Battle For Brooklyn, The Movie

After eight years of filming, moviemakers Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley recently debuted “Battle for Brooklyn,” a documentary about the Atlantic Yards project.

The 93-minute film depicts the conflicts between developer Hank Ratner – the main catalyst for the Barclays Center that will open September 2012 – and the residents who were displaced because of the project.

Filming began in 2003, with much of the time spent capturing footage of Daniel Goldstein, who became the last holdout. Goldstein, an activist in the Develop Don’t Destroy opposition group, watched as 130 neighbors sold their condominiums and other property to make way for the new home of the New Jersey Nets and 16 skyscrapers.

Some sold for up to $1 million; Goldstein accepted $3 million in 2010 for a condo he originally bought for more than $500,000. The price included legal fees incurred while fighting the project.

“We had 400 hours of footage to work with,” Galinsky told New Jersey’s The Record.

The David vs. Goliath story has received mostly positive reviews, according to the paper, although apparently some critics say it gives too much of a sympathetic viewpoint toward the developers and politicians.

“The problem was that to include the all-out reality was just too depressing,” Galinsky told the Record.