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

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

BY SIMI HORWITZ AUGUST 29, 2015

(Read Part I and Part II.)

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A Plan for a Tunnel Museum, the Politics of Boredom, and the Pain of the Phantom

Toof
Im beginning to get bored with your demands for proof in triplicate, says Bob
Diamond in a tone that marries petulance with grandiosity.

Leading with his paunch and clutching his purple cane in extended arm poised
slightly above the ground as if it were a magisterial scepter, he shuffles towards
Mirage Diner on Kings Highway, Brooklyn.
Diamond and his BFF-cum-business partner Gregory Bullfighter Castillo ride
around the outer boroughs tracking down old fashioned diners (no kitsch, no irony).
Diamond is pleased to have made
good time from New York State
Supreme Court, Kings County, in
downtown Brooklyn, where he
sacked his attorney of four years.
Thanks to cutting those ties he is
feeling good, though my request
for corroborating evidence about
another topic entirely still rankles.

Bob Diamond at tunnels entrance. (NY Daily News)

I couldnt just know something on my own, no, no, no, I heard it somewhere,
Diamond continues sarcastically. I heard it on the History Channel, I heard it on
PBS. No, its all a delusion. Ive been out in the sun too long.
He and Castillo believe in the power of visions, dreams, and flights of fancy to warn,
guide and instruct. Coincidence rarely exists and omens are everywhere if youre
evolved enough to see them.
Both menwho co-run the Brooklyn Historic Railroad Association (BHRA) that has

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been embroiled in lawsuits with the city and National Geographic Society (see
Parts I and II)also allude to shadow acquaintances who have shadow lives and
are often employed by shadow agenciesgovernment and/or private.
Still, theres an element of performance as they revel in their clairvoyant flashes or
disparage the behind-the-scene (and unnamed) operators. They are at once wholly
serious while at the same time playing themselves for my benefit. They like being
provocateurs.
The contentious topic in question is Diamonds interpretation of an email he
received from a Paris-based gallery owner announcing an exhibit of paintings by
French Renaissance artist Hubert Robert, known for his depiction of grand and
romanticized ruins.
The email displays a Robert painting, Ruins of Temple Diana, featuring workmen
clearing away mounds of stones and boulders two stories below street level.
Diamond sees the email as a sign.
Why did I get this painting from a man I dont know? Diamond asks. Why now?
Robert was a visionary, Castillo interrupts.
Diamond continues:

The ruins in the painting look like the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel. Theyre
geologically correct. And the tunnel, like the ruins, brings together the past,
present, and future. It becomes a portal from the past to the future. And the
two workmen in the painting look like Greg and me. I call it synchronicity.

Massless Particles on the Move

Diamond talks about string theory, quantum mechanics, the Butterfly effect, Higgs
Boson, linked equations, dark energy, and time travel. The latter is very much on
his mind, in part because of his new plans for the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel that will
incorporate elements of time travel.
Time travel is theoretically possible, he says. Einsteins theories of mass are
being challenged every day. The recent production of Weyl fermion proves

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massless particles can exist in our four dimensional space. Because particles of
this type have no mass, conceivably they can be sent into the past or future to
gather and retrieve information. This is a game changer. Newton and Einsteins
equations fall apart. That doesnt mean theyre wrong. It means they still work, but
in a finite range.
Diamond frequently launches into a topic midstream with neither segueway nor
prelude, assuming his listener knows where hes coming from and what hes talking
about. The subject ends as abruptly as it began as Diamond turns his attention to
his upcoming lunch, looking around for a waiter and menu.
Im foraging for food, he announces. But instead of nuts and berries, I want BLT,
veal parmesan, extra red sauce and prime ribs. It should be slow roasted to tender
succulent perfection with a tad of horse radish on the side.
When I wonder aloud if he could possibly chew all that (he has few teeth), he quips,
Ill chomp it up the way a turtle uses his beak.
The Joys of Pro Ses
His large appetite and big visions notwithstanding, most of the time hes grappling
with the quotidian. Currently its the seedier and dispiriting aspects of his two
lawsuits that are in a holding pattern. He has made conciliatory gestures to both
parties in an effort to resolve the cases amicably. Hes had some feedback from the
city, NATGEO not so much. The iconic institution wants the whole case dismissed
and feels it owes Diamond nothing.
Still, Diamond likes representing himself and his current pro ses status.
Now, its really David and Goliath, Castillo says with pleasure.
Diamond is an old hand at playing David, starting with his rediscovery of the Atlantic
Avenue Tunnel in 1980 (which had been sealed since 1861) against a world of
naysayers. And he reprised his David role yet againduking it out with the
Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Fire Department of New York (FDNY)
when the city shuttered the tunnel in 2010, alleging it was unsafe after Diamond
had been conducting tours in the tunnel uneventfully for 30 years.

