Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

Content

Art

Economy

Science & Medicine

Energy

Humor & Satire

Law, Politics, and Government

Society and the Human Psyche

Multimedia

Technology

LAW, POLITICS, AND GOVERNMENT / SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN PSYCHE

http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

BY SIMI HORWITZ JUNE 13, 2015

(Read Part 1 here.)

SOLDIERING ON WITH NEW STRATEGIES
Bob Diamond cant stop scratching. He says:

All night I feel like Im sleeping on poison ivy.

The itching has gone on for weeks and his rash is spreading. He rolls up his sleeve to reveal
spotted blotches scattered across his arm resembling little black bugs set in red circles.

You dont want to see my back.

Diamond suffers from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), lives on psychotropic meds, and
frequently has episodes, like his current skin eruption.
He asked for a stick with a Brillo pad stuck on top so that he could scratch his back. When I give
him just such a gifthomemade and beautifully wrapped with a bow attachedhe tears off the
paper, twisting the stick from side to side. This is no good, he says sliding the pad up and down
the stick. We need a way to keep this thing in place.
Diamond is literal-minded and does not quite get that its a joke. Still, he boasts a keen sense of the
absurd and, at moments, startling self-awareness that surface in wonderful non sequiturs.

Look, do me a favor, buy me a fly swatter and Ill pay ya back. Or get me a clean toilet
brush that I could use as a back scratcher.

He likes the image and erupts in wild, happy laughter.

Will the real Bob Diamond please stand up? Theres a fine line between genius and thinking
aliens live under your bed.

Things have not gone well for Diamond since we ran our first story on him, Feb 8, 2015 ,
recounting the bizarre experiences of the controversial Brooklynite who in 1981 re-discovered the
Atlantic Ave. Tunnel in Brooklyns Cobble Hill neighborhood, which had been sealed since 1861.

http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

For 30 years, he gave tours of the tunnel, offering dead-pan commentary on its folklore, including
th

the presence of a 19 century steam locomotive on the other side of the tunnel wall along with
missing pages from John Wilkes Booths diary.
Alleging that the tunnel was unsafe, the city
abruptly shut it down in 2010; and for the past
four years Diamond has been involved in a $135
million lawsuit with the city centering on due
process, loss of property and income. The
complicated case was dismissed, and just
recently after anxiously waiting another two
years their appeal failed as well.
Diamonds lawyer was planning to amend the
1845 drawing of Atlantic Ave. tunnel.

complaint and that may happen yet but

Diamond, who doesnt want to fritter away more

years in court, abruptly sent out dozens of conciliatory letters to politicians, municipal leaders, and
local businesspeople, asserting that he had exhausted his legal options and only political
interference could pave the way for a re-opened tunnel that was a tourist attraction, and an
economic boost to the neighborhood. To this day, hardly a month goes by that he does not get a
request for a tunnel tour from a national or, more usually, international tour guide bringing
groups of tourists to Brooklyn. It leads him to ask:

How many more years am I going to live? I want to get back in the tunnel and find that
locomotive and feel justified before its too late.

His letters were mostly ignored and in a mercurial turn of mood, and against advice of counsel, in
mid-April Diamond decided to drop his suit against the city. He sent a detailed 25-page proposal to
an array of leaders at New York Citys Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), asking them to reopen the tunnel that would include a resumed quest for the 185-year-old steam locomotive. If,
indeed, its there it would be a major historic find, he pointed out.
Responding to the citys concerns about tunnel safety, specifically an inability to get out of the
tunnel in a timely manner in the event of an emergency, Diamond proposed, among other things,
new pedestrian entrances within traffic islands at either end of the tunnel at Court Street and
Atlantic Avenue and at Hicks Street and Atlantic Avenue; and replacing the existing 30-inch-

