This is the press release from Develop Don’t Destroy.

BROOKLYN, NY— A State Appellate Court* panel has rejected the Empire State Development Corporation’s (ESDC) motion to dismiss Goldstein et al. v. Empire State Development Corporation—the Atlantic Yards eminent domain lawsuit filed by nine property owners and tenants with properties in the footprint of Forest City Ratner’s foundering megaproject proposal. The case was filed on August 1st of this year.

The ESDC unsuccessfully tried to dismiss the petitioners’ case, which charges that New York State’s use of eminent domain to seize private homes and businesses for developer Forest City Ratner’s (FCR) Atlantic Yards project violates the New York State Constitution’s public use, due process and equal protection clauses, as well as low-income resident requirements.

The petitioners’ victory is a major setback for FCR and the ESDC. FCR President/CEO Bruce Ratner recently told The New York Times that he plans to “break ground” in December. Ratner does not own the land he needs to build his proposed arena and skyscraper project, and is attempting to have New York State seize the land for him by eminent domain.

“Though Ratner claims that he’ll ‘break ground’ for his Atlantic Yards proposal in December, he cannot do so unless New York State uses eminent domain to seize the owners’ and tenants’ properties and give them to him as planned. But the plan is now in doubt,” said Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn Legal Director Candace Carponter.

The Court has given the ESDC until October 15th to file its answer to the petitioners’ complaint. According to the normal briefing schedule, petitioners will then file their brief on January 15th, 2009. The ESDC would reply in mid-February and petitioners would file their answering brief at the end of February. Oral argument would then most likely be scheduled for sometime in March or April and a decision would presumably come somewhere between late spring and fall of 2009.

“The seizure of my clients’ homes and businesses is unconstitutional. We are pleased that the Court has recognized the merit of our case and will now hear the arguments in full,” said lead attorney Matthew Brinckerhoff of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP. “We are confident that when we finally have our day in court, we will show that New York State’s condemnation and seizure of my clients’ homes and businesses for Forest City Ratner’s enrichment violates New York’s Constitution.”

The initial complaint to the Court and the briefs on the motion to dismiss for Goldstein et al. v. Empire State Development Corporation can be downloaded at: www.dddb.net/eminentdomain

The Court’s order denying the motion to dismiss can be found at:
www.nycourts.gov/reporter/motions/2008/2008_84057.htm

An OTBKB reader sent this email. I also noticed that Root Stock & Quaid looked closed (paper on the window closed). What happened? Anyone know

There’s a sign on Rootstock & Quaid that they are closed because of the fire. I hadn’t heard anything about a fire there or read anything about it. What’s the story there?

And the Brooklyn Paper has the story. Here’s an excerpt:

Acclaimed local filmmaker Spike Lee will set up an annex of his famed “40 Acres and a Mule” film company in DUMBO, The Brooklyn Paper has learned.

“Spike Lee is coming to 55 Washington Street in DUMBO,” said a spokeswoman for Two Trees Management, the David Walentas-owned company that owns half the neighborhood.

High rents had forced the “Malcolm X” director out of space at 124 DeKalb Ave., where he had been for 22 years, and into another space it already owned around the corner on South Elliot Place.

“Got priced out, the rent raise was insane,” Lee told The Brooklyn Paper in April.

A nice guy in a Hawaiian shirt welcomed me at the door. Once inside I took in the grandeur of the landmark bank building that is now a grocery store, albeit a super fun grocery store.

Ceilings that touch the sky, huge gorgeous windows. Space, space, and more space. It’s a surreal environment to buy groceries in.

And what fun it is to shop there. The hand-picked employees are a lively, friendly group. Okay, so the guy at the front door makes silly jokes, he means well. The people wandering around with tastings in the aisles were well informed and friendly, too.

And the product: Well, it’s Trader Jones. Organic produce and meat. Kooky snack products. Great frozen foods. Fascinating condiments. Excellent desserts. Vitamins and interesting body care products.

It’s sort of like the Food Coop with a sense of humor and way more junk food.

If you haven’t spent time at a Trader Joe’s before you could spend hours at this one just exploring the unusual merchandise. Just about everything from ketchup, mayo and pickles to frozen Mandarin chicken or Salmon roulette is Trader Joe brand.

