A teaser for The Battle of Brooklyn, produced by the Moving Picture Institute (which “nurtures promising filmmakers who are committed to protecting and sustaining a free society”) about the ongoing redevelopment dispute in Brooklyn over the Atlantic Yards project. The summary describes the film:
The Battle of Brooklyn explores the poorly understood phenomenonof eminent domain abuse. A feature-length documentary from filmmakersMichael Galinsky, Suki Hawley, and David Beilinson, this filminvestigates how real estate developers, local government, communityactivists, and the media have clashed over the largest single-sourcedevelopment project ever proposed in New York City. Widely known as theAtlantic Yards project, this undertaking has for the past four yearsbeen a major source of contention as local residents resist abillionaire developers attempt to use eminent domain to seize theirhomes and businesses. Done in the name of “development,” schemes suchas this one eviscerate private property rights and make a mockery ofthe Fifth Amendment–and yet they freely exploit lucrative taxpayersubsidies, easements, and tax abatements.
We’ve discussed some of the legal issues presented by the project in these posts about the Develop Don’t Destroy case and the Goldstein v. Pataki decision.