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8 ,0 0 0 Sign P etitio n :PathmarkSupportersStage Rally atGowanus SiteBY DAN ICOLARIApril 20 was a beautiful day in Brooklyn-the kind that insures large crowds at the beach or at a sports event. For Mrs. Joan Hanley%u2019s Ad Hoc Committee in Favor of Pathmark, it produced a turnout of 500 people who rallied in support of a proposed Pathmark shopping mall development on six acres of vacant land bordering the Gowanus Canal.W ithin the Carroll Gardens community, the on-site rally received strong publicity from loudspeakers mounted atop cars, and pro-supermarket residents of nearby Red Hook were invited to lend their support.Another community group, The Ad Hoc Committee to Clean the Canal, led by Ms. Eileen Dugan, favors public-place designation. On the day of the rally, 13 Committee members collected a total of 1,012 signatures in favor of public use, bringing the antisupermarket signatures to a total of 4,000, according to Ms. Dugan. But Mrs. Hanley%u2019s group says it has collected 8,000 signatures backing its pro-supermarket position. Both groups will present their petitions to a Board of Estimate hearing some time in May at whicha final decision will be reached.With a full-color rendering of the proposed supermarket as backdrop, Mrs. Hanley addressed the rally, perched on the back of a flatbed truck. %u201c I think it%u2019s interesting,%u201d she said,%u2019%u2019that of all the politicians we invited to speak here today, Mr. George Spanakos (52nd Assembly District Republican leader) is the only one who showed up. He knows the majority of this community wants and needs a Pathmark supermarket on this site.%u201dSpanakos told the group he feels there%u2019s no need for a park on the site: %u2018%u2018They%u2019re poorly maintained anyway, and they%u2019re havens for undesirables who, in most cases, are not community people. The issue here is what the community wants-and the community wants commercial development on this site.%u201dMrs. Mary Barley, 73, of Hicks Street, sat at a card-table, collecting signatures on pro-supermarket petitions. %u201c We have too many parks already,%u201d she said. %u201c Do you think it%u2019s right that I should have to go to the Bronx to do my shopping? It%u2019s the only way I can afford to eat.%u201dMrs. Ann Vozzo of Third Street said, %u201c Listen, these parks are havens for junkies. Believe me, IYoungsters put in their opinion on behalf of supermarket on siterecommended for public use by City Planning Commission [MichaelPuryear Photo]April 25, 1974 PHOENIX Page 3know. We have too many parks in the area as it is; the existing ones aren %u2019t properly supervised or maintained. The children who have to use them aren%u2019t safe. What do we need another park for?%u201dFor State Senator Carol Bellamy, who attended the rally and was asked to speak, the issue involves a larger planning scheme. In a telephone interview afterward, Senator Bellamy said, %u201c Of course I don%u2019t want the people in my district to pay high food prices when people in other areas are paying less. But if we%u2019re talking about waterways development for the Gowanus, a sewage-treatm ent plant, we can't fragment that effort. Development of this land must go hand in hand with a total planning picture. Nobody objects to a new supermarket, but putting it on this site would be throwing away an opportunity to create a unified plan for the Gowanus.%u201dReverend Charles Hall of the Red Hook Christian Methodist Church leads a congregation outraged at what it regards as runaway food prices in Red Hook. %u201c My people are 100 per cent in favor of a new supermarket here,%u201d he said. %u201c From what we%u2019ve seen, Pathmark can offer wide variety and better service. We hope they%u2019ll install a drug department; there%u2019s not a single decent drug store in Red Hook, and my people are hurting.%u201dThe Court Street Merchants Association, which represents the major shopping string in Carroll Gardens, opposes the Pathmark project, which includes ten additional on-site stores and parking for 400 cars, vincent Bruno, owner of a small Court Street supermarket, seemed unconcerned: %u201c Frankly, I don%u2019t give a damn. People think Pathmark is going to give food away for nothing. If Pathmark does that, I%u2019ll shop there too.But Bruno%u2019s check-out clerk admitted he%u2019s worried. %u201c If Pathmark comes in, I%u2019ll lose my job,%u201d he said.Supermarket supporters marched nearly 500 strong on the formergas company site. Belo Joan Hanley speaks to the assembled arearesidents. [Michael Puryear Photos]LIU May House CumberlandHospital Mental Health UnitThe April 17 meeting of the Park Slope Civic Council%u2019s board ofv o t e '4 c m in n n r t C 'n m h o r .land Hospital%u2019s proposal to acquire building at 3 Lafayette Avenue for use as a mental health outpatient facility. The hospital%u2019s mental health programs are currently housed at different locations in the Fort Greene area, and members of the Civil Council%u2019s board felt service would be substantially improved with the opening of a centralized facility.John Noonan, president of,the.Council, said he sees the location as ideal, since it is near the centerOf thO pafphinpnf o> ron(which includes Park Slope), and is easily accessible via public transportation. Thebuilding is currently used as a furniture showroom; hospital officials say a $100,000 renovation would be necessary.There has been some opposition to the hospital's plans within the Fort Greene community. The opposition has been directed not at the hospital or the need for a centralized out-patient facility; rather, some residents feel the areaalready is home to an everlarge number of city and state institutinne John nrf%u00bbcir1#%u00bbnt o f thpFort Greene Place Block Association (near the proposed site), has been the most vocal community spokesman opposing the hospital%u2019s plans.At press time, the PHOENIX learned of a plan coordinated through the City%u2019s Office of Downtown Brooklyn Development to install the clinic in three floors of Long Island University's dormitory facilities. Dr. Bruckner, LIU representative in charge of theplan, could not be reached for comment; Dean Edward A. Clarkstater! that he Itnpw o f the e ricte n e eof such a plan, but that he knew none of the details. Fr. Failla of Community Planning Board 2 (Fortm15.'> Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn. New York 11201 Tel 643-1032w eekly, except the first w e e k of July and the las%u2019 week of August by Advocc e Press, Inc .Greene - Clinton Hill) said he is %u201c hopeful\pro vid e a resolution to the threeyear-old problem of finding a home for the Cumberland mental-health facil'ty......................................................serving the neighborhoods surrounding Downtown Brooklyn, including Boerum H ill. Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens,Cobble Hill, Fort Greene and Park SlopeSubscription rate is $5 00 per yearThe entire contents of THE PHOENIX are copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without ex cress tier missionA p plication to f/a il at Second Class Postage Rates is Pending at Brooklyn, N*%u00bbw York