I got there around 1 p.m. and the store was still bustling with people who’d walked over from downtown Brookyn during lunch hour. At around 2 p.m. the check out line was much shorter. I got through in less than five minutes which was impressive considering how crowded the store was.

And here’s what I got. Mind you we already have favorite Trader Joe’s items because of all the time we spend in Northern California where Trader Joe’s is everywhere (with WINE, mind you). That’s the only thing I miss at the Brooklyn store: that Two Buck Chuck.

–Ginger, Almond and Cashew Granola (Hepcat’s fave)

–Trader Ming’s Mandarin Orange Chicken (frozen)

–Cilantro & Chive Yogurt Dip

–Trimmed and cooked (and pre-washed) Green Beans

–Olive Tapenade

–Corn Tortilla Multi-Seed Flat Breads

–Low Fat Chocolatey Cats Cookies For People (OSOF’s fave)

–Organic Maple Syrup Grade A Dark Amber ($5.99 for 12 oz)

–Strawberry Preserves

My father, always a constant reader, was reading Middlemarch by George Eliot, in the weeks before he died. He took it with him to his recent chemo therapy sessions and even to the emergency room on August 25th.

A huge book collector, my father always had a good selection of books out from the public library in Brooklyn or Glen Falls (depending on where he was spending his time). Middlemarch was a library book, which he took out from the Cadman Plaza branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.

On Thursday I saw Middlemarch on the wine rack near the front door in his apartment and immediately knew that I wanted to take it back to the library. I even thought about reading it before returning it as a sort of homage to my dad.

I thought about that Raymond Carver story about the baker who is livid because a woman doesn’t pick up the birthday cake for her son, who is killed in a car accident. Unknowingly, the baker keeps calling the mother to come get it…

On Friday, I decided to drop the book off at the Park Slope branch of the Brooklyn Library. I told the woman at the desk that I was returning it for my father. She said that there was a $4 fine on the book and another $3 outstanding fine (maybe another book still out?). She didn’t ask me to pay—I guess because I said I was returning it for my dad.

I wanted to tell her that my father died on September 7th. But I didn’t. Initially, I thought I would tell them to stop his library card just the way I stopped his AARP supplemental insurance and other things, too. On the phone, people offer their condolences and then take care of business. But to do it in person, it seemed too hard.

Besides, it felt too final to stop his card; he’s had a library card his entire life and I want that library card to go on forever.

There will always be an open library card for my dad. Why not?

We are encouraging donations in my father’s name, Monte Ghertler, to his favorite library in Glen Falls, NY:

Crandall Public Library,
251 Glen Street, Glens Falls
New York 12801

It’s a very pretty shop. Elegant, sleek. Very Lexington Avenue, I’d say. In fact, the original Eric NYC may have been on Lexington Avenue.

One of the partners in that NYC shop has ventured out to brownstone Brooklyn alongside Barrio and across the street from the upcoming Kids Rx (both are venturers from Manhattan).

Visually, Eric will pull in all the shoe-obsessed of Park Slope. Stylish shelves lines the left and right walls and comfy ottoman-style seating is down the middle. Browns, beiges, whites, the space is minimalist, stylish and restful to the eye with a discriminating selection of shoes.

Yes, shoes for the Park Slope woman.

I wanted to ask Eric, the owner, what he thinks the Park Slope woman wants when it comes to shoes. From the looks of it he thinks: comfortable, low, brown. Yes, there is life beyond Keens, Birkenstocks and Crocs.

There are some fun, dressy shoes. And the ski book style boots in the back are really cool. I’ll be in there again today to check out the price points and to talk to Eric:

“So what is a Park Slope shoe?”

The new wine shop on Fifth Avenue has only been around for a few weeks but it already feels like the place we go for wine.

It’s so well located for those of us on Third Street who spend a lot of time on Fifth. There it is right next to The Gate, Brooklyn Mercantile, Serene Rose. Across the street from the Old Stone House, JJ Byrne Park. So near to ‘Snice, Bird, and Stone Park Cafe.

I can grab a bottle on my way home from my therapist — always a good time for a bottle of wine. Friends brought over two bottles of wine from there the other day.

We’re beginning to collect sleek, brown wine bags from there.

