OLYMPIC HOOPS TO BROOKLYN? The proposed basketball arena at Atlantic and 4th avenues could bring more than the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn. It could bring Olympic basketball as well. That would be a huge happening. Basketball has become an incredibly popular international sport and is perhaps the hottest ticket of the Olympics. Of course, the group calling itself NYC2012 has a long way to go before New York City even wins the bid for the 2012 games. But we're one of the leading contenders. And if the Nets arena were built, NYC2012 would strongly consider moving Olympic basketball from the Continental Airlines Arena (where the Nets play now) to the new Brooklyn venue, according to a well-placed source. Other sports would also be considered. In the current plan, Brooklyn is nearly shut out of the plan, thanks to a lack of venues.

In other news concerning the proposed arena and housing complex, opponents say a playground would be a better use for the site above the LIRR rail yards. But who would use it? Consider that Dean Playground is across the street. We took our twins there recently. We had the playground equipment to ourselves. After about half an hour, a nanny and an infant showed up. The nanny, a regular at the playground, was shocked to find us. "I've never seen anyone here before," she said. "Except for drug dealers."

…A New York Magazine article, written before Bruce Ratner completed his purchase of the Nets, tilted in favor of the proposed downtown basketball arena. But writer Alex Williams questioned whether Brooklyn could pull off such a project. "In a sense, it all comes down to, yes, the 'vision thing,'" he wrote. "Out West, they dream big dreams and build big stadiums, stadiums with sushi bars and swimming pools. Brooklyn, sturdy and soulful as it is, has been out of the vision business for close to 100 years."

…Boo, hiss to the Nets arena opponent who penned a placard declaring, "We hear our beloved James E. Davis shouting out, 'Take your stadium and shove it!'" Without a séance, we don't know what Davis would have said about the project, which was proposed shortly after he was killed in July 2003. But the sign implied that project supporters are taking advantage of Davis's absence. Not fair…

…The Atlantic Yards basketball arena and development project is generating quite a bit of buzz. One pro-Brooklyn Nets site, groups.yahoo.com/group/Brooklynnets/, had 521 posts in December, its first month, and well over 800 in January. Opponents are also advancing their cause on the Internet. One example is www.gotard.com/ratnerville/FrameSet.htm. A pro-arena blog that also posts opposing views is at brooklynnets.blogspot.com.

LIES, DAMN LIES, AND STATISTICS How many people would be displaced by Bruce Ratner's arena/housing project? Ratner's people initially threw out the number 100, which they later admitted was a bad guess on the low end. Then Councilwoman Tish James and other project opponents did a door-to-door census that put the number at 1,000. They're now admitting that was an exaggeration, and the actual number they got was 864 people, according to the Daily News. But the newspaper reports that census data shows about 250 people live in the six blocks Ratner wants to develop. We know the U.S. Census tends to undercount in urban areas, but it doesn't miss 71 percent of inhabitants. Obviously, someone's not telling the truth here. It's possible the opponents counted employees while the census only counted residents, but that wouldn't account for such a large discrepancy. We should get the true number soon, as soon as the Empire State Development Corporation gives Ratner approval to do a survey.

Whatever the case, more units would be constructed than torn down, and displaced residents would get first crack at the new apartments. Will they be satisfied? We didn't hear any outcry from residents bought out to make way for Ratner's MetroTech project. It's possible they are muzzled by confidentiality agreements, which we hope won't be part of the bargain this time. More lies, damn lies, and statistics: Arena opponent Neil deMause, author of "Field of Schemes," suggested in Newsday that the MTA would donate to Ratner the air rights above its tracks, worth perhaps $500 million.

More reliable estimates have put the value at $30 million to $100 million, and word from the MTA is it might be sold but not donated. "Any property that is transferred will have to be transferred at fair market value," MTA chief Peter Kalikow told the Daily News.