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Now attempting to appease the citys most pressing concern about visitors inability
to get out of the tunnel in a timely manner in the event of an emergency, Diamond
proposed, among other things, new subway style pedestrian entrances on traffic
islands at either end of the tunnel at Court Street and Atlantic Avenue and at Hicks
Street and Atlantic Avenue. He estimated a cost of approximately $450,000.
Diamonds initial and detailed follow-up proposalsincluding how each part of the
project would be phased inhave been turned down. The citys senior counsel said
the construction Diamond pitched would far exceed $450,000, adding the DOT
does not have the budget to upgrade tunnel access and egress. His immediate
concern, however, is Diamonds suggestion that the pedestrian entrances be built
on traffic islands as opposed to the sidewalk.
Diamond is more than willing to switch gears and his amended proposal will
address it. He also has plans to defray the cost by approaching the entire tunnel
experience as an off-Broadway production, he says.
P.O.R.T.A.L.Not Porthole
Says Diamond:

My feeling is were talking the $4- $5 mil range to set up, but this
couldconceivablybe handled throughentertainment investors. I estimate
that at an adult ticket price of $30equal to an event admission priceat the
boring Transit Museumthe Tunnel Experience would conservatively draw
at least 500 people a week, based on our own 2008 2010visitor head
count, yielding a gross weekly cash intake of about $15,000. In reality, I
think its safe to say this could easily bedoubled to 1,000 people a week
yielding $30,000 a week gross.

The theatrical investments would help cover the two subway style entrances,
reinforced sound equipment and the technology involved in creating holograms.
Diamonds site-specific theater will now embody a unique tunnel museum designed
to evoke an archeological dig being explored for the first time and tap into the
sensibilities of post-modern consumers who are excited by the growingand
trendyurban exploration movement (urbex), only without the risks that accompany
such explorations.

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Diamond says the museum will

also attract anyone who just likes
a good human interest story,
and Diamonds re-discovery of
the tunnel against all odds is
surely that. As tour guideand

Diamond believes such a train exists in tunnel.

hes a unique New York persona

th

he will recount all the colorful details, including his insistence that a 19 Century
locomotive lies on the other side of the tunnel wall.
If indeed its thereand it would be a major archaeological findit will be revealed
at the end of the tour. Either way, Diamond knows how to use his successes and
failures as fodder for entertainment that should appeal to train buffs, historians, and
researchers of various stripes, he says, adding, Theres a huge potential market
for conspiracy theorists and paranormal investigators.
Briefly, this is how it will work: visitors will descend into the tunnel through a new
entrance marking the beginning of the simulated experience. Passing through a
portal, visitors will find themselves on a walkway flanked by flashing LED panels
and blanketed in a layer of fog emerging from fog machines.
Visitors will feel as if as if theyre entering another dimension, Diamond says,
pausing to clarify portal, a word he uses a lot. P.O.R.T.A.L., he spells, not
porthole.
The lights and fog will give way to simulated torch lighting and a mine-like pathway
suggesting the archaeological dig site featured in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Visitors
will move through a cavernous space piled high with rubble and strategically placed
artifactsor projected holograms of those artifactswhich have been found within
the tunnel.
The tunnel will also include unadorned stony-walled surfaces, which will serve as
backdrops for special theatrical eventsthematically relevant concerts, films, and
plays, Diamond says.
With the aid of multimedia

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devicesincluding video
projections and soundvisitors
will be transported to Brooklyn,
1861 where they will interact with
famous (and infamous)
characters of the era like robber
baron Augustus Litchfield, John
Wilkes Booth, and Walt Whitman,