http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

diameter manhole with a rectangular, 3 by 6 manhole as well replacing the six-foot-high straight
ladder below the manhole with a three-foot-wide steel staircase. He estimated a cost of
approximately $450,000.
He divided the project into phases and talked about the formation of a progress committee that
would meet on a bimonthly basis and include members from the NYCDOT, New York Police
Department (NYPD), Fire Department of New York (FDNY), New York Metropolitan Transportation
Council (NYMTC) and Diamonds own non-profit educational and cultural operation, the Brooklyn
Historic Railway Association (BHRA).
He asked that the ten-year revocable consent granted BHRA on July 1,
2009 be re-instated with a five-year extension to compensate for BHRAs
forced hiatus from the tunnel, and that in the future revocation of consent
could only take place with cause. He further stipulated that before consent
was revoked a pre-revocation hearing would be held so that issues could
be negotiated and resolved.
DOTs attorney said that the kind of contract Diamond wanted does not exist. Revocable Consent
by definition means revoked at will. The attorney also said that the construction work Diamond
pitched would create traffic obstacles on an already congested thoroughfare and that the cost
would far exceed $450,000, adding that the DOT does not have the budget to upgrade tunnel
access and egress. Diamonds initial proposal was denied. He has followed up with an amended
proposal and then another intensely apologetic borderline obsequious letter saying how much
he hoped his damaged relationship with the City could be repaired. The attorney said hed pass all
letters on to his client.
Diamond waits.
He still feels the City treated him illegally by shuttering him out of the tunnel to begin with, but since
the most onerous players are no longer in office, Diamond is willing to try a peace-making strategy.
He was also spurred on to action because of our story. In the wake of that first piece he received a
flurry of press attention, including three newspaper articles and two TV segments. A documentarymaker expressed interest in doing a feature film on him, though that project fell through when
Diamond demanded full editorial control.
A MULTI-LAYERED CHARACTER

http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

The more time one spends with Diamond the more difficult he is to read, even as he grows less
guarded. Like many of the desperate, disappointed and terminally sad he rages at some imagined
slight or frustration and celebrates a crumb thrown his way. He does not lie (though he may
misinterpret), jumps to conclusions, acts on impulse and is a risk-taker, especially in connection
with his serious weight problem:

I eat extra cholesterol and grease to make sure everything inside my body is working and
moving along smoothly. I always order two of everything.

He can be cruel to someone who is on his side and a moment later makes light of it, urging his hurt
friend to sleep it off and take two aspirin. He explains matter-of-factly:

This is a dysfunctional family, Flatbush style. Another day, another adventure.

When hes not working on his BHRA website or attempting to negotiate deals he is a couch potato
ordering in pizza or fried chicken and watching Grade B sci-fi flicks, Law & Order reruns, and popcult classics. He is a master of arcane film and TV trivia.
He is also a recognized authority on the history of streetcars and gives power-point presentations
all over town in an effort to re-introduce a light rail system in New York, especially in underserved
neighborhoods. He is in the process of writing a book on the topic including comprehensive
descriptions of how light rail systems work and benefit other cities along with an in-depth
proposal on how the system could be funded in New York, while providing affordable housing.
Diamond has a track record as serious scientist, inventor, and engineer.
In high school he won first prize in a SEER
(Student Exposition on Energy Resources)
science contest for designing a solar cell satellite
that converts sunlight into electricity. The
competition was created by the National Energy
Foundation, and Vice President Nelson
Rockefeller presented Diamond with the award.
Diamond also met with James R. Schlesinger,
Secretary of Energy, before serving as a judge
on that competition for several years, and then
winning a Kodak scholarship as an electrical

Young Diamonds prize-winning power station.

http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

engineering student at Pratt.

nd

In the late 80s, when the idea of creating a light rail system on 42 Street was being debated,
Diamond had a plan in place based on his winning science project for a power plant that was
compact, clean, and had no impact on the environment. His light rail project, initially slated for Red
Hook, was the only operation of its kind in the city to receive City Planning Commission approval
from the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and City Environmental Quality Review
(CEQR), an extremely difficult four-year bureaucratic process.
He is currently working with a top NYC transit cop and other Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) officials, who do not want to be identified, on the never-completed Narrows
Tunnel, running from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to St. Georges, Staten Island. The tunnel construction
was launched in the early 20s and aborted in the mid-20s. Says Diamond:

Maybe they want to open it as a historic site or maybe someone is even toying with the idea
of completing it. Im really not sure why they want the information or what theyre planning.