BOYLAND VS. OWENS It's certain, though still technically unofficial, that Councilwoman Tracy Boyland will run against Rep. Major Owens in this September's Democratic primary. The councilwoman made that abundantly clear during her January 22 fundraiser at Gage & Tollner restaurant. "She said, 'It's time to take it beyond the City Council. It's time to move to places other than New York City while still serving,'" one witness recalled. Boyland added something like, "You people here are like family and I want you to hear it from me. Team Boyland is about to move into another phase." "Team Boyland," which consists of Tracy, her brother, Assemblyman William Boyland, and their father, former Assemblyman Frank Boyland, was embossed on candy jars given to fundraiser attendees.

The official announcement of Tracy Boyland's candidacy will come soon on the steps of City Hall. Councilwoman Yvette Clarke also wants to run, and if they both do, it might split the anti-Owens vote and ensure a victory for the incumbent. If Clarke and Boyland lose the 2004 congressional primary, they'd keep their Council seats because they're not up for reelection this year. State Senator Carl Andrews is also interested in the seat but doesn't want to run against Owens, since Andrews would probably lose and have to relinquish his State Senate seat in the process. We hear he'll collect petitions as an insurance policy, so he can get on the ballot in the event Owens drops out. Owens says he's running for the last time, so whoever challenges him will portray him as a lame-duck congressman.

Owens's son Chris is planning to run for the seat in 2006, when his father vacates it. One of Chris's political allies is Democratic district leader Freddie Hamilton, so some were surprised to see her at the Boyland fundraiser. Also there was Brooklyn Democratic leader Clarence Norman, who's been friendly with both Major Owens and the Boylands. Our spies also spotted Democratic district leaders Alan Fleishman, Alicka Ampry-Samuel, Delia Schack, and Booker Ingram, former district leader Bill Saunders, former Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats President Susan Loeb, and potential Civil Court judge candidates Bob Dorf and April Neubauer. Schack's husband, Supreme Court Judge Artie Schack, attended as well.

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE MAYOR Rep. Anthony Weiner scheduled late-January visits to firehouses in Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy, far from his southern Brooklyn-Queens district, to distribute American flags that had flown in Washington. Both firehouses are in Rep. Ed Towns's district. Politicians generally don't step on each other's toes in that way except when they're running for higher office. Weiner is considering running for mayor in 2005. "He's been doing events all over the city, so these are nothing new," Weiner's press secretary e-mailed us.

Weiner, in fact, just transferred $1.6 million from his federal campaign fund into an account that could pay for a mayoral run. That leaves him with just $200,000 in the federal fund, which is $200,000 more than his next congressional opponent currently has. Is Weiner a real contender for the mayoralty? Well, in a January 27 article about Weiner's prospects, Jonathan Hicks of The New York Times didn't seem convinced. "He is believed to have a political base among voters outside Manhattan," Hicks wrote. Upon reading that the congressman must have cringed, or at least smirked.

BROOKLYN WRECK Alumni of Brooklyn Technical High School are seeing their treasured Brooklyn Tech become Brooklyn Wreck, thanks to a principal portrayed in two The New York Times articles as autocratic and spiteful. But because of the elimination of the Board of Education, politics-which is known for hindering progress-could actually solve the problem. Mayor Bloomberg is now in charge of city schools. He's up for reelection next year. If Brooklyn Tech's huge number of alumni were to pressure the mayor, Principal Lee McCaskill could be sent packing. Previously, city high schools were run by a division of the Board of Education which reported to the schools chancellor who reported to seven Board of Education members who reported to five borough presidents and the mayor. No wonder nothing ever got done.

Now, when alumni read of a mass exodus of experienced, top-notch teachers from Brooklyn Tech, they can blame one man: the mayor. And don't think they haven't noticed. "What has become of our beloved institution?" one Tech alumnus asked another in an e-mail to which Michael Winerip's January 28 Times article was appended. (Winerip wrote a similar story a year ago.) We were cc'd on the e-mail and promptly forwarded it to four other Tech alumni-a scenario we'd bet was repeated hundreds of times across the city, perhaps more. Remember, Tech produces about a thousand new alumni every year, some who go on to prominence.