Whitman, others could appear in tunnel show.

all played by actors clad in period

costumes. These historic figures will talk about their connections to the tunnel
(factual and folkloric) followed by a Diamond moderated Q and A.
A second time jump will transport visitors into the early 20th century where they
will meet up with H.P. Lovecraft, WWI German spies and Prohibition era
bootleggers. Ghosts and vampires may also make appearances from time to time.
They should be very popular, especially during Halloween, says Diamond. He
continues:

The tour will combine the numerous truth is stranger than fiction stories
surrounding the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel. Visitors will be transported to other
times and realms of imagineered historical accuracy.

The whole experience is informed by a Star Trek esthetic, specifically an original

Star Trek episode on the time travel paradox, and partly by the unique imagery of
Hubert Robert coupled with a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek. In theater, as in life,
Diamond knows how to straddle personal conviction and self-mockery.
The end of the tour will be marked by a time jump back to the present, as Diamond
presses a magic button and a secret dooryet another portal disguised by a
hologram opens up into a mine-like space leading to the engine room. It will contain
the lost locomotive as it was found (if it is found).
Enveloped in dramatic spotlights the locomotive will personify and celebrate the joy
of discovery. It will also be Diamonds great triumph and personal vindication.
Of course, this will never happen, says Diamond, who knows all too well the

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byzantine world of municipal bureaucracy where nothing happens quickly, if at all.

By the time I get back in to the tunnel Ill be too fat to fit in the manhole.
He does not mean that literally. Even if he gained 100 pounds the size of the
manhole no longer has application as hes in the process of designing expansive
subway-style entrances. In fact, hes trying to hire an imaginative, experienced, and
public-spirited architect who will work with him to create them, with payment to take
place once tunnel tours are resumed. Anyone Diamond employs has to work on a
contingency basis. Still, its a seductive, challenge-filled project.
Ideally, I think the new entrances need to impart the mystery and rich history of the
tunnel to such a degree that it compensates for not climbing down a ladder through
a manhole in the middle of the street, Diamond says and laughs. (That vertical
climb down into the tunnel was very much part of the earlier experience).
Help! The Glaciers Are Coming!
Diamond has sent his museum pitch to dozens of local businessmen, politicos, and
other activists; indeed, anyone who is upright and breathing. Hes also attempting
to rally the troops with his book, The Discovery of the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, A
th

History of Early to Mid 19 Century Urban Railroads, and other eco-urban-friendly

proposals centering on mass transportation and ways to fund it. Hes determined to
keep himself in the public eye and if one pitch doesnt materialize, it still might open
the door to something else.
And, thats precisely what happened when Diamond recently received a call from an
intern at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, saying that her
bosses had read his book and were sufficiently interested in what hed written for
her to meet with Diamond as a preliminary step to something possibly re-opening
the tunnel though Diamond is not entirely sure what as her language was oblique
at best.
Diamond has no expectation that DOT approval can be encouraged by anyone,
short of Mayor De Blasio and, as far as Diamond knows, Hizzoner never took a
tunnel tour even when he lived in the neighborhood. But hes convinced the Atlantic
Avenue Tunnel would be of great interest to him. After all, its in his backyard,

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says Diamond who is hopeful the political scene is shifting and that he (Diamond) is
on the cultural radar.
New York City Councilman Stephen Levin,
who represents District 33 that houses the
tunnel, has always been a Diamond
supporterappreciating both the tunnel and
Diamond as great New York attractions for
tourists and locals alike. He refers to
Diamond as a unique Brooklyn character
and a service to the city.
In fact, Levin is a champion of communitybased cultural organizations and recently he,
Councilman Stephen Levin

along with Jimmy Van Bramer of Queens,

forged a comprehensive cultural plan zeroing
in on ways to support the arts, especially in the outer boroughs.
Levin who met with Diamond and me at his Boerum Hill store front office had not
heard about Diamonds recent pitches from anyone at DOTeven though the
proposed project is in his districtand does not expect to. Because of pending
litigation he cannot run interference and no one at DOT will be speaking with him
about it either, he said, adding:

However, I do think its of public interest to determine once and for all if a
th

19 Century locomotive exists in that tunnel, and its appropriate for me to

pursue that from a public policy perspective. And then we can address the
question of re-opening the tunnel tours and explore ways to do that, which
would also be a positive thing from a public policy perspective.
But, he emphasized, the price tag would far surpass anything anyone anticipates. It
always does, he said. And you have to remember that if we re-open the tunnel
today, it will have to be wheelchair accessible. That means elevators would have to
be installed in both entrances. Were talking millions of dollars.
He said it would be helpful to get NATGEO back into the picture to finish filming its
documentary on Diamond and the tunnel, especially if NATGEO threw in some
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money for the new entrances. But either way, their high-powered name recognition
might be a big step towards getting the wheels in motion.
Thats going to be easier said than done. Diamond has hurled more than a few
salvos at NATGEO including claim jumping, meaning an attempt on their part to
take credit for his find.
In Diamonds $16 million suit against NATGEO he charged that, while he had rediscovered the tunnel and was responsible for calling attention to it through his wellattended tunnel tours, NATGEO was trying to free itself from him. Diamond further
accused NATGEO of playing a role in shuttering the tunnel in 2010, not anticipating
that it too would be shut out and lose access to its set.
But Diamond has had a change of heart. The central culprit is deceased and many
new players who had nothing to do with the original project are on board. But as
noted, he and NATGEO are at a legal impasse. And even if NATGEO wants to start
the cameras rolling Diamond knows theres no guarantee that the city will support
them.
In the meantimeand following our two previous Diamond storiesthree other
documentary makers have expressed interest in doing a film on Diamond and the
tunnel, but their clout with the city is arguably negligible.
Tilting at Windmills Redux
Diamond has a history of conflict with the city. But even without it, competition for
municipal support is keen and initiating cultural projects, especially those that utilize
public spaces, is growing increasingly complex. The field is overflowing with highpowered players who see the social, environmental, aesthetic and economic
potential in transforming unused public spaces (often abandoned bridges, tunnels,
and former train tracks) into galleries, parks, and walkways.
Think High Line on NYCs far West Side and, most recently, the highly publicized
and heavily underwritten Lowline, a plan to convert the former Williamsburg Bridge
Trolley Terminal (below Delancey and adjacent to the JMZ subway track at Essex)
to an elaborate park and garden that will utilize solar energy .

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The two Lowline founders have recently raised more than $150,000 on the crowdfunding website, Kickstarter and their political base includes Senators Kristen
Gillenbrand and Charles Schumer; Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and
Congresswoman Carolyn Mahoney, among many business leaders and celebrities.
Boasting major contacts and social media savvy is the name of the game. Diamond
says the Facebook-Instagram-Twitter scene is not and he has virtually no access to
heavy-hitters, though at one time that wasnt the case.
Diamond admits frankly he was perfectly happy with the unencumbered tunnel tours
the way they were, but now feels the need to come up with a more Disneyfied
versionnot simply for money and publicity, butbefore somebody else does and
the rug is totally pulled out from under him. One virtue of the lawsuits is that as long
as theyre pending, that cant happen.
Diamond faces other battles, not least his brand as a struggling 56-year-old outlier
whos been at it a long time still tilting at windmills and hasnt yet scored, which
almost becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Tony Giordano, who heads the Sunset Park Business Improvement District, and
has known Diamond for more than 25 years, says Diamonds time may have
passed, yet believes he is a true artist likening him to a corralled, wild horse who
cannot survive in captivity. Diamond is stultified by those who simply do not
understand him or give him creative space. Says Giordano:

Bob is a flawed and obsessed human being whos eaten himself alive. Hes
always on the outside looking in and hes alone. His friends are drawn to
him because of his passion. But they cant break through or know his pain.
Hes been at the poker table too long and no longer has any chips.

