1 0 Archive | Nov 27, 2009, 1:54 pm
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What they’re (theoretically) building in Willets Point

By Ted Berg on Nov 27, 2009, 1:54 pm

According to an article in today’s Daily News, a Brooklyn judge tossed out a lawsuit against the city by property owners in Willets Point, the “neighborhood” across from Citi Field.

The suit alleged that the city was purposefully neglecting the area to drive down property costs to make the planned redevelopment there less expensive.

Eminent domain is a sticky issue, and I have far from all of the facts in this case. But to Mets fans, this is pretty clearly a good thing.

I’ve been lucky enough to visit 23 Major League stadiums, and I can attest that the ones with places to go in the immediate vicinity before and after games make for a much, much more pleasant experience. You can get delicious green chili across the street from Coors Field and tasty microbrews around the corner from Safeco.

You can’t even see a bar or restaurant from Citi Field.

I’ll believe that Willets Point will have all the things the city is hoping to put there as soon as I see it. The area doesn’t even have working sewers yet, so I imagine it’s a good ways off. But man, it’d be pretty great to have someplace to go for a meal before the game or a drink afterwards that didn’t involve a trek or a subway ride.