Atlantic Yards and the Culture of Cheating (link)

I offer a framework to analyze and evaluate Atlantic Yards and the Barclays Center.

Arena seeks 50 people for positions with overnight conversion crew team

An announcement via Brooklyn Community Board 2:

(Note that the job registration information/form is here.)

Notes from inaugural Barclays boxing event: perspective may depend on proximity; early liquor cut-off; crowd rowdier than hoops but mostly in control

8 pm, visible empty seats

Beyond the press coverage of the inaugural boxing event Saturday, Oct. 20, I talked to a couple of people who had good seats and said it was enjoyable to watch, and point people to boxing blogger Karl Greenberg, who had cheap seats, said it was hard to see without binoculars, and was peeved at the concession prices.

But the biggest piece of news: they cut off liquor sales at 9:30 pm, some three hours before the epic, nine-bout card ended (and two hours before they could have kept serving), but more than 4.5 hours after they started letting people into the building for the undercard, which started at 8 pm.

That indicates a certain amount of understandable caution regarding the potential for a crowd to get liquored up during an event that lasted, roughly, three times as long as a typical basketball game.

Around midnight, somewhat more full

It also indicated a recognition that some people in the crowd, as one observer suggested, were getting started on the booze (discreetly) while waiting outside on the arena plaza.

Given the sport--and, perhaps, the 1,000-plus free tickets--the crowd was somewhat rowdier than at a basketball game. One observer reported that people were periodically screaming things like "knock the fucker out" and "that guy's a pussy."

But only one attendee--at least among those in view of my sources--was ejected for rowdiness and the crowd was generally in control.

The announced attendance was a little over 11,000, a little more than the estimate of 10,700, but achieved only with the freebies, which is likely why boxing won't be monthly, as initially announced, but return in three months. The arena can seat up to 19,000, depending on configuration.

The Nets connection

NetsDaily reported (and has since updated the passage):

There were nine fights at Barclays Center Saturday night, and each fighter, along with his corner men, received a bag of Brooklyn Nets gear, caps and water bottles and t-shirts. It's part of Brett Yormark's cross-promotion, to associate others with the team and the team with the others. It started, of course, with Jay-Z end now will be a regular part of every big event at the arena.

Brooklyn Nets ticket prices nearly triple on secondary market compared to Newark

A press release from Ticket Liquidator, The BK Effect: Brooklyn Nets Ticket Prices Almost Triple on Secondary Market Compared to Last Season:

The Brooklyn Nets move across the Hudson River from New Jersey has created a 189 percent spike in average ticket prices so far this year on Ticket Liquidator, a leading secondary ticket marketplace. New Jersey Nets tickets sold on Ticket Liquidator last season averaged $50.58; this season Brooklyn Nets ticket prices have averaged $146.17.
The Brooklyn Nets skyrocketed to the fifth-highest average ticket price this season, behind only the Los Angeles Lakers at $250.27; the Los Angeles Clippers at $223.52; the New York Knicks at $183.63; and the Miami Heat at $182.39. Besides the Nets move from New Jersey’s Prudential Center to Brooklyn’s new $1 billion Barclays Center, other factors have also influenced the spike in ticket prices.
Brooklyn Net’s minority owner, hip-hop mogul Sean [sic] “Jay-Z” Carter, has been an active face of the re-branded Nets... Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov has also demonstrated a willingness to spend money in pursuit of top free agents...
Still, the disparity in ticket prices from season-to-season is currently unrivaled in the NBA, as other teams have seen only small changes with the addition of high profile free agents. ...Of course, the rise in the average price of Brooklyn Nets this season will only be sustained if the team is racking up wins on their new herringbone-patterned home-court. 

So the move of the team to a new market and the newness of the arena--both far different from Newark--are likely the biggest factors. Note that prices have been bid up for certain games, notably as the opening one against the New York Knicks, that have a cachet that come from being first.

SNL's "Weekend Update" finds fodder in Barclays Center pee story (and how about some porta-potties?)

Few can resist a good "pee story," and reports of public urination--limited to specific blocks near the Barclays Center--became, according to one news report, "Barclays Patrons Urinate All Over Park Slope." The story then snowballed.

In fact, Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" last night found humor in the issue, just after the 34-minute mark.

Anchor Seth Meyers declared, "Residents of Brooklyn who live near the new Barclays Center are complaining that a large number of people urinating on the streets and behind buildings after Brooklyn Nets games--and also for the last 200 years."

Hee-hee, those complaining Brooklynites. The thing is, the state overrode zoning to place an arena closer to residences than city law permits. So the margin for error--even when the number of arena patrons urinating is far smaller than some news reports suggest--is small.

Perhaps a few porta-potties--a rather paltry investment, overall--could offer relief to Barclays Center patrons, protect neighbors bearing the brunt of arena impacts, and stem the bad press.

Barclays Center inaugural boxing round-up: a triumph (except for the failed drug test, papered house, and delayed return card)

While nearly all coverage of the inaugural night of boxing last night at the Barclays Center was laudatory, SI.com's Brian Armen Graham was a skeptic, and the facts that the arena papered the house and boxing won't return monthly--which went unmentioned in most the coverage I scanned--were factors.

Graham wrote, Boxing's return to Brooklyn: one-sided fights and bad promoter deal

The built-in hook for Saturday's fight card at the Barclays Center -- where Danny Garcia nearly decapitated a faded Erik Morales in the main event to defend his junior welterweight titles -- was the return of championship boxing to Brooklyn for the first time since before La Guardia was mayor.

...Brooklyn may be fertile ground for the sweet science, but events like this one won't be enough for the seed to find purchase.

The reason: one-sided bouts:

Four one-sided fights feels more like fulfilling business relationships and obligations than producing an authentic sports experience for fans.

Looking back, maybe the plan to reestablish boxing in Brooklyn was flawed from inception. The Barclays Center signed an three-year agreement with Golden Boy, cash up front being no small matter for a $1 billion building that admirably went up without public subsidies. But the short-sightedness of inking an exclusive deal with a promoter was laid bare in February, when the building missed the opportunity to host a Wladimir Klitschko fight because the heavyweight champ's promotional team understandably balked at sharing revenue with a co-promoter they didn't need.

Golden Boy made another dubious move on Wednesday, when it offered free tickets to the first 1,000 fans who could prove Brooklyn residency -- an effective one-finger salute to the diehards who bought tickets early. When you paper a house, you risk killing a market. Needless to say, the gambit played no small part in boosting the announced attendance of 11,112 -- if not the live gate of just under $800,000.

(Emphasis added)

The building didn't go up without public subsidies, as I commented, citing direct subsidies, tax breaks, eminent domain, etc. And the state gave away naming rights. Also, the free tickets were courtesy of the fledging Brett Yormark Foundation.

The press cheers

New York Times, Brooklyn Welcomes Back Title Fights:

Championship boxing returned to Brooklyn on Saturday night for the first time in 81 years. The borough deserted by baseball’s Dodgers in the 1950s and now embraced by the N.B.A.’s Nets, held four title bouts at the newly built Barclays Center.

Before the arena opened for the nine-card bout, hundreds of eager fans spilled out of the Atlantic Avenue subway station to line up in front of its doors, behind which a few Brooklyn brawlers were hoping to make history of their own.

