I am writing to comment on the remarks of Ron Forman quoted in your recent article about the demolition of the Heymann Conservatory in Audubon Park.

"This is not a greenhouse issue," Mr. Forman said. "It's an Audubon golf course issue." He said a group of "longtime opponents of Audubon and every project we've done" has sought to prevent modernization of the course.

These comments reveal that Mr. Forman has failed to grasp several clearly discernible points that have emerged from this controversy.

The opposition that has arisen in the last three months has not been about preventing the "modernization of the course," but rather about issues of public accountability and about the many peripheral aspects of the renovation that remove formerly public green space from the park and are not germane to the "modernization of the course."

While certain individuals involved in this current controversy have indeed opposed the institute in the past, the opposition has been much more widespread than Mr. Forman's description would have us believe. Not only did 3,000 people sign the SaveAudubonPark petition, but 300-400 people attended each of two public meetings on golf course and clubhouse issues.

Mr. Forman attended both these meetings himself and heard many members of the public question the wisdom and necessity of closing Hurst Walk, destroying the Oak Grove and demolishing the Conservatory, to name just a few of the issues. He knows that this has not simply been a matter of a cabal of longtime opponents obstructing Audubon on any and every project.

In the course of this controversy, there has also been a great deal of outspoken criticism of the way in which the Audubon Institute develops its plans, the lack of public input and the perceived lack of consideration for the interests of the wider public.

That Mr. Forman should make his dismissive comments on the very day that his institute was tearing down a public building in advance of a scheduled court date to determine if a public hearing was needed is well beyond irony.