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DITOR1ALS mwmmm&mmmmT) r-m WT^r-Vr I J I f c u i u u i v i j n n u n v o i i n o AX %.U r\\rr\\f* P u n 'TViie V a o t1V/111V l\\Uil M. iliu JFor a borough that has too long continued to be associated with a baseball team thatpacked up and headed for the coast, the Brooklyn Works trade show has for the thirdyear running served to identify and promote things that are working in Brooklyn now.After two years of playing the part of a home-grown novelty, the third annual BrooklynWorks Exposition got down to business and this year strutted some of the stuff that isbest about this borough %u2014 the diversity of the ways people make their livings here andthe products they make.Both the atmosphere and the look of the trade show this year showed an expansion ofits seriousness. Better organized, with more businesses, the show allowed each businessfrom small, medium to large %u2014 and they were all represented, from one-man operations to the giants on Developer%u2019s Row %u2014 to put its best foot forward, even occasionallygetting it stuck in the door, to do some business.This third year was crucial to the Brooklyn Works project if it is to move into thefuture. For two years it was the novelty of it all that brought in many of the exhibitorsand the potential clients. And we%u2019re glad to see that in this third year, the show hasfound its niche in the business community with serious buyers and sellers joiningtogether to boost business and commerce in Brooklyn. And not just because thebusiness is in Brooklyn either, but because many of these Brooklyn businesses effectively compete with Manhattan addresses. Brooklyn Works brings their special talents%u2014 and their special diversity %u2014 to light. A trip down the aisles of Pier Two yielded thetools to create any business, from developers to interior designers, to business cardsand promotional materials.If the diversity of Brooklyn Works truly reflects Brooklyn business - and we%u2019re sure itdoes %u2014 then Brooklyn has a lot more to cheer about in its future than memories of afickle baseball team.FEEDBACK FROM READERSNot Even-HandedReacting to the causticly voiced oppositionto the plans for development of ATURA inFort Greene and adjacent areas, manybusinesses, institutions and individuals havetaken the time and trouble to express thecommunity%u2019s enthusiastic support for thisproject. A portfolio of their views has beenassembled by the New Fort Greene Committee and has been sent to City Planning andothers.The 25 letters include: Lafayette AvenuePresbyterian Church, Con Edison, BrooklynTechnical High School, The Brooklyn MusicSchool, Fulton Associates, Nevmar Construction Co., Midtown Florists, South PortlandAntiques, South Oxford Civic League, FowlerSquare Gourmet Foods, South Oxford BlockAssociation, Cumberland Block Association,Adelphi Street Bock Association, CarltonAvenue Block Association, the New FortGreene committee; (individuals) E.A.Stevens, George A. Pins, Phillip A. Saperia,William R. Bronner, Doron Bar-Levav, EarlT. Johnson, Anna M. Fletcher and PatriciaMcConnell.The Phoenix has indicated that it does notconsider these expressions of communitysupport important enough to warrant a storysince the paper has %u201chad enough to say aboutsupport for ATURA.%u201d Meanwhile, the expressions of opinion by those waging a campaignof negativism (including many inaccuraciesand the fraud of giving themselves the cloakof representing %u201cthe community%u201d in its entirety rather than only a segment of it) hashurt the community in the eyes of the rest ofthe City. Since there has already beengenerous coverage of opposition activities inthe Phoenix, should we therefore logicallyconclude that the paper %u201chas had enough tosay%u201d about the opposition as well and willrefrain from reporting on the September 20demonstration against ATURA?We appreciate that you have printed anumber of ATURA-supportive letters in theCommunity Forum pages over the past months.But important as these opinons are, theyare not the same as having editorial support.It is perceived in our community that thePhoenix has given broad coverage tovociferous condemnation of the ATURA planbut has never run a story about popular support. When in a recent issue there was comprehensive discussion of Brooklyndevelopments, ATURA was ommitted,overlooked. We realize that the philosophicalattitudes of individual staff members differ,but would have hoped for a more evenhanded reporting by your publication.Best wishes from all of us who feel certainthat the new ATURA development will makea tremendous contribution to the futurehealth and well being of our City. %u2014 I. LeonGolomh, The New Fort Greene Committee.We Cover The Whole StoryEditor%u2019s Note: Many of the communications cited by the writer above %u2014 as well asmany others, too %u2014 have appeared in print inour newspaper in the Community Forum