Actors Join Atlantic Yards Project Protest

NEW YORK -- Actors Steve Buscemi and Rosie Perez appeared at a rally to protest the Atlantic Yards project planned near Downtown Brooklyn.

A crowd that may have included more than 2,000 people gathered at Grand Army Plaza yesterday in front of a makeshift stage and a sign that read "Brooklyns Neighborhoods Say No.''

Buscemi read a poem to the crowd that he said he had written to protest the project. In the piece, he said "Ive played a lot of crazies, but this seems insane.''

Protesters argued the borough's diverse neighborhoods are being threatened by the Atlantic Yards project and other development.

The $3.5 billion project, expected to include an arena for the Nets basketball team, office space and nearly seven-thousand apartments, is being planned by Forest City Ratner Companies.

A spokesman for the developer, Joe Deplasco, said Sunday "People have legitimate concerns that we have addressed, and will continue to address.''

The company has promised to dedicate more than 2,000 apartments in the complex as rental units for low- and moderate-income tenants.

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