“The last good fight I saw in Brooklyn was on the No. 2 train last week,” said Monica Johnson, a 24-year-old grocery clerk from Flatbush. “If any of these fights tonight are as good as that one, it’s going to get real crazy in here.”

...“It’s a thrill for me to have been a part of all of this great history of Brooklyn boxing,” [Danny] Jacobs said after the fight with nary a scratch. “I’m ready to do it again next week.”

Boxing.com, Barclays Winners Squared Circle:

The inaugural fight card at Brooklyn’s spanking new Barclays Center was a smashing success. The four fights broadcast on Showtime did not, however, come off without a hitch. There were two failed drugs tests, an inability to make weight, and there were no upsets. But three of the four fights were entertaining, and two of the four were even competitive.

The main evening of the evening featured super lightweight champion Danny Garcia (25-0, 16 KOs) defending his WBC/WBA titles in a rematch with Erik Morales (52-9, 36 KOs). Morales had failed two pre-fight drug tests yet he was given a green light [link] to fight. The reasons for this are as inexplicable as they are inconclusive.

ESPN, Brooklyn wins big at Barclays:

The Barclays Center has provided a new home and a new name for what are now the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA -- although early preseason results suggest it has done nothing to magically improve that team's results. The arena's first experiment in bringing big-time boxing back to the borough, however, saw the home team sweep the wins, sometimes in style.

OK, Paulie Malignaggi might have benefitted slightly from hometown cooking in eking out a split-decision win against Pablo Cesar Cano. But, close and hard-fought though it was, it was clear how much the win -- and the experience -- meant to the "Magic Man."


...this is New York, so everything was bigger: the beautiful new venue, the crowd that didn't quite fill it in numbers but filled it with noise, and the number of local fighters who represented their city and their borough.

The New York Daily News, Brooklyn-native Mike Tyson on hand at Barclays Center to see Danny Garcia KO Erik Morales in fourth round:

“This is a milestone for Brooklyn,’’ said Tyson, who grew up in Brownsville and drew one of the biggest cheers of the night. “It’s good to see the people here. They have jobs. They’re happy. This is just the beginning. I believe after this first night we’re going to see marvelous things here.’’

The first title match of the evening, featuring Randall Bailey defending his IBF welterweight title against Devon Alexander, was so boring that the fans booed throughout. It was the first world championship fight in Brooklyn in 81 years and never have so many waited so long for so little.

USA TODAY:

Even the pro-Brooklyn crowd booed at the decision [for local Paulie Malignaggi].

On Grantland: the Nets "take over" Brooklyn; the Jay-Z concert; the "Brook Lopez problem"

Grantland writer Rembert Browne, apparently bowled over by that New York Times spread/slideshow in August on Nets merchandising, writes Brooklyn Zoo: How the Nets took over BK in six easy steps, published yesterday:

But as time passed and the Atlantic Yards project went from a developer's dream/resident's nightmare to a giant hole in the ground to a half-completed structure that would never be finished to a copper-colored Independence Day alien craft to the nicest arena I've ever stepped foot in, the response to a new franchise in Brooklyn and the Barclays Center (It's just so shiny and clean and they have sushi) has been giddy with excitement and pride.

Oh, thanks for clearing that up.

Focusing on Brooklyn

Browne rightly point out that the Nets and the Barclays Center have focused on Brooklyn. But he buys the Nets' promotional story just a little too easily.

The argument:

1. Brooklyn First, Nets Second (e.g., Modell's is devoted to Brooklyn gear)
2. A Reflection of Brooklyn's History (redemption from the Dodgers, the rising underdog)
3. A Reflection of the People of Brooklyn (advertising players like ordinary guys: "father of four," "Batman's biggest fan," etc.)
4. Celebrations: Brooklyn-Style (Marty Markowitz's promotional rally at Borough Hall was earthier contrast to the Miami Heat's celebration at the team's arena)
5. Jay-Z: Partial Owner, Caretaker of the Logo ("They needed a homegrown cosign... there is no public, living human who represents Brooklyn as thoroughly as Jay.")
6. The End and the Beginning ("In two weeks, we'll have some answers. Until then, Brooklyn has been convinced to go hard for these Nets. Let's just hope, for the emotional stability of the borough, that the players follow suit.")

A Modell's spread does not a borough make; the Dodgers trope is tired; the Borough Hall party was a dubious use of public resources; and telling us Gerald Wallace is an "offseason fisherman" goes only so far.

The issue of trust

Browne writes:

During his show, Jay said that it was his dream to "give Brooklyn its own franchise." He's not quite the "Black Branch Rickey," as he once described himself, but he's done his part. It's no shocker that the men whose power more closely resembles Rickey — owner Mikhail Prokhorov, developer Bruce Ratner — have been relatively quiet in the past few months, handing off the reins to Jay-Z or Markowitz. The latter are men who are inextricable from Brooklyn. Logically or illogically, people trust them. Yes, they care about the Nets franchise, but their care for Brooklyn supersedes all.

"Relatively quiet" because that's part of the strategy. Marty Markowitz's care for Brooklyn doesn't supersede all. Marty Markowitz's shtick for Brooklyn supersedes all. (Can anyone say EB-5?)

Jay-Z's effective at claiming love for Brooklyn, but he's still a hustler.

On the Jay-Z concert

Grantland's Hua Hsu wrote 10/1/12, The Colossus of New York: Jay-Z ushers in a new Brooklyn era at the Barclays Center:

There's no real precedent for a rapper playing these various stages and somehow maintaining a vague power within the corporate world as well. Everyone knows that the minuscule stake he holds in the Nets hardly makes him an "owner," and a cynic might point out that his image has been leveraged to make someone else money. But there was nonetheless something special about the Barclays concerts. How often does a rapper open an arena with eight largely guest-free, sold-out shows? Forget the lyrics; when was the last time a man who lookedlike Jay-Z was worth leveraging in that way?

No, a cynic wouldn't point out that his image has been leveraged. Rather, a clear-eyed look suggests that both Jay-Z and his partners are profiting.

The 'astonishing tale"

Hsu writes:

That's why Friday night still moves me, even if I found myself daydreaming through long stretches of it. There were reasons to be cynical — for starters, the screens inside the arena welcoming fans to "the house that Bruce [Ratner, the arena's controversial developer] built" seemed a tad self-serving and a reminder of the opaque deal-making necessary to get the arena built. It was a reminder that we were all there to celebrate different things. But in Jay's moments of nostalgic semi-rambling, there seemed to be an earnest awe at the narrative of his life — a narrative that far surpassed whatever he was once capable of dreaming. However you feel about the particulars of his career and whatever choices he had to make to arrive here, it is an astonishing tale... There's Jay's immediate legacy, from the music to the industry to his participation with the Nets. And there's that nebulous, symbolic effect we won't understand for a lifetime. The kid who doesn't bother parsing the distinction between "part-owner" and "owner" and believes it is all possible. The one who listens to "99 Problems" and grows curious about the law. The one who wonders what happened to Ratner's plans for local housing and applies his or her "genius-level talent" to holding him accountable.

Except that was Jay-Z's responsibility or, rather, it was Jay-Z's role to distract the public and the press from that accountability.

