“[We have] been too dignified and respectable. Let us now get up and do some shouting.”
– Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis at the first BHA meeting 100 years ago
In response to BHA President Jane McGroarty’s comments regarding the NYSDOT’s “fully compliant” BQE rehab project scenario – which in following Federal guidelines would need to take homes in the North Heights and around Pier 6 :
Kerfuffle ? Technology? Design process? NYSDOT a victim?
Really. Welcome to the NFL, Ms. McGroarty. If someone’s gonna hit Brooklyn Heights hard, we gotta hit back. This ain’t hitting back:
We do not believe that NYSDOT would seriously consider a solution that would take private property but we also understand that as part of any initial design process, engineers examine many alternatives in order to learn about the constraints, complexities and opportunities in each potential solution.
For the record, I believe that Ms. McGroarty’s statement is on point regarding the reality of this process. Her response is what I’d expect to see in a corporate email chain during the early stages of a project. Yes, it’s unlikely that homes will be taken for this project. Yes, freaking out now is probably a waste of time.
Unlikely. Probably. I’d rather have – Absolutely. Positively. Definitely. Wouldn’t you?
And isn’t that what the BHA is here for as opposed to schooling the public on design process, shouldn’t they be laying down the battlelines?
Right now the BHA or another group representing the neighborhood needs to stand up and “do some shouting” now about this proposal. Yes, we understand that it’s more red herring than anything else. However, taking a stand now would just hammer home the folly of this proposal. If it were “just” an example of what compliance would look like then NYSDOT should plainly state that on ALL MATERIALS related to the example.
BHA — This is not the time to shush those who fear that their homes will be taken. This is not the time for us to “sit down and shut up”. This is the time to ACT. To SHOUT. To be our VOICE.
In the spirit of Chesney, Pearsall, Schneider, Hooker, Reid and the other CCIC members who needed to do the “shouting” the last time this area was threatened, we urge you to take a firm stand against this “concept” now. Publicly.
