Nets New Home In Brooklyn Begets Divide

I'm not a huge follower of the NBA any more. I haven't since I was a teenager. It's not the sport itself but I don't care for the star system of business that most franchises follow these days. I grew up watching incredible stars relying on the team around them to win championships. My beloved Pistons were the thorn in the side of Jordan, because he didn't have a proper supporting cast during the Bad Boy days. I still love watching games from the 80's for this reason. But one thing does excite me about the league, lately. Brooklyn is getting a professional team again.

I've been meaning to address the controversial project since I started blogging. But the videos I've attempted to produce just didn't pan out as I hoped. Then, a while back, I was reading an article in the NY Times about the new arena popping up downtown.  I saw another article in the Brooklyn Paper saying the Nets, like it or not, are new residents of Brooklyn. I knew I had to speak my piece, at least.

Since I've moved to New York City almost 5 years ago, I've been seeing the project discussed in many places. From the park near my then-home in Bushwich to a few classrooms and even at the office, it was a pretty hot topic. The jobs it would create and civic pride would shoot up was one side of the argument. Others felt that it would dwarf the surrounding community and overload the demand on the grid for basic necessities.

I have many mixed feelings about this proposal. I like the fact that it does bring a sports team back to the deserving borough. One of the most popular sports here is basketball so it is only fitting. It also proposes to open up the connection between Fort Green and Prospect height, something I didn't understand until moving into the area in '07.

On the other hand, there were people who lost their homes. Sure, they were compensated, but they didn't want to sell. I understand the feeling of want to stay in a neighborhood you feel attached to. I don't know what it's like to loose property to eminent domain, but it has been used in the acquisition of land for the arena.

As are a lot of people I have talked to, I am a bit on the fence, still. I don't like big brother taking peoples land away that they are not ready to give up. I don't like the idea of Brooklyn being turned into a new Manhattan. It is it's own borough and, as I like to say, it's a world all it's own. With that said, it definitely feels a bit empty without a professional team. After all, my grandmother had the Dodgers to cheer for. Who will I be able to tell my grandchildren about when I describe my time here?