Hsu might have been less moved if he recognized the deviousness in Jay-Z's incorrect claim that the arena site was where the new Ebbets Field was to be or the faux complaint about "diminishing your accomplishments," given that the rapper's tiny stake in the Nets/arena has actually been leveraged into huge publicity.

On the Nets

Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote 10/16/12, Brooklyn's Brook Lopez Problem: The Nets' big man is the biggest reason New York's new team isn't a real contender:

[Center Brook] Lopez's issues are more boring. That's the thing about the Nets. They're a sexy team because of Brooklyn and Jay-Z and those black uniforms, but their problems are totally unsexy. They will determine their own ceiling based on how well they do all kinds of little things that happen dozens (hundreds?) of times in every NBA game...

They should develop into a very good offensive team, with enough post-up threats, passers, and shooters among their rotation guys to attack in a variety of ways. They can go small, with Wallace at power forward. But if they can't build an above-average defense, they'll never win a championship with this core. That project has just begun, and it will require constant vigilance and tweaking from everyone involved. The uniforms, arena, 40/40 Club, and Calvin Klein VIP entrances are all very nice, but the Brooklyn Nets are a basketball team now, with the same challenges every other basketball team faces.

Lopez, actually, had a good offensive game last night, as the Nets lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, due to, yes, lousy defense. Note an open practice tomorrow.

The announced attendance last night in Brooklyn was 13,270, solid for pre-season but less than the first two home games and, arguably, still less than might be expected for a brand new team. But the Nets should sell out--or come close--for a good number of regular-season games.

Boxing tonight at Barclays; will it remain monthly as planned? It doesn't look like that (though they could just lower ticket prices)

From the New York Post's George Willis today, Fightin’ to keep card intact at Barclays:

“How many times have you seen four world titles fight in one night and it’s not on pay-per-view?” [Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard] Schaefer said. “Having Danny Garcia make his return is the icing on the cake. It’s a very diverse card, just like Brooklyn and New York,” Schaefer said. “There’s a little bit for everyone.”
This is the first boxing card in a three-year deal Golden Boy Promotions signed with the Barclays to serve as the exclusive promoter for boxing. The initial plan was to have one boxing show a month at the facility. But Schaefer doesn’t want to sacrifice quality for quantity. Officials from Barclays and Golden Boy will meet this week to discuss more definitive plans and whether the next card will be either December of January.
“I want to make sure the market will carry that many shows,” Schaefer said. “I don’t want to over play the market either.”

It looks like they're already skipping November, and aiming for a two-month or three-month gap.

The initial plan, indeed, was to have boxing monthly, as indicated in the arena press release excerpted at right.

However, tickets have apparently sold so slowly that they decided to paper the house with more than 1,000 free tickets, nearly 10% of the expected attendance.

That said, I suspect they could fill more seats if they charged less than $56 minimum next time.

"The Association" & "Road to Brooklyn": everyone's excited about the Nets

The first episode of NBA TV's The Association, focusing on the move and establishment of the Brooklyn Nets, aired recently, and several excerpts are available online.

In the first excerpt, Brooklyn-born narrator Michael Kenneth Williams, the actor who played Omar on The Wire, delivers borough cred, declaring, "I don't say I'm from New York, I say I'm from Brooklyn.... There's a spirit, when you come from Brooklyn." (Like at the Flea?)

"I'm proud that we got a sports team again," he states, continuing that conflation of local residents with team owners. "Man, this thing's gonna bring so much pride to our borough."

In the second excerpt, team GM Billy King is shown working "to build a team worthy of the new arena" (and to deliver butts in the seat).

We see him working through the pursuit of superstar Dwight Howard and the successful recruitment of star guard Joe Johnson, the news of which was loyally delivered to team mainstay Deron Williams first, to keep in him Brooklyn. (Unmentioned: whether Johnson's overpaid.)

In the third excerpt, Coach Avery Johnson declares his excitement about the relocation and rebranding.

Introducing Johnson to Brooklyn

In the fourth excerpt, people on the street offer their interpretations of "Brooklyn," including "heart, determination, it's tough, fire."

Narrator Williams describes how the Arkansas-raised Johnson is introduced to Brooklyn by ur-Brooklynite Rosie Perez. (Unmentioned: Perez's longtime support for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn.)

"To me, the beauty of the neighborhood is not the tree-lined blocks, or the brownstones," Perez declares, "it's the beautiful people, it's the warm people, it's the real people." So she takes him to--where?--DeKalb Avenue in Clinton Hill, it looks like, then Gleason's gym.

"I just love how people are so real with him," Perez declares.

"He goes," relates Perez, imitates Johnson's molasses Arkansas accent, "You just say whatever comes to your mind and I go, Welcome to Brooklyn, get used to i." She dissolves in a cackle.

A debate on NetsDaily

Some fans, especially long-termers, are a little dismayed by the Brooklyn push. One wrote:

I don’t like the Brooklyn thing being pushed on me and I hope it becomes more basketball oriented.
I prefer to still think of them as the Nets. Even when they played in NJ, they were just The Nets to me. Brooklyn means nothing to me. My family is from the Bronx. All this Brooklyn hype was good marketing, but at some point it needs to expand because they are alienating everyone else.,. It peevs me that our home jerseys don’t say Nets. I have no reason to rep Brooklyn by wearing a shirt or jersey that says nothing other than Brooklyn.

Road To Brooklyn: Ball So Hard

The second episode of the web series on Jay-Z's YouTube channel--the first, remember, told us that "it's a win-win"-- tells us that streetballers from Rucker Park in Harlem to the Dean Playground in Prospect Heights are, unsurprisingly, excited about a pro team in their borough.



"It means a lot to Brooklyn," pronounces street baller Shaquille Stokes. "The community might come together, and be all as one"--instead of being Knicks fans.

Street ballers--including "White Chocolate," who sounds like the street-iest white guy you'd ever meet--also are uniformly supportive of Avery Johnson as coach.

"What do the streets think of Mikhail Prokhorov as the Nets' new owner?" "I mean, money talks, and he's ready to invest, and that's always a positive: invest in Brooklyn," says one. (Didn't Cornel West call him a "gangster"?)

Would you believe that a lot of street ballers would like to play for the Nets? And that it's going "to shine a light," bring hope to Brooklyn, and inspire parents?

Barclays Center round-up: boxing card hype (and failed drug test/free tickets); the area "urinal" ( & bigger issues); NY mag's myopic critic; and that "satarical" Atlantic Yards novel

Well, the Barclays Center news of the day focuses on promotion for the first boxing card at the arena, tomorrow, Oct. 20. (Oh, the Nets lost for the first time in four games, soundly. The announced attendance, though not necessarily gate count, was 14,192, slightly less than at the first home game.)

Columnist Tim Smith of the Daily News--sponsor of the arena plaza--cheerleads today, in Danny Jacobs return from cancer just one of the many impressive stories to continue at inaugural boxing showcase at Barclays Center:

From top to bottom it is a boxing card that speaks to the core of what Brooklyn is all about - everyone thrown into a melting pot and looking for a chance to succeed.
Even the inspirational comeback of Danny Jacobs, who was paralyzed by cancer that attacked his back in 2011, is pure Brooklyn. When he was introduced to speak at the press conference, Jacobs received a standing ovation.
“Danny Jacobs speaks to the boldness, the grittiness and the determination of Brooklyn,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of the Barclays Center. “What he’s done deserves a big hand.”

