http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...ver_yards.html
Job hungry hardhats jeer opponents at debate over Atlantic Yards
BY Jotham Sederstrom
May 30th 2009
A public hearing on the controversial Atlantic Yards project spun out of control Friday as hundreds of job-hungry union laborers repeatedly shouted down opponents of the building plan.
Most of the 200 seats at a Pratt University auditorium in Brooklyn were filled early by boisterous workers who support the project because of the 17,000 jobs developer Forest City Ratner has said it would create.
"I think if we could eliminate some of the whistling and shouting ..." the event organizer, said state Sen. Bill Perkins, only to be interrupted by a new round of jeers.
"Go home, Bill!" several workers shouted at Perkins, whose district is in Harlem. "I live here! Bill, go home!"
The five-hour hearing was called by Perkins and other state senators to determine the status of the delayed $4.2 billion project, which is being reevaluated by designers in a bid to cut costs.
As it stands, the plan is expected to include a professional basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets and 16 residential and office towers.
Officials from several city agencies testified during the four-hour informational hearing, as did supporters and opponents of the plan.
But it was the laborers who stole the show.
At one point, the hearing veered completely off track when state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery (D-Brooklyn), a critic of the plan, berated fellow Sen. Marty Golden (R-Brooklyn) for showing up late.
That prompted workers to erupt in jeers in a show of support for Golden, who backs the 22-acre project.
"It's called frustration," Golden said later of the laborers' reaction. "These guys want the jobs that were promised, and they let that be heard today."
He took a swipe at Montgomery's "misplaced anger," saying, "she's the one who's been holding this project hostage for so long."