Either way, its a major endeavor for Diamond who is happily doing the research without financial
compensation or public acknowledgement. The never-completed tunnel interests him, but hes also
hopeful it will get the city to view him in a favorable light once again. I want a dinner and a tunnel,
he quips.
Sam Schwarz (aka Gridlock Sam), a leading and national transportation engineer, who served as
New York City Traffic Commissioner (1982-1986) and DOT Deputy Commissioner (1986-1990),
says the Citys treatment of Diamond has been a travesty:

Its a shame the city has given him such a hard time. The city should support and
encourage people like Bob. The tunnel tours should be resumed and Bobs research
pursued. Someday, hell be recognized as a genius.

Uphill Battle, But With Friend

At the moment Diamond is having lunch with his business partner and only close friend Gregory
Bullfighter Castillo at The Bel Aire Restaurant & Diner, a favorite eatery of theirs in Astoria,
Queens. Diamond and Castillo usually meet at Connecticut Muffin in Kensington, Brooklyn, to
brainstorm and strategize. But on Wednesdays they spend two and a half hours in traffic driving to
their brightly lit watering hole in Queens where they write letters to movers and shakers in an

http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

attempt to find supporters in high (and low) places.

They also sift through articles, newsletters, municipal budgets, and internal e-mail tracks (obtained
by their lawyer through discovery), often confirming their conviction that malfeasance is afoot and
conspiracy rules. They are conspiracy theorists.
Diamond knows hes fighting an uphill battle. Hes ruffled many feathers with his lawsuit and
frequent charges of corruption leveled against politicos and local business leaders. He doesnt
have much use for the public at large either. He reveals this in a voice devoid of cadence or
inflection:

The only thing the public responds to is if someone is handcuffed and escorted out of a
building with police. But then theyll say hes a bad apple. Its not one bad apple. Its
systemic. If I was an insider and millions of dollars disappeared, Id be flipping out. But it
doesnt seem to be bothering anybody one bit. Previously, its been the role of the NYC
Comptroller to monitor/audit NYC agencies. But since the days of Harrison J. Goldin we
havent really had one. Alan Hevesy went to prison and John Liu was the perennial subject
of federal investigation. No wonder these city agencies get away with murder. No one is
watching the store.

For a few moments he and Castillo eat in silence, before Diamond proclaims he doesnt want
anymore, scooping up a slab of roast beef and a dollop of mashed potatoes, passing it across
Castillos place setting in an effort to dump the food into his plate. Instead the whole mess drops
into Castillos coffee cup, splashing coffee all over the table.
Castillo remains expressionless as he hails the waiter.

I need another cup of coffee, please.

THE NATGEO DEBACLE

th

A big source of controversy surrounding him is his contention that a 19 Century locomotive lies on
the other side of the tunnel wall.
Rumors about its presence go back more than a century. In a 1911 Brooklyn Eagle article
discussing the tunnel, the reporter notes the existence of a wood-burning locomotive. A New York
Times article, written in 1936, acknowledges the locomotive scuttlebutt, though no one interviewed
had seen it. By contrast, in a 1981 article in The Daily News Juan Vega, a merchant seaman who
http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

claimed to have played on top of the steam engine behind the tunnel wall as a child, is quoted at
length.
Diamond got to know Vega fairly well and recalls him saying that he lived in a building at 64 Atlantic
Ave., which is no longer there; but at the time, a collapsed stairway in the basement led directly to
a steam locomotive behind the wall. Diamond says:

The address corresponded to where it would be and so did his description of what the train
would look like. Vega was hard-drinking, but completely coherent when he was wasted.

More recently, in 2010 National Geographic (NATGEO) which was slated to do a documentary
about Diamond and the tunnel retained Brinkerhoff Environmental Services to take pictures of
the site utilizing a Cesium Vapor Magnetometer, and it uncovered what appears to be a long metal
object (approximately 20 feet long) buried in the tunnel. The report does not state conclusively what
th

the object is, but Diamond maintains that in the mid 19 Century nothing short of a locomotive
would have utilized such a sizeable piece of metal.
Further, on the basis of Vegas description and
Diamonds exhaustive research, he speculates
that the buried locomotive is named the
Hicksville, a 2-2-0 Planet type, which was
inspired by a locomotive originally conceived by
British railway pioneer Robert Stephenson in the
1830s and became obsolete by the 1840s.
The numbers (2-2-0) refer to the wheel