Also speaking to Brooklyn--and the "culture of cheating" around Atlantic Yards--is the fact that junior welterweight challenger Erik Morales failed a drug test, but the fight will go on, according to ESPN.

Brooklyn in the house

Brooklyn, however, is not paying $56 and change to fill the arena. Yormark had to give out 1,000 free tickets to the boxing match to make it look halfway full, and arena operators are still trying.

Last night at the second monthly community sweepstakes for ticket distribution, organized by the Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance, Janella Meeks, Deputy Director, Government & Public Affairs for Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, gave out more than 40 more free tickets to the boxing event. I suspect more of that is going on.

Park Slope a urinal?

Everybody likes to write about pee.

An article based on the Oct. 16 community meeting on arena impacts, Barclays Center Patrons Urinate All Over Park Slope, Locals Say provoked re-blogging in Curbed, Barclays Center Turns Park Slope Into a Huge Urinal and The Atlantic Cities, Brooklyn's Barclays Center Sponsors 2012 Urinebowl, and The Real Deal, Around Barclays Center, neighbors complain of public urination.

Yes, there's a pee problem on Pacific Street between Flatbush and Third Avenue, and on a few blocks in Fort Greene and Prospect Heights. But that's not "all over Park Slope." Nor are residents finding "something to complain about," as one summary put it, they're reacting understandably to disruptions in their lives.

But the issue goes well beyond urine jokes. As Michael D. D. White pointed out in his Noticing New York blog, most of the untoward impacts--limos idling, trucks on residential streets, flashing ads all night--relate to the zoning override that allows the arena to be located less than 200 feet from a residential area.

So, no matter how many major problems have been avoided, there's little margin for error, which is why the state and developer need to be held accountable.

More from Noticing New York

Also, in White's 10/16/12 post, “Barclays”? Atlantic Yards?: On Lopate, NY Mag Architectural Critic Justin Davidson Disses Brooklyn Neighborhoods With Manhattancentric Illiteracy, he slammed Davidson's statement, "I would say that there was no character right on that site, and that’s a good place to have a really bold muscular building that does intrude, that does change things." Actually, there there were newly renovated residential buildings on the arena block.

As for the overall site plan, which Davidson said was "based on that a lot of the . . uhm . . public monies and the incentives were put into place"--not really--White countered:

Every time Ratner comes back to government officials looking to change his deal he gets more subsidy and diminished obligations to the public.
As for a binding “site plan,” consider what Davidson describes in his article about the Hudson Yards mega-project that’s on the drawing boards:

Architects discuss access points, sidewalk widths, ceiling heights, flower beds, and the qualities of crushed-stone pathways. You could almost forget that none of this exists yet—until one architect points to a lozenge-shaped skyscraper and casually, with a twist of his wrist, remarks that he's thinking of swiveling it 90 degrees.

It’s not any different with Atlantic Yards at this point either.
You must read Davidson’s recent article on Hudson Yards as a check against his stunningly casual acceptance of the Atlantic Yards situation. In that article Davidson conveys many misgivings with respect to the sole ownership of Hudson Yards by the Related Companies, misgivings that should also apply to the plan for the larger Ratner Atlantic Yards mega-monopoly in spades with many more misgivings added on top. But he doesn’t make the connections. . Woe is us. Woe to Brooklyn. (See: Friday, October 12, 2012, Justin Davidson’s New York Magazine Review Of Hudson Yards Echos Concerns Raised By NNY, But Does So Without Mentioning Obvious Atlantic Yards Parallels.)

A novel from the notorious Courier-Life scribe

From Metro (home of the Barclays Center "tidbits"), A satarical [sic] take on Atlantic Yards

No matter which side of the Atlantic Yards debate you’re on, Steve Witt’s new satire of the controversy is worth a read. Longtime Brooklyn journalist Witt covered the Atlantic Yards saga from its beginning, and it’s now the subject of his latest book, “The Street Singer.”

Q: What do you say to criticism that the Barclays Center took people’s homes away, via eminent domain, and that developer Ratner has yet to deliver on the jobs and affordable housing he promised?
As a journalist, I seldom bought into the eminent domain argument concerning Atlantic Yards. The gentrified few nearly killed the project with their endless court battles with eminent domain being among their trump cards. But they themselves displaced poor people to get property around Atlantic Yards. As for the affordable housing and jobs, Ratner’s style is to build and not flip real estate, so I think it will get done.

My comment:

Mr. Witt styles himself as a tribune of the people. What has always escaped him is the "culture of cheating" surrounding Atlantic Yards. See the "Atlantic Yards and the Culture of Cheating" post on my Atlantic Yards Report blog for more.

Mr. Witt's near-final comment reminds me of an article he wrote quoting people as saying those living in converted industrial buildings were "the real land-grabbers," since they had taken jobs from the community. Those buildings had been closed for years.

In Village Voice, Barclays Center named "Best Sports Venue." Why? "For the fact it actually exists"

The Barclays Center, which has gotten some occasional tough coverage in the Village Voice--see interviews last month with the co-directors of Battle for Brooklyn--gets multiple valentines this week from the once-alternative newspaper, which perhaps coincidentally features regular advertising from the venue.

Best Sports Venue, 2012: Barclays Center:

Nothing is as significant in the field of New York sports construction in the past few years as the introduction of the Barclays Center to Brooklyn's downtown scene this fall. The venue--from a conglomerate of a British bank, Jay-Z, and a host of other bankrollers--is the equivalent of Madison Square Garden in the outer borough. (Its construction created much controversy in its neighborhood.) It will host the Brooklyn Nets' first season this year, along with the first American appearance of the European techno festival phenomenon known as Sensation White. Because it is a newborn arena, this Best Of is not being given so much for the features of the stadium's inside but more so for the fact that it actually exists. Brooklyn has a sports stadium now. Get ready. 620 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, 917-618-6100, barclayscenter.com (11217)

The controversy was not limited to the construction itself, or the even the idea of construction. The operation continues to cause controversy. The whole enterprise comes with a taint, the "culture of cheating."

And "Brooklyn has a sports stadium" (arena, actually) is not quite the same as "Bruce Ratner and Mikhail Prokhorov have."

Best Basketball Team, 2012: Brooklyn Nets:

The Knicks will let you down. You know this, and still you drag your sorry ass to three games a season, every season, so that you can scream and curse and cry and then say you were at the game when the Knicks clinched eighth seed in the playoffs. That's no way to live. Now, though, you have options. Now you have the Brooklyn Nets, the New Jersey expats owned by the billionaire Russian. (Jay-Z has less than a 1 percent share, though you'd never know it.) And let's face it: They're probably better than the Knicks. They're looking at the fifth seed. And even if they're not better than the Knicks, if you buy a premium ticket to the new Barclays Center, you can drink until an hour after the game. If you can splurge for a box seat (you probably can't), you can drink until 2 a.m. 620 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, 212-359-6387, ticketmaster.com (11217)

Village Voice illustration/Kagan McLeod

Actually, you can't drink until 2 am. The cutoff is 1 am.

