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Olympic dissenters speak their peace Protesters against the Olympics had their say in front of the International Olympic Committee evaluation team yesterday, but one of the biggest opponents to a key piece to winning the games didn't even show up. Four people met with the team's 13 scouts, two to oppose the games and two to pitch a focus on Queens, including a main stadium, as opposed to NYC2012's Manhattan-centered blueprint. John Fisher of Hell's Kitchen, one of the earliest activists against NYC2012's efforts to build a West Side stadium, did not attend a meeting with the team, calling it "a sham." For most of an eight-hour day in a Plaza Hotel ballroom, the evaluation team listened to reports from NYC2012 leaders on eight bid subjects, hearing from presenters who regaled the scouts with statistics-backed arguments in favor of their plan. The only discouraging words came in the hastily planned, early-morning sit-down with two representatives of Develop, Don't Destroy Brooklyn and two representatives of the so-called Queens Olympic Committee. DDDb, as it calls itself in shorthand, primarily is against the basketball arena proposed for Downtown Brooklyn by Nets owner Bruce Ratner, while the Queens group wanted to offer its "perfect site" for a main stadium adjacent to Shea and the National Tennis Center, according to Queens leader David Oats. According to NYC2012 executive director Jay Kriegel, opponents "were given the opportunity to express their views on projects in their neighborhoods." Asked about the absence of Hell's Kitchen representatives, he said, "They declined." "Not true," Fisher said. "Basically, they put roadblocks in front of us that didn't make it possible." Fisher, who had led the effort to meet with the IOC team by repeatedly writing to its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, said he received a call at 7:45 Tuesday night informing him of the morning meeting. "They said we could only have one from our group, and I told them we had six neighborhoods involved," Fisher said. "They said, 'Take it or leave it.'" The DDDb issued a statement saying it was "given a respectful hearing," but that it was "only 15 minutes." The DDDb complained to the IOC team that citizens have been "systematically excluded" from NYC2012's decision-making, and it called Ratner's arena plan a "land grab wrapped in Olympic rings." The Ratner arena is earmarked for gymnastics. Fisher said he would again contact IOC headquarters to get "a real meeting" before the scouts leave tomorrow. "I understand their time is limited," he said, "but it's our neighborhood." Copyright 2005, Newsday, Inc.
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