Given their potential influence and the ease of Internet-powered organizing, it's easy to see how a movement could quickly grow to oust McCaskill. To get a copy of the latest Times article, e-mail us at erikengquist at yahoo.com (use the @ symbol for at).

SUPER BOWL PROTEST The left-wing MoveOn.org tried to run an anti-Bush administration ad during the Super Bowl only to be rejected by CBS. In response, a number of Democrats in Congress wrote a letter urging the network to run the ad. Of Brooklyn's House members, Major Owens and Jerry Nadler added their signatures to the letter. Rep. Ed Towns would have except his staff didn't open it in time, a Towns aide told us. Rep. Nydia Velazquez's people said of the hundreds of letters they get every day, this one wasn't brought to their attention. The letter also never reached Rep. Anthony Weiner, but his spokesman said Weiner "was outraged by the decision of CBS and has signed the online petition of MoveOn.org and is sending a letter of his own." After rejecting the MoveOn ad, citing company policy not to air "issue ads," CBS agreed to air a commercial by the Bush administration promoting the controversial Medicare bill it supported.

FOSSELLA FORGETS BROOKLYN On the heels of being compared to Paris Hilton by a Daily News columnist, Rep. Vito Fossella took another shot from the media, this time courtesy of PoliticsNY.com, an anonymously produced Web site. What caught the site's attention was Fossella's quote in a story about the possibility that he'll run in the Republican mayoral primary against Mike Bloomberg. "For now, my energy and focus is on being the representative of the people of Staten Island," he said. To which PoliticsNY.com replied, "Before Fossella kicks off his mayoral campaign, someone ought to remind the congressman that he represents a part of Brooklyn, too. But, hey, no one's ever confused Fossella for a rocket scientist."

POLITICAL TIDBITS We know State Senator Kevin Parker was in a hurry to get to Albany when he ran in 2002, but this is ridiculous: he's been hit with three speeding tickets on his way there, the Daily News reported in a story that undoubtedly amused everyone but Parker. The "leadfooted lawmaker" (as the paper described him) was clocked at 87 and then 84 miles per hour in a 65-mph zone, and on a third occasion was allegedly going 60 on a 30-mph street. It doesn't seem Parker accepts responsibility for his dangerous driving. "Point to me someone who drives 20,000 to 30,000 miles a year and has never been pulled over two or three times," Parker told the News. Someone get this guy a PR aide. Wait, scratch that idea. Keep talking, Kevin!

Rep. Anthony Weiner recently told us he'd be in a charity hockey game with the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. We conveyed our hope that no checking would be allowed. "What are you implying," asked Weiner, whose physique resembles that of a praying mantis, "that I'm fragile?"

How influential is this column? More than three months ago we reported that Assemblywoman Diane Gordon had not disclosed any campaign finance activity since January 2001, a violation of state law. Did that inspire her to produce the information? Nope. It's still missing from the state Board of Elections Web site…

Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez has yet to take a position on Red Hook's biggest controversy, the Ikea store proposed for 23 waterfront acres along the Erie Basin, the former New York Shipyards site. "I really want to understand what is the best thing for the community," she told Newsday. "I have to keep an eye on balance so people can live and live healthily and also have employment."

Councilman Charles Barron said he's spoken to both his election lawyer, Paul Wooten, and State Senator John Sampson about the 2005 Brooklyn district attorney race, for which Wooten and Sampson are potential candidates, but he declined to reveal the details of their conversations…

One of the stranger calls we've received in the last year came from a Gerritsen Beach man complaining about a tattered American flag that was displayed improperly above Councilman Lew Fidler's Democratic club on Haring Street and Avenue R. The man called Fidler's office and his club, and then us, to complain. "It's a terrible sight up there. It's really disturbing," he said. Turns out the flag had nothing to do with Fidler or his club. "This guy's complaining about a paper flag my landlord's residential tenant has in his window," Fidler said. "It's not my flag, it's not my building. The whole thing is nonsense."

Contact Brooklyn Politics at (718) 399-3693.

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2000
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1999
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