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PHOENIX, May 23, 1574E d ito r ia lsi We're All Seeking%u00a3 The Same ThingThe letters column this week contains a communication from Assemblyman Michael Pesce disputing an editorial position we took on May 9 about the idea of a sports facility in downtown Brooklyn. It is flattering that our two-paragraph editorial could get someone as worked up as this one seems to have done.However, to conclude that we are %u201c wrong, if not downright irresponsible!%u201d for the statements we made then seems to be making a mountain out of a mole-hill.We expressed our support then, and reaffirm it now, for Borough President Sebastian Leone%u2019s campaign to put a sports facility in the downtown Brooklyn area because of the real as well as the psychological benefits this would mean to downtown. Out of this campaign, as reported on May 9, cropped up opposition because one of the possible locations for this facility was the Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal area. We said then, and we repeat it no %u201c We encourage thosedetractors who are arguing about location not to confuse an argument about site with one about right. %u2019 %u2019 What this means is that to get bogged down in an argument about where such a facility would be located when the chances are slim enough that any sports team will actually make an agreement to come to any place in Brooklyn seems to us to be self-defeating. It%u2019s like arguing about what the first words will be when man lands on the moon before the rocket ship is built to take him there.If we%u2019ve all proven one thing in the South Brooklyn area over the past decade, it%u2019s that the %u201c community%u201d has developed an enormous capacity to get behind sound plans and projects and make them happen, no matter what the official attitudes prevailing in government circles; and conversely, we have been able to stop most bad plans and projects, or modify them to make them acceptable. We%u2019re not concerned about the ability of the civic workers in this general area to do battle when something is dead wrong. We are concerned right now, though, to see that this idea for a sports facility catches hold, and that there is a site selection to argue about.We have a Planning Commission, some fine local institutions like Pratt Institute, and a host of professional and amateur planners who will undoubtedly speak out on possible locations and their relative merits. They will get plenty of space and attention when they ta lk -if no place else, at least in this publication. W e%u2019re anxious to hear what the officials have to say about the Atlantic Terminal site, and alternative ones in our local area. One thing is obvious: in this day of encouragement of use of public transportation, Atlantic Terminal makes sense because it is the single location in New York City (including Times Square) with the outstanding transportation facilities.This is no endorsement of that site either. What we mean to say is that there should be a vigorous campaign to get a sports facility going. There should be an equally vigorous study of where to put it. They are two separate issues, and rhetoric about one should not compete with statements about the other.This writer is at least part of the %u201c community%u201d the Assemblyman refers to in the Atlantic Terminal area, and can state categorically that there is probably no other %u201c community%u201d in this part of Brooklyn that has so enthusiastically encouraged and openly welcomed development. The Assemblyman can have his opinion about traffic on Flatbush Avenue on a busy night, and he might be right, but we%u2019re interested in hearing what the so-called experts have to say on the subject-what others think will happen, and what has happened elsewhere, such as in the Chelsea-CIinton area adjacent to the new Madison Square Garden area.To Assemblyman Pesce, we say, don%u2019t be so quick to accuse others of irresponsibility, lest the same accusation fall upon your own head. Look at the situation and then speak; don%u2019t hide behind a lot of rhetoric when any rational observer should be able to see we are all on the same side, seeking the same goals.= The 19th-century faithful came from far and wide to hear famed orator Henry Ward Beecher at %u00a7| the pulpit of Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, host to the 64th annual meeting of the Brooklyn 1 | Heights Association, held May 21. House at right still stands; house at left was razed to make I | way for the church%u2019s formal garden, looked over by a statue of Plymouth%u2019s famous preacher, iiiiiiiitiiiiiuiunuiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiuuiiiiiiiiuiuuiiiuuiiiiiiiuuuiiiuiiuiiiiiiiiiuiuiHuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiumiiiiiiimimimiimiiiiiiiiuiMLetters to the EditorDisputes PHOENIX Editorial;Claims Stadium Site CrucialDear Sir:I read with interest your editorial on a stadium for the downtown Brooklyn area (May 9, 1974). Your conclusion that %u201c the chances of actually getting this kind of facility are remote enough without worrying about where we are going to put it.%u201d disturbed me because it is exactly the kind of attitude that leads to great blunders in urban planning.Consider, if you will, the following: granted a stadium would be great for Brooklyn; that everyone should favor it because it would be a tremendous boost for Brooklyn; that the lack of adequate housing in Brooklyn should not be the reason not to have construction of such a stadium (as it was not the reason to stop the state funding for the arts-i.e., one does not live by housing alone!); that 1 support the idea and would do all I could to bring it to reality. Not to worry about its prospective site when the site has already been publicized by an important agency is rather naive.Imagine the problems such a stadium could create in the area that has been suggested for it-traffic, congestion, conglomeration of events in one geographic area (Baruch College is coming, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music is nearby). Can you imagine Flatbush Avenue traffic when the Academy and the Stadium have events on the same evening?-and it could occur at least 4 times per week. How about the side streets? Why must we concentrate in one area-why not locate the stadium in some other part of Brooklyn that is more easily accessible by all kinds of transportation.Many times, plans are made for the location of new construction or pvnansinn r%u00bbf pvictino stru ctu reswithout worrying about the location until it is too late. The plans are set, the location is found to be undesirable from a community%u2019s standpoint -relocating the project is too late, but would have been easy if someone had worried about the original location from the beginning. Your newspaper is well aware of the many instances where this has happened in wesi uuu south Brooklyn, Park Slope, the waterfront, etc., etc. Your newspaper has in most, if not all, instances sided with the community-with those who worried about %u201c location.%u201dIt is in light of your paper%u2019s admirable past performance that I was dismayed by your editorial. I think your editorial was a misplacement in itself and an error on your part. You should blush, reconsider your position, and admitGentlemen:This firm represents The Conde Nast Publications Inc., a New York corporation which publishes the well-known magazine named HOUSE & GARDEN. Your unaddressed, undated, unsigned note on blank paper, accompanied by Pages 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the May 9, 1974 issue of your publication entitled PHOENIX, addressed to %u201c HOUSE & GARDEN, 420 LEXINGTON AVENUE, NEW YORK, NY 10017 - Attn: Legal Dept.%u201d was referred to this office in accordance with our client%u2019s customary procedure.Based upon long history and custom, we are able to advise you that your use of the name or trademark %u201c House & Garden%u201d is illegal, a violation of our client%u2019s trademark, registered in the United States and in many other countries, and will result in legal action for damages and in injunction if your use of the phrase %u201c House & Garden%u201d is not discontinued immediately.Apart from the foregoing, we are curious as to why you presumed to use the title \before asking permission rather than after you initiated its use and further why your letter was not signed by an official of your company.An immediate answer is requested, in proper form on appropriate stationery and with the signature of a responsible directoryou were wrong, if not downright irresponsible!By the way, this writer does intend to worry about the location of the stadium as I go along supporting the concept and expend ,all efforts to convert the idea into reality.Very truly yours, Michael L. Pesce Member of Assemblyor officer of your company.Very Truly yours,DE WITT, NAST, DISKIN& MARTINIBy C. Coudert NastEDITOR%u2019S NOTE: It seemedperfectly plain that the section to which you refer was in no way similar to the publication you represent. We did not communicate with you in this matter, so you should direct your remarks to our alert readers. To avoid future confusion between our newspaper and your magazine, we have made the change which you will see on Page 10.g e t if o ff y o u r c h e st!Wriie if d%u00a3>wn $ s%u00a3nd \\iour ieHer+0 us. sThe WENIXjl55Ati3rtic,0KlnNy.O ff With Head,'Insists Magazine