Planet locomotive engraving.

arrangements. The 2-2-0 has two leading

wheels, two driving wheels and no trailing wheels. Diamond says when the tunnel was sealed in
1861, the locomotive was used to haul in dirt and after the engine broke down it was simply
abandoned there.
Dave Morrison and Richard Fleischer, rail historians in Long Island and outside of Boston,
respectively, surmise that if a locomotive exists in the tunnel at all, it could be the Hicksville, though
Fleisher equivocates a bit, suggesting The Hicksville may have been scrapped in 1853. Still, it
might be a similar type, and that would be of major interest too, he says.
Says Diamond:
http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

This is the only locomotive of that age in the entire world, in its original fresh off the railroad
condition. Its not a partial replica, like the John Bull at the Smithsonian, which is currently
billed as Americas oldest locomotive and is in fact mostly a circa 1892 Worlds Fair replica
with few original parts such as its wheels. In Brooklyn we have an authentic piece of the
very beginning of Americas industrial revolution, literally a time capsule, testifying to our
countrys origins.

NATGEO would not comment. The press rep wrote in an email that neither she nor anyone else on
board knew who Bob Diamond was. During their brief collaboration which Diamond says was no
collaboration at all their relationship went south quickly and Diamond has now hit NATGEO with
a $16 million lawsuit for breach of contract, mental distress, misappropriation, and unfair
competition.
th

Diamond is convinced NATGEO believes a 19 century locomotive is present and had every
intention of uncovering it when it too was shuttered out of the tunnel in 2010. Diamond has little
doubt NATGEO wanted to get him out of the way and take credit for the find, claim-jumping, as
its known in archeological circles.
Interoffice email threads are evocative. NATGEOs project manager, Sam Harris, who is now
deceased, described Diamond in an email as a little old lady in tennis shoes, who needs to be
retired with honor. He wrote that freeing themselves from Diamond was an essential first step to
doing the work properly while simultaneously appeasing DOT officials who didnt much like
Diamond either.
Besides expressing contempt for Diamond and reflecting byzantine office politics, the emails also
point to concerns among staffers that the Brinkerhoff pictures could potentially confirm Diamonds
speculations about a locomotive in the tunnel. They then debate what information should be shared
with the DOT. Writes one NATGEO staffer to another in Jan 2011:

With news of us finding something it potentially vindicates Bob Diamond, whom they [the
City politicos] view as a thorn in their side. News that there may actually be something
down there will leave them with egg on their faces. Also it may make them react negatively
to the application for permits to drill the bore holes.

One reason Diamond is suddenly more forgiving towards the City is his belief that NATGEO was

http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

the instigator in shutting the tunnel by alerting the City that the tunnel was unsafe and letting it be
known that only those with special OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) training
would be allowed in the tunnel to make the film. Diamond had no such training (not that its difficult
to obtain). If, in fact, NATGEO played a role in the tunnels shuttering they also succeeded in
locking themselves out as well, Diamond says, appreciating the dark irony.
AS FOR MR. LINCOLNS ASSASSIN
th

Along with the presence of a 19 Century locomotive, Diamond also believes that pages right out of
John Wilkes Booths diary lie in the tunnel wall. There are indeed gaps in the legendary diary and
plenty of theorizing as to what those pages contain and where they may be. But short of Diamond
we were unable to find anyone else who seriously believes theyre in the tunnel.
Even Diamonds attorney Gabriel Salem is skeptical. Still, he sees the humor. He asks rhetorically:

How often do you have opposing counsel arguing about what should be done if we find the
missing pages of John Wilkes Booths diary?

