On Thursday, April 26, 2007, a 200 foot section of the parapet of the Ward Bakery on Pacific Street crashed to the sidewalk below. The exact cause of the collapse is still under investigation by the NYC Department of Buildings. The building had been undergoing asbestos abatement by Forest City Ratner crews in preparation for eventual demolition. Miraculously, no one was injured.

On Friday April 27, 2007, CBN held a press conference on the site. Therese Urban, co-chair, delivered the following remarks.

"Thank you all for coming on this rainy day. Behind us is the Ward Bakery building whose cornice fell into the street yesterday morning, an accident that certainly aids the developer’s intention to clear this property as quickly as possible.

"We are the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods. We are comprised of 41 community groups and have come here today to protect ourselves, our community, and we are here to protect the law from the very real dangers presented by a developer and his supporters who choose to ignore or distort it. We are not going to allow anyone to reduce our community and our laws to rubble, like we saw happen yesterday right behind us.

"We were right here on Monday afternoon. We were demonstrating against the demolition of these buildings before the Courts had the opportunity to rule on the legitimacy of the entire project. 100 members of the community marched past this very spot, at approximately 9:45 am, to protest the demolitions. Had it been three days earlier, there would have been injury to many of the community's members.

"The law requires the community be informed about the entire demolition and construction schedule. Without independent oversight there is no way of knowing if that schedule is followed correctly. Oversight is supposed to be in place before any work is begun.

"Forest City Ratner Corp. (FCRC) has put up something called a ‘Community Liaison Office’ in an attempt to sidestep this requirement. I invite you to walk over there and try to get any answers out of the intern sitting at the desk. You will get no answers. All that person does is write down a complaint and say someone will get back to you!

"The developer also advertises a webpage for this office that is supposed to share vital information with the community. As of this morning it hasn’t been updated since mid-March.

"But that’s just the developer! What about the State Agency that is supposed to be overseeing this project? Where is their environmental oversight on this demolition?

"The law requires an environmental monitor. The Empire State Development Corp. (ESDC) has yet to appoint one. Oh, there’s an interim outfit supposedly in charge called AKRF. Those are- the same folks who gave us an Environmental Impact Statement we have been forced to challenge in court - the one that says the project will have virtually no negative impacts on the community. But where are they? Nowhere to be found!

"We appreciate Governor Spitzer's efforts to reform the attitude and priorities of the ESDC, and we understand that reform takes time. However, we urge the ESDC not to abandon our community and allow this project to steamroll forward without oversight while the ESDC reorganizes. Looking around it’s obvious that the community does not have time on its side. It is up to the Governor and the ESDC to exert their considerable power and authority to suspend any and all work on this entire project until adequate protections can be put in place, before something even worse happens.

"Just an hour ago we were informed that the ESDC has this morning called a halt to demolition until the city Dept. Of Buildings conducts a preliminary investigation into the collapse. It is not clear from the press release if this means that demolition on the entire footprint is halted, or just this building, but there is still demolition going on elsewhere as we speak!

"The ESDC approved this project and authorized State override of virtually all local laws. It cannot now put the entire burden back on the City to safeguard the community.

"And what is the City doing to protect the community? On the first day of “construction preparation,” which was supposed to be limited to the MTA rail yards, FCRC’s contractors accidentally disconnected the water supply to this Community for the better part of a day! Residents and businesses suffered – some lost a half-day’s work. Calls to the ‘Community Liaison Office’ did nothing.

"The City Department of Environmental Protection informed one of our member organizations that there would be no city coordination in tracking problems related to the Atlantic Yards. They also never clearly identified just why the water went out that day. This was not a promising beginning!

"This building was just certified by the Department of Buildings as having been cleared of asbestos. During the asbestos removal our member groups repeatedly called in that workers weren’t wearing protective masks or clothing. There are videos showing huge bags of debris being removed by unprotected workers. The Dept. of Buildings and Dept. of Environmental Protection didn’t want to hear about it.

"And just what was in those huge bags of debris? Either this building was built out of 100% asbestos or some unauthorized demolition was going on in violation of the law. And then the cornice just happened to fall onto the street yesterday, the sidewalk being without a construction shed, also in violation of the law.

"These demolitions are not being performed in compliance with the law. Yes, we understand the developer has been issued a ticket for the lack of a sidewalk shed. But it is too little, and already too late. We shouldn’t be losing services, or losing cornices onto the street, or losing street access like the premature closing of Fifth Avenue at Pacific Street. And now we have this section of Pacific Street closed to the community as well.

"When the laws about development are looked at as impediments to be weaseled around, or suspended, or flat out ignored, as they have repeatedly been by this developer and some of his supporters, the threat to the community is very real. We are not just talking about “inconvenience” or “neighborhood character.”

"These demolitions must cease entirely until the legally mandated authorities are in place to oversee the contractors, and this oversight must include community members.

"We are glad the ESDC is beginning to do the right thing. We hope they respond more forcefully. CBN had offered to work with the ESDC months ago to facilitate communication on the impacts as this work unfolded, and we heard nothing in reply. We renew… no, we demand, that the ESDC and FCRC work with our community on these problems before they arise.

"It’s not easy being out here today in this rain, but we are here because we are the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods and we take this mandate very seriously, and we thank you for coming."