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Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park FAQ, timeline, and infographics (pinned post)

The Brooklyn DA candidates offer mixed takes on Atlantic Yards

The campaign for Brooklyn District Attorney concerns probably the most impactful office among contested races; see City Limits coverage here and Gotham Gazette coverage here.

And for those looking for an Atlantic Yards angle, the question came up during the lightning round in this week's debate, as broadcast by NY1's Road to City Hall (subscribers only).

After asking questions including "Have you ever been a victim of a crime?" and "Are you fluent in a language other than English?", host Errol Louis asked, at about 47:10, "In your opinion, have the changes at Atlantic Yards been good for Brooklyn?"

(Note: there's actually no such place called Atlantic Yards. It's a project, now called Pacific Park Brooklyn.)

The first person to respond, Patricia Gatling paused, looking a bit torn. "That's that yes-and-no thing," she said, referencing the request for a short answer. "I'm concerned about gentrification, but yes, the Atlantic Yards is good.

Marc Fliedner: "No."

Eric Gonzalez: "Yes."

Vincent Gentile: "I think the jury's still out."

Ama Dwimoh looked philosophical, then uttered, "It's been good."

Anne Swern: "I love the Nets but no."

I can't read their minds, but presumably they were thinking about gentrification, among other things.

The project is big enough to supply evidence for a range of positions. Some people may say "yes" because the Barclays Center has brought sports and entertainment and put Brooklyn more on the map. Some may say "no" because they remember how many promises were made. And some may think the jury's out because, well, so much remains to be built.

But there's another perspective that perhaps prospective District Attorneys would care about: oversight and good government.

I was alerted to the question via Twitter, but was not watching the debate at that time, so my comments, below, did not respond to their answers:


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