The lead-in essay to the section

Excerpts from Allen Barra's essay:

To be a New York sports fan means, by definition, to be forever burdened with the agony of choice. No other city has anything like the New York area's menu of spectator sports. Two Major League Baseball teams (as well as great minor-league ball in Brooklyn, Staten Island, and nearbyNew Jersey). Two NFL teams. Two NBA teams (a lot of round ball fans who can't get Knicks tickets have happily switched their allegiance to the Nets). ...
As an added bonus: On October 20, we have one of the three or four best professional boxing matches of the year: champion Danny Garcia defending his title against Erik Morales at the Barclays Center, the first professional championship fight in Brooklyn in decades. For nothing else would I miss a game that might put the Yankees in the World Series.

Note that highly anticipated match will likely not be a title match, since Morales tested positive for a banned substance.

Barclays Center back to using metal detectors, at least for those seeking free tickets for boxing match

Well, the "foreseeable future" for the Barclays Center doesn't look like a long time.

Some five days after arena operators told the New York Post they had swapped metal detectors for handheld wanding "for the foreseeable future," those waiting on line to get into the ticket office this morning (for free tickets to boxing Oct. 20) had to go through those metal detectors.

Maybe there's a distinction, in their mind, between entering for events and entering the ticket office, and maybe the crowd was small enough for the tactic not to cause delays, but it still seems inconsistent. Are they particularly nervous about the people on line for the freebies?

A visitor told me that, when Barclays Center staff were asked about the use of metal detectors, they said they couldn't talk about it.

Update Oct. 19: detectors "being transitioned out"

The New York Post followed up, in Barclays forces fans to walk through metal detectors to pick up tickets:

James Valdez, 41, of Greenpoint, called the decision a “joke,” adding, “It’s bad enough what happened with Jay-Z, but I never heard of having to go through a metal detector just to get tickets.”
The Atlantic Yards Report blog posted a photo of the detector being used as the patrons lined up for the freebies.
Hours later, after all the free tickets were taken, a Post reporter watched the same detector being used on customers heading to the box office to order or pick up tickets to other events.
...Joe DePlasco, an arena spokesman, said the two detectors “are being transitioned out by the end of the week.” He said both had remained in place after the arena's many other detectors were removed Oct. 11.
Last night, the remaining two were finally removed in time for a Nets’ exhibition game.

Looks like the end of the week came quickly.

By the way, credit to the "Atlantic Yards Report blog" is a step up from the previous credit from the Post, "Twitter commenter Norman Oder."

Forest City's drip-drip housing plan; yes, they're going modular, but no big announcement yet, as financing apparently awaits (and what about the job count?)

Forest City Ratner has been somewhat coy about whether the first Atlantic Yards tower would be built via modular technology, a technological pathbreaker and business risk, given that, at 32 stories, it would be the tallest modular building in the world.

There's been no official announcement and, after the Architects' Newspaper reported that architects SHoP confirmed modular, they backed off. But multiple sources have told me that modular indeed is the plan for the building--groundbreaking Dec. 18--and a recent article also confirmed that.

That implies they have union assent--a big deal, given that unions demonstrated loudly for the project, but now would get far fewer high-wage jobs onsite, though there would be lower-wage jobs in the factory.

Why the delay? I can guess multiple reasons:

• they're waiting for financing, as acknowledged
• they may be waiting for an innovation grant or subsidy
• they may be waiting for union sign-off on how to frame the announcement
• they don't want to call attention to the decline in promised high-wage union jobs

From the Post

The Real Deal, 10/16/12, quoting the New York Post (not online), Atlantic Yards to set modular record:

Forest City Ratner is slated to set a record in modular construction, the New York Post reported. Not only will the company develop 15 buildings at Atlantic Yards using modular construction, but according to MaryAnne Gilmartin, the company’s executive vice president of commercial and residential development, the construction of B2, a 34-story pre-fab building, will shatter the current record of 24 stories.
...Gilmartin told the Post that Forest City Ratner has had a “breakthrough” in its modular development plans, saying that it has to do with how each module is “tied” to each other. “We have new intellectual property in our technique, and it is able to go high and maintain its light weight,” she told the Post.

A financing hitch? 

The article notes a potential hitch:

But a challenge of finding financing for B2 remains, though Gilmartin said she’s “confident” the company “will end up with a lender… that is… excited by the prospect.”

It's not surprising that lenders might be wary of untested technology, perhaps for safety reasons, but also because market-rate renters might be skittish about being guinea pigs for such new technology.

Also, after reports of crowds on Dean Street at Flatbush Avenue--the exact site of the building--after Barclays Center events, as well as the sensations of bass inside apartments a block away, market-rate renters might have other reasons to be skittish.

Savings on time and money--and fewer jobs

The Real Deal excerpt closes:

Due to the use of pre-fab construction, 60 percent of the work will be conducted in an off-site location, cutting six months from the general 18-month schedule and saving 20 percent of costs.

However, opponents say that the number of promised construction jobs at Atlantic Yards haven’t been brought.

It's false framing to blame "opponents" for doing the work of journalists who should be doing the math, pointing out that there would be fewer jobs, especially on site, and lower spending on workers.

As I wrote, Bruce Ratner claimed that modular construction would "probably" require the same number of workers.

But the numbers just don't compute. According to published reports, there would be 190 factory jobs, representing 60% of the total jobs for the first building. That suggests another 127 jobs onsite.

If 317 workers can build the 363-unit tower in a year, as proposed, that suggests .88 job-years per unit. (It's not clear each worker would work the full year.)

For the 6,430 total units planned, that would mean 5,658 job-years--or little more than one-third of Forest City's longstanding projection of 15,000 construction job-years.

All that math is rough, but it's a start.

Barclays Center today distributes 1,000 free tickets to boxing this Saturday; is that generosity, desperation, or both?

Maybe it's generosity. Maybe it's desperation. Maybe it's a little of both. But the Barclays Center, via the heretofore un-announced Brett Yormark Foundation, is distributing 1,000 free tickets, in groups of four, to Brooklynites today and (if available) tomorrow to the first-ever boxing lineup at the arena, Saturday, Oct. 20.

That number represents nearly 10% of the estimated 10,700 attendance.

Given that TV channel Showtime is apparently investing $4 million in purse money, according to ESPN's Dan Rafael, it seems that the arena is more concerned with making sure there's solid attendance for TV rather than reaping money from gate count. (After all, they do make money from concession sales.)

As indicated in the graphic at right, tickets start at $56, so 1,000 tickets would have a face value of at least $56,000. On the resale marketplace, tickets on StubHub start at $54, on TicketsNow at $52.

A push to move tickets

But there's clearly been a push to move tickets. On Thursday, Oct. 11, those on the arena's mailing list were sent an offer out for a 20% discount:

The Brett Yormark Foundation

There no record of the Brett Yormark Foundation, named for the Nets/arena CEO, on the web, in the New York State database of nonprofit corporations, or in the Guidestar database. It's apparently very new.

Why give out tickets via a foundation? I'm not sure, but I suspect there are some favorable tax implications.

