 2006 9:36 AM

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Think twice

It's proximity to a major transit hub alone guarantees that it won't remain low-rent and low-density for long. The builders of the Williamsburg Bank building forsaw this.

former ph'er

i also wrote this on curbed:

i lived in prospect heights for 3 years before getting out...the whole neighborhood should be torn down, it's a gentrified slum and nothing more. a few trendy restaurants don't make that neighorhood pleasant to live in at all...the stadium is just going to drive that neighborhood into a deeper depression..it's gross, and i am dreadfully happy to be out of there. (yes, i know its close to a park and 20 mins from nyc..)

amy

"BTW, could only a photoblogger love the current triangle between Flatbush and Atlantic, with all it's mangy-looking, post-industrial, ghettoesque charm?"

...I live in that "mangy-looking, post-industrial" area, and I'm not very keen on it being destroyed for an arena that will bring huge amounts of traffic and little else to the neighborhood. It may look ghetto and dingy to some, but there's plenty of charm in Prospect Heights. All this development is going to do is jack up rent prices and make yet another neighborhood in the city unlivable for all but the "upper" class.

Think twice

BTW, could only a photoblogger love the current triangle between Flatbush and Atlantic, with all it's mangy-looking, post-industrial, ghettoesque charm?

Get thee to Detroit and shoot away.

Think twice

So long as developers pay city property owners fair market value for their buildings, why shouldn't the city develop and evolve. The city's duty should be to make sure that new buildings adhere to quality of life standards.

Toby

Keep the goddamed Nets in the swamps of New Jersey where they belong and send Ratner back to Cleveland.

Professional sports are becoming something for the elite to view - millionaires watching other millionaires play a children's game. Arenas/stadiums do practically nothing for local economies and just create huge eyesores that are used only a handful of times a month. These things are like people getting an SUV, but on a municipal scale. All projects like this should be put to a public refrendum, where we know they wouldn't get approved.

Tim N.

Agreed AJL. I think people would feel differently if the wrecking ball was coming through their living room window, as it will before too long.

Andrew J. Lederer

Tear down the dump! Does any of those building look like they are worth saving?

[1] Posted by: Build the stadium!!

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Yes.

(And it's not a stadium, it's an arena. Which few would prob. object to if it weren't accompanied by all the other massive structures that are somehow part of this "arena" project.)

Build the stadium!!

Tear down the dump! Does any of those building look like they are worth saving? Stop wasting my tax dollars and build the stadium already! I want to take the train to see Carter, Kidd and Jefferson before they retire!