Diamond remains unfazed. Like other conspiracy

theorists he believes Booth was not killed in a
shootout with Special Forces at a Virginia farm
April 26, 1865. According to Diamond, he
escaped to England, later India, and decades
later died in Texas. Before he assassinated
President Lincoln, however, he spent lots of time
in New York City with Confederate sympathizers
and performed at BAM as a cover, says

Booths diary (photo by Carol M. Highsmith)

Diamond. City records show that the alreadysealed Atlantic Avenue Tunnel was opened in mid-April of that year, at a cost of $25 with no further
explanation. Diamond conjectures that Booth, who was in New York at the time, might very well
have been behind the tunnel opening and used the space to hide those diary pages naming his coconspirators in the north and his own plans for escape following the assassination.
This is wild and fanciful stuff. Still, the question remains: Why hasnt the city opened up the street
th

on Atlantic Ave. to at least confirm or deny the presence of a 19 Century locomotive? In 1991
Diamond and his city-approved contractors were well into the job with city permits in hand

http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

when their efforts were unceremoniously aborted by DOTs Highway Quality Assurance. Why that
occurred is still an unknown. The DOT would not comment.
THE EXPERTS WEIGH IN
The nationally-known railroad historian Kurt Bell, who worked for 18 years on the staff of the
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pa., and presently serves as Railroad Archivist at
the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg, says that breaking up the street would create a
major disruption to the neighborhood:

Im guessing some kind of liability and civil engineering concerns are at play. And if it turns
out there is no train it could be an embarrassment to public officials not to mention a waste
of taxpayer money. They may not want a repeat of Geraldo opening up Al Capones vault
on live TV only to find theres nothing there.

Bell is ambivalent about the presence of a wood-burning locomotive in the tunnel, saying there are
fewer than 20 locomotives that predate 1900 and they are accounted for. But he admits that a
contractors locomotive of that era could have been used to haul away dirt and debris, and if it
stopped working its not unlikely the equipment was abandoned.
th

Uncovering 19 Century locomotives is rare, but not unknown. Two such locomotives (Planet Class
2-2-0) were discovered at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, five miles off the Jersey shore near
th

Long Branch. A Forney locomotive that ran on the 9 Ave. El was found under a highway in
th

Garysburg, NC, and yet another 19 Century locomotive4-4-0 Americanwas uncovered in a

phosphate pit in Mulberry, Florida. The experts surmise that these trains were either deliberately
dumped for whatever reasons or accidentally lost. Bringing them up can be technologically
challenging and exorbitantly expensive. Still, their presence is acknowledged and a few are housed
in museums.
Even the ill-fated Church Hill Tunnel in Richmond, VA, which collapsed on top of a manned train in
1925 two bodies still remain entombed in the train has not been ignored, says Diamond. Over
the decades serious efforts have been made to locate the train and exhume the bodies. As recently
as 2006, a camera was lowered through the tunnel seal, though in the end the experts decided
retrieving the train would be too costly and ultimately a hopeless endeavor as the area is flanked by
sinkholes and awash in water and silt. Diamond adds:
But theyll keep trying. Why cant we do this right here in Brooklyn? And unlike the Church
http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

Hill Tunnel, the locomotive beneath Atlantic Avenue is a mere ten feet under the roadway
and safe to uncover, since its contained within the existing tunnel structure, on solid
ground.
Not unexpectedly Diamond evokes strong responses. Some are downright hostile.
Snaps Jim Clifford Greller, senior planner at Hudson County Improvement Authority and the author
of myriad books on New York City subways, elevated trains, and trolleys:

Why are you writing about Bob Diamond at all? Were bored to shit with that idiot. Hes a
drama queen and makes reporters who dont know their ass from their elbows about
transportation think that hes Columbus. Theres no locomotive down there. Its ridiculous.
And even if there is, who gives a shit? You think its of historical interest? Finding Christ
might be of historical interest too. If you want to find out about transportation, give me a call.
If you want to find out about Bob Diamond, no comment.

Railfans are an intense lot comprising a subculture of approximately 100,000 knowledgeable

hobbyists not including the large fringe contingent disparagingly known as foamers says
Tommy Meehan, chairman of the New York Chapter of Railway & Locomotive Historical Society.
The society boasts approximately 2,100 members nationwide with 10 local chapters. But the
largest railfan organization is the National Railway Historic Society, founded in 1921 with 170
chapters and more than 15,000 members, he continues.
Bell estimates 600-plus groups in North America devoted to the preservation and study of railway
heritage. One of the best known and, indeed the largest museum in the country devoted to
urban transportation is the Brooklyn-based New York Transit Museum, housed in the
decommissioned Court subway station, not far from the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel. Bell and others
th