The announcement

The announcement is pitched as a gift to Brooklyn. From the announcement (right; click to enlarge):

Barclays Center and Golden Boy Promotions have teamed up to bring championship boxing back to Brooklyn for the first time since 1931 and we want you to be there.
The Brett Yormark Foundation is donating 1,000 tickets to the Brooklyn community, as 250 lucky Brooklynites will receive four complimentary tickets to the first ever boxing card at Barclays Center on Saturday, October 20 at 5:00pm.
Ticket Guidelines:
- First 250 Brooklynites (with valid ID) will receive four (4) tickets to see World Championship Boxing at Barclays Center on Saturday, October 20 at 5pm.
- Tickets will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis.
- Visit the American Express box office at Barclays Center between the hours of 10am to 6pm on Thursday, October 18 or Friday, October 19 (while supplies last).
- Bring a valid form of identification to prove Brooklyn residency.
- No purchase or payment necessary to receive tickets.
- Tickets may not be resold.
Thank you Brooklyn!

Barclays Center November event calendar: a busy month, especially after a week; basketball should draw largest crowds

The Barclays Center has released its event calendar for November, listing estimated attendance; it will be a very busy month, especially beginning Friday, Nov. 9, after which there are only two open dates.

It looks like basketball, not concerts--which have a bigger stage and/or don't sell tickets behind the performers--are expected to draw the largest crowds.

While the 18,000 estimate was not met for the first Brooklyn Nets preseason game, it's far more likely that there will be a full house when the regular season begins on Nov. 1. (Note that team officials claimed capacity was 17,732, a number previously un-announced.)

Below, the calendar for October:

How bad are Barclays Center community impacts? Pretty light, say officials. Too burdensome, say frustrated neighbors. Some reforms coming, but no remedies for trucks' nonperformance.

If state overseers/enablers of the Barclays Center are ready to give the new arena a mostly enthusiastic assessment regarding its impact on its surroundings, neighbors at a meeting last night were not so enthusiastic, pointing to a myriad of unaddressed problems, including idling cars, public urination, advertisements flashing overnight, concert noise, illegal parking, trucks regularly violating protocols, and 311 complaints going unaddressed.

Arana Hankin, Director, Atlantic Yards Project, Empire State Development, led off the inaugural meeting of the Atlantic Yards Quality of Life Committee but saying “just generally, how impressed ESD has been and I think the community overall has been with how things have been functioning... traffic problems have been minimal... the pedestrian experience overall, has been positive.”

Compared to fears of “Carmageddon,” she’s right, but that’s not how neighbors are evaluating it, and officials acknowledged they’re seeking a new place for black cars to queue and have had to make many adjustments in light of crowd behavior since the arena opened on September 28. Other problems persist, with answers on noise and truck routes deemed inadequate by attendees.

So, many of the 40 or so community members at the Borough Hall meeting, most from invited  organizations, clapped when resident Pauline Blake, president of the 78th Precinct Community Council, expressed exasperation.

"Still hearing platitudes"

After hearing arena officials acknowledge they have no incentives or penalties to ensure that truckers follow protocols and avoid queuing on residential Dean Street, Blake said, “I have to put up with all the nonsense that I’ve complained about for four years, that you were going to be resolving before you opened the door. So we are still sitting here, we’re still hearing those same complaints, we’re still hearing the platitudes, We're doing our best, well, it’s not good enough for the community. We need action, because we have to live with the problems.”

“I totally understand,” Hankin responded. “I live in this community too. Most of the people from [developer] Forest City [Ratner] live in this community.” (They don’t necessarily live in the zone of arena impacts. In another example of claimed authenticity, Derek Lynch, the ESD's new Government and Community Affairs Manager, was introduced as having Brooklyn ties that go back 80 years.)

"There are a lot of issues we need to resolve,” Hankin continued. “think they've done a darn good job up to date, and most of these issues are because the arena open.. there's still a handful of kinks, but I think we're doing a pretty good job overall.”

Just this morning, a truck blocked a traffic lane on Pacific Street between Sixth and Carlton Avenues for 20 minutes. See report on Atlantic Yards Watch:



Also see Michael D.D. White's overview on Noticing New York: Bullet Points: Community Objections to “Barclays” (LIBOR) Arena Operations (Most Relate Back To Zoning Override Locating Arena Close To Residences).

311 is a joke?

Hankin's view was not, however, how neighbors saw it. “We've had several complaints about complaining to 311,” said Terry Urban, a resident of Pacific Street west of Fourth Avenue. “People have been told they have to speak directly to the manager of Barclays [or] they have to report complaints to Community Boards [and] been told that 311 is not for complaints for Atlantic Yards. And they’ve been disconnected frequently--well, put on long holds... So 311 has not responded to anything."

“That's certainly an issue,” Hankin acknowledged, saying officials will work with the mayor's office to improve things. In the interim, she encouraged neighbors to contact Barclays Center Community Affairs Manager Terence Kelly and the ESD’s Lynch.

Still, residents were frustrated by her advice that residents email Kelly or Lynch late at night, saying there should be a phone number to call. Later, with Kelly looking a little wide-eyed at the prospect, Cotton reminded the group that he was available 24/7: 917-618-6136 or communityaffairs@brooklynse.com. Lynch is at 646-581-6092 or dlynch@esd.ny.gov. (Those are office phone numbers, but presumably they're checking email at all time.)

The New York Post's coverage, Barclays neighbors call foul on 311 over gripes, focused on the 311 issue. (WPIX followed up.) Gib Veconi of Atlantic Yards Watch encouraged people to file complaints both with AYW and 311, since the latter is the only way to track problems officially.

Urban's East Pacific Block Association stated, "It's all well and good that FCR now has a community liaison hired, and everyone can now make their complaints with that person, BUT the 311 system is supposed to work for the benefit of City residents, not for the benefit of a developer who benefits from belittling the environmental impact its arena is having on the community It is unacceptable for the City government to be complicit in that charade."

Meeting concept

The new Quality of Life Committee, which will meet bi-monthly in the evening, replaces the Atlantic Yards District Service Cabinet, a bi-monthly morning meeting of invited agencies.

It was chaired by ESD's Hankin and also sponsored in association with the Brooklyn Borough President's Office. (Updated and corrected: Also participating, though not overseeing the committee, is the Mayor's Community Affairs Unit, whose Lolita Jackson heads a "Day Two" committee of involved city agencies.)

Council Members Letitia James and Steve Levin were present, as was ESD CEO Kenneth Adams, a Brooklynite. Also present were representatives of at least two community boards.

Only representatives of specific groups were invited to participate--others could simply observe--but the protocols are evolving: Hankin said other groups could send reps, and at one point James, for example, called to the table a resident of South Oxford Street in Fort Greene, an area which has experienced some of the worst impacts, given illegal parking and the queueing of limos.

Forest City's take

After Hankin’s introduction, Ashley Cotton, Forest City’s External Affairs VP, declared, “We are very pleased with the way things have gone, and thank you for saying what you did, Arana.” Later, she said arena operators were thrilled with how "everybody's talking about how everybody's using mass transit.

She acknowledged, however, “we're just a startup and we're still learning,” and later pointed to several areas of improvement.

Around the table, several monitors of Atlantic Yards, such as Veconi and Peter Krashes, active in Atlantic Yards Watch, had concerned expressions and, indeed, they soon provided some counter-evidence.

Cotton said that the arena has made adjustments in response to lines, notably stopping the use of walk-through metal detectors after delays in getting into the Harlem Globetrotters show and before the Barbra Streisand concerts. By using wands to check people, “we can deploy more staff into the crowd out onto the plaza,” she said.

