Letter to the Editor: Disrespect in Fort Greene
This letter was originally delivered to the Eagle on Oct. 16.
FORT GREENE — I am writing concerning a grave injustice that is taking place in Fort Greene. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is building a plaza on Gates Avenue despite the objections of the people most impacted. The Transportation Committee of Community Board 2 also opposes the project, but the DOT is moving forward. Their decision is tyrannical with racial overtones. I have lived in Brooklyn all my life and would never have believed such underhandedness and disregard could take place in 2022.
The Fort Greene Partnership Homes Condominium was built in 1988 and 100 owners, including myself, all people of color, bought our homes despite safety concerns and the state of ill repair of so much of the neighborhood back then. We hoped that our entry into the neighborhood would be the beginning of a renaissance for the community and things would turn around, and it has. Many of those original owners have moved away, but there is a core group of us, mostly retired, who remain. It was a shock to us early in the Spring of 2022 when the DOT set up shop on Gates Avenue, the street that abuts our building. They came to announce that the DOT was proposing to build a plaza right outside our windows. We asked why there was no prior discussion about the project and the DOT representatives said they partnered with area businesses, yet no businesses are adjacent to the proposed plaza.