Review of Battle for Brooklyn (2011) by David F — 09 Apr 2012

Fascinating documentary about a huge development coming to Brooklyn in which the government and real estate developers seemingly conspire against a few holdout homeowners and businesses with the aid of astroturf community organizations and eminent domain laws which give the state the right to basically take property away from people and give it to someone else to build on.

Itâ(TM)s fascinating and heartbreaking to watch the graphic designer who lives in the footprint of the proposed stadium/shopping/housing complex as heâ(TM)s worn down over the roughly 6 years it takes between announcing the project and the beginning of its construction.

The maneuverings of the developers mostly happen off camera but the portrait of the neighborhood in the crosshairs of urban renewal is very moving indeed.