Regarding egress from the building, she noted that, while there are four major entrances, people can leave from more doors. “On the first night of Jay-Z, there were pedestrians on the street.. and police made a decision to make a traffic freeze to make sure pedestrians could safely cross,” she said. That wasn’t used for Barbra Streisand or the Globetrotters, “and as we get to Nets games, we'll monitor where people come out.”

The Jay-Z crowd, younger and about 10% smaller than the Streisand one, exited in 20
minutes, while those leaving Streisand took 35 minutes, she said. (Barclays Center GM David Anderson noted that the arena has 12 wheelchairs, and ordered 20 more for the Streisand crowd "and, sure enough, we used them all." I think they're now stored in the meditation room.)

How much staffing? Not clear

Council Member James asked about how staffing would be maintained to keep order, given that “at least 150 officers” worked the Jay-Z concert, and that’s reduced, the number of city-paid traffic enforcement agents (TEAs) has been cut, and the Forest City-hired pedestrian managers have a limited contract.

“It is a case by case basis,” Cotton responded, citing the profile of event and anticipated number of attendees. She wouldn’t confirm any commitment: “the answer is: we'll have the ones we need to make sure it's still smooth and safe.”

Overriding signals? Unanswered

Traffic signals were overridden for pedestrian flow, James pointed out, asking, “What's the program for bypassing signals?”

She got a convoluted answer from Forest City’s Jane Marshall, who explained that the TEAs, members of police department, have the power to override signals but pedestrian managers, hired via Forest City consultant Sam Schwartz Engineering, do not. But Marshall didn’t say how the decision was made.

Captain Michal Ameri, commanding officer of the 78th Precinct, said there were never 150 officers but rather “half of that,” or 75. (For now at least, there are far fewer high-ranking officers around.)

“It will be event driven,” Ameri said. “Obviously, it's a learning curve for everybody.” While he may redeploy officers in different arenas, he said, “Right now, I'm comfortable with the level of officers we have.”

Flooding Flatbush Avenue--and Atlantic

One more than one night, noted Veconi, arena guests exited Dean Street onto Flatbush Avenue and were “really being pushed off the sidewalk on the northbound lane of Flatbush,” not unlike the way pedestrians flooded Atlantic Avenue and caused it to shut down.

Will arena operators control the crowd so sidewalks aren’t overwhelmed, he asked, “or is it acceptable for NYPD to block traffic so pedestrians can walk in streets?”

Ameri said it occurred one night--a statement disputed by observers--and added that NYPD put metal barriers at that location and told Barclays Center operators they had to control crowds better. “I can't have it [pedestrians flooding streets] on both sides [of the arena]. We can have it on Atlantic Avenue; we can’t have it on Flatbush Avenue--it’s too much.”

Though Ameri said “my intention is not” to continue closing Atlantic Avenue for crowds, “we'll see.” It was an essential acknowledgment that the egress from the arena remains a challenge unanticipated in project planning.

Public urination--and policing

If the pathway to the arena parking lot at Dean Street and Carlton Avenue has so far been free of some feared impacts, those on Pacific Street west of Flatbush Avenue--the path to the N/R train and also parked cars--had several complaints. (DNAInfo's coverage focused on this issue.)

“We've had quite a lot of men urinate,” one resident reported. “It was a cesspool, the stench was so bad.”

Forest City’s Cotton said that the developer aims to have more lighting put up behind Modell's, which is a tenant of the company, to deter those urinating on the blank cinder-block walls.

Others, however, have been urinating in the Brooklyn Bear’s Garden at the corner of Flatbush and Pacific, Council Member Levin pointed out. James added that she’d heard complaints on South Portland Avenue.

Urban said the problems continue on Pacific west of Fourth Avenue, citing five instances of public urination, and “one instance of defecation, which was left in front of one home... and there was no police around.”

James asked if the officers flooding the arena plaza could be sent on expanded patrols. Ameri said he’d respond to such information.

Finding a place to queue

“It's great to know a lot of people are using mass transit,” one Pacific Street resident said, but “we are overwhelmed and bombarded with people that are driving to the concerts, parking in front of hydrants, parking in driveways,”

A resident of South Portland Avenue said five driveways were blocked.

“We know there's a big issue with black cars and limos,” said Hankin, who added that the agency was “working closely with Forest City, NYPD, city DOT to find an area where black cars can queue legally... We’re in the process right now of finalizing that location.”

James was not placated, saying that blocks in Fort Greene were “overrun with cars,” including at bus stops, and in front of churches and fire hydrants. “Obviously, we need more enforcement, I want cars towed... particularly in front of fire hydrants, bus stops, churches.”

Ameri said the Taxi and Limousine Commission last Saturday, at the Streisand concert, “confiscated 27 illegal livery cabs.” The second solution, he said, is to find a location for such cars--which weren’t an issue at Jay-Z concerts.

The need for enforcement

Veconi observed that people were talking “if black cars were invented for the opening of the Barclays Center--they weren’t. This project is one of the most studied transportation impacts any of us could ever possibly remember.”

“Black cars were studied... where they were going to queue... and the answer, to all of this, was: enforcement: the NYPD was simply not going to allow these cars to park and queue and idle,” Veconi continued. “It’s great to hear we're working on a location for these cars now that the arena has opened, after the eight years of study.. but at some point, we’ve got to get enforcement. When do we get enforcement to deal with this?”

“Enforcement is part of the answer, but it's not the solution,” Ameri responded. “The solution is to give them a place. To give them a summons... there’s no reason to expend resources on issuing summonses when the long-term solution is to find a place for them to queue... I don't want to pull my resources for black cars, I want to address quality of life... I don't want my officers too much involved in TLC issues.”

It was perhaps understandable, but it was a bit surprising to hear a NYPD official--in a department long rumored to have quotas for tickets and arrests--avoiding obvious ticket-writing opportunities.

Querying the top cop

After the event, I queried Ameri about the lines of double-parked, idling limos in traffic lanes that I filmed last Saturday.

“It is a problem. We have to get people out of there,” he said. “We have to do what it takes to get the job done. If that means getting people double-parked, lined up... that’s what we have to do. If I spend my time ticketing those people, I’m not getting them out of there. They’re all going to sit there, in gridlock.”

Isn’t that a dismissal of residents’ complaints?

“South Portland is an issue. I have to go look at it myself,” he said, suggesting that maybe traffic patterns need to change.

Wouldn’t limos from the new lot simply inundate blocks around the arena after events let out? Ameri said the aim was to make the location closer to the arena, so people can walk to their cars: “We have to educate everybody; it will eventually work itself out. Will it be perfect? No.”

A parking problem

Forest City’s Cotton said “we encourage [visitors] them to buy a parking pass in advance.” The surface parking lot hasn’t been full, but Forest City has made a tweak, getting workers to stop blowing piercing whistles.

But the nearest lot, at the Newswalk building just east of the arena on Pacific Street, “ was a disaster,” Cotton said, citing fistfights, hourlong waits, “illegal issues left and right.”

The city’s Jackson said police, the Consumer Affairs Department, and her are aware of the issue and had responded.

Truck traffic and loading/unloading

There’s been much documentation of trucks idling on residential streets and taking those streets instead of truck routes, as well as loading at grade rather than below the arena.

