Organized by Pioneer Works and the Brooklyn Public Library
Screening of Battle for Brooklyn and panel discussion with activists
Part of the Film Series around Community Activism
Resilient Red Hook and the Brooklyn Public Library invite you to a special screening of Battle for Brooklyn on Friday February 28th 6:30pm , as part of our ongoing Film Series around Community Activism. This event serves as both an educational gathering for community members and a 20-year reunion for activists and neighbors who fought-albeit unsuccessfully–the Atlantic Yards project (since renamed Pacific Park), including the Barclays Center.
In light of the redevelopment of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, this screening aims to inspire and inform current and future community action efforts. Battle for Brooklyn tells the compelling story of the grassroots resistance to the Atlantic Yards Project, a controversial development that displaced hundreds of people and businesses using eminent domain and public subsidies, claiming it would transform a “blighted” area and deliver the public good of “jobs, housing, and hoops.”.
Directed by Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky, and produced by David Beilinson, the film captures the resilience and determination of Brooklynites who stood against powerful interests. Today, the project, with eight towers and the Barclays Center, is half-finished, with public benefits far behind promises. While the real-estate company sponsoring the project exited at a loss, the owners of the Brooklyn Nets, enriched by the new subsidized arena, are big winners.