Freddy's Return

We were rifling through our inbox last night, and settled on a missive from Develop Don't Destroy, which congratulated mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer for his criticism the process of developing the Brooklyn Nets arena. The short story in the Daily News, though, makes it look as if his opposition is not as total as it is to the West Side stadium.

"Ferrer said he has major reservations about the secrecy surrounding the planned Nets arena."

It's heartening, as DDDB notes, for there to be at least one mayoral candidate to express opposition, and given the reach that the stadium's developer, Forest City Ratner, has into city politics, it's even slightly brave. Certainly it's not something that the other hopefuls think it's worth coming to a decision on.

But we think that their guarded welcome is about right:

"TO THANK MR. FERRER FOR THESE COMMENTS, AND ENCOURAGE HIM TO BROADEN HIS CRITIQUE OF RATNER’S PLAN, email Info@Ferrer2005.com."

We would have been a tad more wary, since we think that we're now at a point where Ferrer needs the anti-stadium crew more than they need Ferrer. We've got to ask, as Steve Gilliard has, why Ferrer has decided to come out with it now, aside from the fact he picked up six Brooklyn pol endorsements.

Gilliarrd's theory, and one we find it hard to fault, is that this is further evidence of Ferrer's fixating on pleasing white people. He's picked advisers certain to focus on this, but after the Diallo mess white people are his last worry. We happen to get very exercised about the stadium, but would quite understand if for vast tracts of New York this is not a key issue. Looks like another pander to us.