“We're not pleased with the way it's going so far,” Cotton said. “ I'm afraid the loading dock and truck traffic systems haven't been as successful as we would’ve hoped. I assure you, it has our full, full attention.... All deliveries are scheduled, there should be no idling on Dean Street. It's written into contracts... we absolutely understand that it needs to get better.”

One reason, she suggested is, “we've been a little constrained on space, internally,” given that punch list work on construction continues.

Krashes noted that functions have been moved at grade and “nobody ever told us there'd be parking on the arena block, including for buses.” Moreover, the arena broadcast lot, at the northeast corner of Sixth Avenue and Dean Street, “has been used for every purpose but that.”

Cotton said the pad next to the loading dock is required by the NBA, at-grade space for emergency egress, for visiting team player bus, and an ambulance.

Regarding the lot, she said, “We know people have been parking there, and using it in ways that were never expected... We are committed to making it better.”

An AY Watch complaint:

As far as I can tell, for nearly every arena event the operations of the loading dock, and of arena operations generally, has been spread out into the at-grade areas called the "pad" next to the loading dock, the satellite broadcast uplink parking lot and often Dean Street between 6th Avenue and 6th Avenue.
Both the pad and the broadcast lot are being turned over to the productions. A truck used to pull a trailer was parked in the pad all day instead of being taken to the Navy Yard. Before the production ended Sunday night a truck arrived from Pennsylvania to remove the production. They waited on Dean Street and were eventually parked on the pad. I asked the driver and no one had advised him of the existence of the Navy Yard staging area. He came straight from PA. For every event so far the pad has been used by trucks associated with arena productions.
Also Sunday night the bus for the talent was parked in the pad. I thought no buses were to be located in the project footprint? Monday night the NBA bus was parked in the "no standing" zone across from the arena on Dean STreet. At some point after 6:30/7:00 it was moved to the pad.
For every event so far the pad has functioned as parking for cars. I've been told the cars are VIPs and/or associated with the arena staff and production.
The broadcast lot Sunday night had an idling van at 11 PM. It took me about 10 minutes to find help to turn it off. The van was associated with the production and the driver was in the van. He appeared to be sleeping, but according to security was charging his cellphone. The rest of the lot was apparently cars associated with the production or with arena staff. So far the lot has also been used to store each production's merchandise. When more merchandise is needed, someone from the production enters the lot, rolls up the gate of the rental truck with the merchandise, and retrieves it. Shouldn't that be happening inside the arena loading dock below grade?
Only last night for the Net's preseason game was the broadcast lot empty.

No remedies

Veconi asked if there were remedies for nonperformance regarding trucks.

“We don't have any kind of penalty,” Anderson acknowledged. “We’re working with all the guys--they're all Teamsters, the same drivers for each event.. it's about educating them.”

“For concerts, trust me, it's stressful on us, when you try to tell a guy who drives a truck for 20 hours a day to keep moving or whatever, a lot of guys are pretty hardcore,” he acknowledged. “So, we are pushing them, but I think we'll get there. I know we’ll get there--we have no choice.”

“If you don't have any remedies for the truckers... for nonperformance,” Veconi countered, “we don't have any remedies for your nonperformance.”

Cotton asked about a possible remedy.

Veconi suggested liquidated damages.

“We're putting quite a bit of pressure on Forest City and Barclays,” asserted Hankin, whose overall attitude did not necessarily reinforce that.

Does ESD have remedies?

Hankin said she didn’t have attorneys present, “but it is written into the FEIS that they are not to queue.”

Newswalk resident Wayne Bailey offered a warning: “I talked to some of the truckers, they said Lady Gaga has over 45 semis. [coming].”

“We're hopeful things will be resolved,” Hankin stated. And that spurred Blake’s warning about platitudes.

Indeed, while Forest City officials said residents should contact Kelly, several at the meeting, including James, wondered whether that would work. Bailey pointed out that, at one point, arena officials pointedly didn't intervene while trucks were idling late at night on Dean Street.

Noise: Jay-Z concert

Responding to reports of arena neighbors feeling bass from the Jay-Z concert on their apartments and in the streets, Kelpin said, “we did hear, on the street, sound from the concert... it's not a violation of the noise code... but it's a closed arena.. we're somewhat perplexed.”

She said DEP “staff did go to someone's apartment... we heard it, but it wasn't a violation.”

Bailey, who said he was present when the noise was measured at Newswalk, offered an opposite account: “they didn't measure when the concert was playing.”

“I can check into that, but my staff told me they heard music,” Kelpin said.

Jim Vogel, a resident of Pacific Street east of Fourth Avenue, said, “I live a block away... my windows were throbbing.” He went on to question whether the arena was sufficiently soundproofed.

“Thank you, Geri,” Hankin concluded. “I’m confident that the work they’ve done was sufficient to date.’

Noise: Modell’s

“We had many many complaints about Modell's, our tenant, very loud music” on the initial arena opening, Cotton said. “We asked them to stop.”

Geraldine Kelpin of the Department of Environmental Protection said, “I know you think they're doing what they’re supposed to do,” but Modell’s continued to violate the law. The DEP issued warnings after the initial request to stop. “I don’t get it... three times now,” she said. “If you could remind them, it's really against the law.“

"That very first night was totally insane," observed Levin.

"We agree," said Cotton.

Noise: on the plaza

Veconi said, around the Jay-Z and Barbara Streisand concerts, speakers were playing amplified music out into the plaza. “My understanding is, in general, you need a permit from mayor's office, police department.”

Cotton said they’d have to look into the rules.

The DEP’s Kelpin was more emphatic: “use of speakers for advertising purposes is not legal. if you do want to.... broadcast out, you would need a sound permit.”

Lights: flashing oculus ads

Cotton noted that, while the “oculus sleep hours are 1-5 am... we have had a number of technology problems,” which meant the oculus was left on too late or all night. According to the East Pacific Street Block Association, it was left on all night for three nights.

One resident called the lighting like a strobe and asked if it could flash.

“It's heavily designed, curated, sponsored... designed to be effective marketing,” Cotton responded.

“It’s annoying,” the resident added.

Cotton said they couldn’t commit to changing it, but will look at it.

“It has to be 1-5 am, because Forest City decided it needs the advertising dollars?” asked Urban.

“Those are the hours for now,” Cotton responded.

Urban asked if the start time could be extended to 8 am or 9 am

“Are there contractual obligations related to the oculus?” asked James.

“Probably,” responded Cotton.

One Pacific Street resident, who said she works in the ad industry, said the big issue was “really loud, flashing ads. I found the Barbra ads and Nets ads are very pleasing, very calm.” However, the flashing ads are “like lightning in your building.” The flashing has caused sleep issues with neighbors and affects probably 15 young children on the block.

James added that she’s heard complaints from the north side of Atlantic Avenue, such as from One Hanson Place.

“Thanks, Forest City, for agreeing to look into it,” Hankin said.

Sanitation

A Department of Sanitation official said there had been “zero issues since Day 1, we're there nonstop.”

Others were more worried, citing waste being dumped in the Brooklyn Bear’s Garden from patrons of nearby food carts. Is there a way to move the carts? The answer was no, but Levin said he would try to get vendors to move.