say that if a 19 Century locomotive is discovered in the tunnel the Transit Museum would be an
ideal and natural location for it.
Diamond is not willing to relinquish stewardship but he might be open to a partnership of some kind
with the museum, if it was willing to join forces with BHRA in an exploratory expedition of the tunnel
and play a brokering role with the city.
But neither the museums director Gabrielle Shubert nor archivist Carey Stumm is convinced a
locomotive exists behind the tunnel wall and expressed no special interest in nailing it down either
http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

way. Lack of funds is the central issue, and if they had the financial resources theyd be more
inclined to open the old City Hall subway station to the public, they say.
Bell remains unconvinced that a locomotive exists in the tunnel, but concedes:

If a rare iron horse is indeed uncovered, this could present one of the most exciting transit
st

finds of the 21 Century, not unlike discovering a sunken locomotive on the bottom of a
lake or buried in a long forgotten landfill with all of its appurtenances intact. If the engine still
has all its jewelry, such as the whistle, the bell, number and builders plates and all of its
gauges, it will represent a valuable find of the first magnitude. The city should put
speculation to rest by sending an exploratory party to the site. If in fact an engine survived,
it would be the Holy Grail.
WILLING TO MEND FENCES
Back in the diner Diamond is winding down for the afternoon. Feeding at the trough is done, he
says, suddenly in an expansive mood.
Asked whats next on his agenda, Diamond says hed like to
bury the hatchet with NATGEO. The worst culprits are gone,
either dead or no longer employed by NATGEO, and ideally
the new players would be willing to join forces with him to
continue filming and exploring whats behind the tunnel wall.
This time around it would be a true collaborative effort,
Diamond emphasizes, and he would be portrayed as the
guru behind the project. BHRA would have input into the
selection process for consultants and contractors, and in the
end have right of refusal in connection with any third-party
entities brought in by NATGEO.
He s also hopeful DOT approves BHRAs amended

Diamond tunneling.

proposal, and if that should happen Diamond would like to

see NATGEO pay for the new and expanded tunnel entrances and exits. It would be an expression
of good will and solve at least some of the funding issues. Other financial considerations could be
hammered out around a table, not a courtroom. He says:
All they have to do is give a holla.
http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]

Part II: The Strange (and Sad) Life of Bob Diamond

A moment later hes staring at his rash-covered arm:

The itching is driving me crazy.

Using his sleeve as a scratching board, he rubs it up and down the afflicted area before kneading a
bit of dark, scaly skin between thumb and forefinger, plucking it off his lower arm and holding it up
to the light, appraising it like a small, but well-deserved trophy.

Tags:

Its the high point of my week picking away dried-up eczema.

Atlantic Avenue Tunnel

Bob Diamond

City Environmental Quality Review

Jim Clifford Greller

Brooklyn Historic Railway Association

Dave Morrison

John Wilkes Booth

New York City Department of Transportation

Juan Vega
PTSD

Gabriel Salem
Kurt Bell

Gregory Bullfighter Castillo

National Geographic

Richard Fleischer

Sam Harris

Sam Schwarz

Uniform Land Use Review Procedure

Simi Horwitz
Simi Horwitz is a New York based cultural reporter/feature writer whose work has appeared in

FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, CRAINS NEW YORK BUSINESS, AMERICAN

THEATRE, and THE JEWISH DAILY FORWARD, among other publications. For 15 years
(until 2012) she was an on staff feature writer at BACKSTAGE, where she covered theatrical
trends and news events in addition to writing celebrity profiles. Her awards include the 2013
New York Press Club Award (for a BACKSTAGE story on buskers), the 2014 New York Press
Club Award (for a FORWARD story on the experiences Jewish feminist theater artists face
performing in Muslim lands), a 2014 Simon Rockower Award for the same piece. She was also
named a 2014 finalist for The Deadline Club Award (for a FORWARD story on the new
generation of magicians).
Simi Horwitz just received the 2015 New York Press Club Award for
entertainment news and the 2015 Simon Rockower Award for Excellence in Jewish Journalism
for arts stories that ran in THE FORWARD in 2014.

http://realityworldofviews.com/2015/06/part-ii-the-strange-and-sad-life-of-bob-diamond/[10/3/2016 11:05:29 PM]