[NYguy]

Marty wants it all...


http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/b...GqyqIbfz71sddK

Marty Markowitz fights to lure pro soccer team to Brooklyn

By RICH CALDER
December 14, 2012

He stole the Nets from New Jersey and the Islanders from Long Island — and now he’s after the new soccer franchise trying to set up shop in Queens.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz wants Major League Soccer to drop its plan to build a pro-soccer stadium in Flushing Meadows Park, and instead field a team in the “greener pastures” of his borough. The Beep says no place on earth can compete with the cachet of the Brooklyn brand — and claims the Borough of Kings is filled with more soccer-starved fans than its neighbor to the east.

“I know Queens is pushing for a stadium, but I believe pro soccer belongs here in Brooklyn,” Markowitz said following a ceremony marking the opening of three new sports fields in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

“Soccer is the Number 1 sport in the world, so why shouldn’t we have a team here in Brooklyn?”

Queens Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., called it a declaration of war.
“Brooklyn is already in the process of stealing our . . . Civic Virtue statue and moving it to Green-Wood Cemetery, so what’s next, the Mets?” he fired back. “I better go and lock up the Unisphere.”

Vallone has yet to take a position on whether Flushing Meadows is the best place in Queens for a 25,000-seat soccer stadium, saying he has concerns about the use of existing parkland. Queens Borough President Helen Marshall had similar reservations about parkland, but wants the stadium for her borough.

Asked about the league’s new suitor, MLS spokeswoman Risa Heller said it’s “100 percent focused on bringing pro soccer to Queens.”