Below is a letter sent by a BrooklynSpeaks.net reader recently to Governor Spitzer:

Dear Governor Spitzer,

I am writing to urge you to support the recommendations of the "Reforming the Governance of Atlantic Yards" proposal, which calls for the formation of a project oversight entity and a stakeholder council that would work together to bring accountability, transparency and meaningful public involvement to the Atlantic Yards project.

We need more affordable housing and jobs, but they should not come at the cost of introducing thousands of high-priced condominium units, and walling off neighbors with Forest City Ratner's signature monolithic walls. I challenge you to walk down South Elliot St. between Hanson and South Portland at night and try to feel safe when one side of the street is the faceless back wall of Ratner's Atlantic Center; then walk down the adjacent South Portland St., which has manageable three-story subsidized housing, and tell me you don't feel much safer there, where street-level homes provide many windows that witnesses could look through.

More importantly, this latest proposal is a legitimate compromise reached by both supporters and long-time opponents of the project. We can build, but build responsibly and with input from the people who will actually be living there and using the building and its environs.

You know how Robert Moses's reputation has fallen since we have learned about his foolish and heartless ignorance of the social effects of hisprojects, and how lucky we know we are to have stopped some of his more ambitious schemes. Help provide a counterpart to the Moseses currentlypushing their short-sighted plans onto areas that know better their flaws!

Sincerely,

B. W.
Fort Greene, Brooklyn