Still, hes hopeful that Diamonds plan for a tunnel museum materializes. It would be
a great victory for Diamond and resonate with all those whove stayed the course
without much encouragement from the outside world. He has become a symbol for
perseverance, despite his personal foibles and bizarre narrative.
But, more to the pointat least from a more pragmatic perspectiveGiordano would
love to see the tunnel museum because that area of Brooklyn could use a museum,

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he says. He also favors its role as an advocate for public transportation and
innovative ways to create it, noting:

I think his odds with the museum are better than 50-50. But he needs to
develop a phased approach that can begin with the most limited of funding
and then build upon that in stages.

Giordano warns that hes up against a systemic bureaucracy that will always say
maybe rather than yes or no, for fear of making a mistake.
Diamond is not the only Don Quixote out
there, though its an increasingly rare
type in this lean, youthful, cyber-hip
culture. Many cited Bill Sepe as a Bob
Diamond counterpart: a physically large
man with an all encompassing vision
who spearheaded a community effort
that ultimately paved the way for the
much enjoyed Walkway Over the
Hudson in Poughkeepsie. Prior to Sepes
arrival on the scene it was an abandoned
Bill Sepe (Times Record)

railway bridge that had been ravaged by

fire in 1974. It re-opened to the public in

th

2009 on the 400 anniversary of Henry Hudsons discovery of the river.

Literally living in its shadow beneath the bridge and haunted by the image of what it
could be, Sepe (who made his living as a handyman) and a band of local
supporters, seized the property in 1992 and began its transformation despite
resistance from the city who did not appreciate his uncompromising tactics.
Among other issues Sepe didnt believe the Walkway should be underwritten by
public funding. Sepe felt once government got into the mix the revitalized bridge
would no longer serve an aesthetic and environmental role. Instead it would be
promoted as an economic boost for the community, resulting in projects that would
erode the bridges eco-friendly aesthetic. He walked before that happened.
And in the end Bill did not get creditdidnt want itfor his contribution to the
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Walkways creation, said Jack Economou, former mayor of Poughkeepsie and

Sepes attorney.
The Kindness of Nobody
Unlike Sepe, Diamond believes in public-private partnerships and has no intention
of jumping ship. Indeed, every time he receives an unexpected call from a
prominent businessman or local leader, interested in tapping his expertise, he feels
encouraged.
Still, he tries to take these calls and meetings in his stride. There have been far too
many disappointments over the years and, to make matters worse, because he has
difficulty walking and cannot negotiate public transportation, trips to various sites
require a costly car service ride from Brooklyn.
Lack of money is a major issue. Unemployed and living on disability, Diamond has
depended on the kindness of acquaintances who have doled out small stipends to
him on a fairly regular basis. But that largess has abruptly stopped.
They thought they were investing in an undiscovered artist and now that so much
time has passed and nothing has happened, they no longer see me as that artist
and Im not worth the investment anymore, Diamond says.
Diamond spends most of his time in his tightly packed Kensington apartment with
his girlfriend Sharon, a low-keyed, affable woman whose paintings of floral
arrangements and landscapes cover the walls. His late mothers 12-year-old poodle
Silver is Diamonds four-footed fuzzy companion.
Hes my familiar, my actual, Diamond says.
Diamond is busy revising his tunnel plans for the city, but usually hes just plain
bored with little to do besides his weekly lunches with Castillo and his visits to a
psychotherapist and physical therapist who treats his crippling back and leg sciatica
by administering a series of escalating electric shocks to the affected areas.
Zz-z-z-z-z! Diamond bellows, extending a quivering leg as if in the throes of a
convulsive episode.

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He also complains of pain in a phantom tooth, or toof as he calls it. And I hardly
have any teeth, he says. Silver is also toothless, though Diamonds ex-attorney
wryly insists the toothless dog bit him.
Diamond is now dealing with a cleanup crew battling an infestation of bed bugs in
his apartment. He is also threatening to sue the landlord over a lease renewal that
has not arrived in a timely manner.
Diamond admits hes running on empty and perhaps made some wrong choices in
life.
My one regret is that I never ran for public office, he says. Id like to have been
another William Gaynor or Seth Low.

Tags:

Atlantic Avenue Tunnel

Fire Department of New York

Robert Diamond

Brooklyn Historic Railroad Association

Gregory Bullfighter Castillo

Stephen Levin

Department of Transportation

Hubert Robert

National Geographic Society

Tony Giordano

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.

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