Educational Media Reviews Online

In 2003, the Ratner Group announced plans to build a stadium in Brooklyn, New York for a professional basketball team. The location of the arena and accompanying complex, however, was planned for an area then occupied by residences and businesses. This thoroughly engaging film details the political maneuvers of the Ratner Group to condemn several buildings, including residences, in order to proceed with the project. To the contrary, a small host of local residents and businesses led a crusade to keep their properties and tenancies. The film examines various stages of the struggle, including town meetings, public awareness campaigns, meetings with lawyers, court hearings and more. An interesting dimension to the story is injected when it is revealed that the community is not, in fact, united against the Ratner Group. Many residents supported the construction project, with hopes of job creation and a recasting of the neighborhood. Furthermore, nearly all of the residents in the projected arena location took the public monies used for buyouts.

The documentary primarily chronicles one Brooklyn native who relentlessly crusaded for his right to keep his apartment. The film also critically examines the role of business in shaping communities, the use of public funds for private projects, and the principle of eminent domain.

This brilliant and moving work achieves near-fable stature. While the epilogue of the fates of various residents and business owners is somber, the core of the story revolves around a courageous, stalwart family man who would not bend to the pressure of politics or a corporate giant. During this account of the seven year campaign, the viewer is brought on a journey to examine an intriguing array of topics from the business of media coverage to community relations.