orSound Off spaces. These certainly speak forthemselves and require no amplificationfrom us. We have also published hundreds ofcolumn inches of original reporting by ourown staff about ATURA %u2014 coverage overyears of countless meetings involved in thepublic review process, interviews with principals involved in the project, and news ofdevelopments as they happen that relate tothe project and its impact area. We have alsoreported on opposition to the project, as partof this coverage. The words ascribed to ThePhoenix have never appeared in thisnewspaper and neither has the sentimentbeen reflected in our pages. In fact, ourvoluminous coverage of the subject contradicts them. And the fact is underscorednot just by the sheer volume of words alone,but also by the placement of stories in ourpages and selection of Community Forumessays to publish. There can be no doubt inthe mind of an objective reader of the importance and impact for our Downtownneighborhoods that we attach to the concept,and the development and the execution of theAtlantic Terminal Project. We will continueto cover all aspects of this story in the samefashion we have in the past.Falling Into A TrapYour editorial column is yours; you arefree to say what you want, when you want. Ithink, though, that in your last editorial, re:Nicaragua Sister City (Phoenix, Sept. 25),you are falling into the trap of blaming themessenger for the message.I walk the streets of this neighborhood(Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook,Gowanus and Park Slope) in the course of mybusiness every day. The overwhelming sentiment that I pick up (and based on the votes ofother Board members) that were picked upby others, says that CB6 has no business getting involved with foreign policy issues ingeneral and Nicaragua in particular.May I suggest that your interpretation of%u00a7 I G N O F TH E 'J 'lM E SP ag e 26, T H E P H O E N IX , O c to b e r 2 ,1 9 8 6community sentiment is in error, not theBoard%u2019s. You mention a petition with 3,000signatures; had your reporter looked at itand informed you of its contents, you mighthave known that New Jersey, upstate NY,Manhattan, Long Island, and other placesaren%u2019t in CB6. Which brings me to my secondpoint.I don%u2019t believe, and having been in thepublishing business for almost 20 years Ihave some basis for comment, that yourfront page story and/or reporter fairlyrepresented what went on at the last CB6meeting. Your headline implied that theBoard refused to listen to the Sister City people,. Paragraph 2 stated we had a 90 minutediscussion with them. Most people readheadlines; fewer people read the story. Isthat a fair representation of what went on?Your reporter failed to mention that asubstantial number of people were at themeeting opposing the project. Does thatrepresent a fair report of the situation?Your reporter seemed to attribute motivesto various CB members for their votes. Is hea mind reader? Did he bother to report any ofthe comments or reasoning as stated byvarious members of the Board? No. He justseems to have reported what he thought wenton rather than what in fact did go on andwhat was said.I am not mad about your reporting on thisissue. I am just disappointed. I expect morefrom downtown Brooklyn%u2019s award-winningnewspaper. I know you are capable of itbecause I have seen it. I hope my expectations aren%u2019t misplaced.%u2014Carl Peek, Verandah Place.Thanks for the LightFollowing is a letter we have sent toElizabeth H. Theofan, Acting Deputy Commissioner, Dept, of Transportation. Thanksfor your help too. %u2014 Hoyt Street Association.Dear Ms. Theofan,We are writing to you to thank you for expediting the installation of the traffic light onthe comer of Hoyt and Dean Streets.This light will hopefully make ourneighborhood a safer place for us all. %u2014Members of the Hoyt Street Association,Wendy Davis, Fran J. Ng, Myer Goty, JamesT. Vacirca, Carlton Gordon, Katie Cusack,Claire Harewicz Okser, Anthony De Crescenzo, Sadie Malandrino, Margaret Cusack,Nancy De Crescenzo, Alan R. Kehoe, FrankCusackMissing Essential PointWe at the Prospect Park EnvironmentalCenter are at least as disappointed as ThePhoenix at the failure of the city to move onproposals for the Fulton Ferry (story andeditorial 9/25/86). We applaud your concern,but you%u2019re missing an essential point.The city%u2019s Request For Proposals was notjust to operate a Fulton Ferry, but also theFulton Ferry Pier and Fireboat House.Anyone who commutes to downtown Manhattan may want a ferry, but Brooklynites inparticular also want life and public access tocome back to that piece of their waterfront.Festivals and concerts and exhibitions andSChCC! ClCCO r\\r*t\\ f aaIt nloon An tVlOsite in the past, and need to be brought back.This need is PPEC%u2019s reason for involvementin the process.Of the five proposals under considerationby the city, the only one that contains a giveCort tin m il on Pane 21