The shop is called Picada y Vino and it’s on Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets. They carry a wide variety of wines from a variety of countries. The prices range from $8.99 to about $80 for what the owner calls an incredible champagne. They said price isn’t the issue. If they love the wine they’ll carry it.

For me, I’m just glad they have plenty of “screw-off” bottle tops. No corks for me—no more corkscrews

City Council Member, David Yassky, who is running for the job of NYC Comptroller, sent out this email about the current financial crisis:

Dear Friend-

The full impact of the Wall Street earthquake will not be known for some time, but it is already clear that New York’s leaders must begin planning now for a significantly weaker City economy.

The pain will be real. Mayor Bloomberg has already ordered City agencies—including police and schools— to implement $1.5 billion in cutbacks, and has signaled that he is likely to propose an increase in the property tax rate. These are prudent steps to address the short term crisis. The real challenge will be responding to the wholesale restructuring of the City’s core industry.

First, we must work to strengthen policies aimed at diversifying our economy. For example, I recently proposed an expansion of the City’s tax credit for film and TV production. The original credit, which I sponsored three years ago, has spurred a doubling of film production, creating some 6,000 new jobs. We must take advantage of similar growth opportunities in biotechnology and green manufacturing.

Second, we must intensify efforts to create a more efficient and entrepreneurial City government. Earlier this month, I called on the Department of Sanitation to sell advertising space on the City’s 25,000 trash cans. Today, the City adorns its trash cans with the names of local politicians (including me). Let’s use this space to generate revenue rather than political support. Now, we need a hundred more ideas to generate revenue and eliminate wasteful spending.

Finally, we must recognize that New York’s position at the center of the financial world is at risk. Merrill Lynch will soon be a North Carolina bank; the surviving parts of Lehman Brothers will be absorbed by a British firm; Bear Stearns has disappeared; and AIG has been taken over by Washington. To be sure, a new order will emerge, and the next generation of financial giants is likely to be found among the many smaller, nimble firms already operating here in New York. But our government must do its part by making sure the City remains a preeminent place to do business.

I have great confidence in the leadership of Mayor Bloomberg as we enter these uncharted waters, but I have no illusions about the difficulty of the choices we face. I spoke last night at a residents’ meeting in a large new apartment building in Downtown Brooklyn. When I explained the City’s financial situation, a young father said, “So we’ll be paying more taxes for less service?” I agreed, and he did not look happy. But as I was leaving, he stopped me to thank me for my work and asked, “What can we do to help?”

That’s the spirit.

Just heard about this interesting series at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza. They’ve got quite a line-up of writers. And it’s in the new Stevan Dweck Center, which is a nice venue.

The series is “Cosmopolis: Immigrant Writers in New York,” which features WNYC host Leonard Lopate in conversation with three authors, including last year’s Pulitzer Prize winner in fiction, Junot Diaz.

The first event is October 4, with Dalia Sofer, author of The Septembers of Shiraz, which was hailed as a “powerfully affecting depiction of a prosperous Jewish family in Tehran shortly after the [Iranian] revolution” that “stands a chance of becoming a classic” by bestselling novelist Claire Messud writing in the New York Times Book Review.

Dalia Sofer, author of the debut novel The Septembers of Shiraz will appear on October 4, 2008 (Saturday) at 4pm
• Hailed as a “powerfully affecting depiction of a prosperous Jewish family in Tehran shortly after the [Iranian] revolution” that “stands a chance of becoming a classic” (New York Times Book Review), The Septembers of Shiraz was released in paperback by HarperPerennial earlier this year.

Junot Diaz, author of The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao will appear on November 1, 2008 (Saturday) at 4pm
• Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Diaz’s multigenerational Dominican-American family chronicle flashes “his geek credentials, his street wisdom and his literary learning with equal panache” (New York Times). Just released in paperback by Riverhead Books.

Lara Vapnyar, author of the Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love will appear on December 6, 2008 (Saturday) at 4pm:
• Having learned to speak English after emigrating to the U.S. from Moscow in 1994, Vapnyar has been called “a talented writer, possessed of an ample humor and insight and a humane sensibility” (New York Times Book Review). Her story collection was released in hardcover earlier this year by Pantheon Books.

Each event will take place at the Dr. S. Stevan Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture, located at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Library, at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn (#2 or #3 train to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum).