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Neighborhood Protection Plan meeting tonight; I'd bet on a concession; some pending questions; AY DSC meeting Thursday

Tonight, a Neighborhood Protection Plan meeting with Forest City Ratner
When: Wednesday, September 5, 2012 - 7:00pm
Where: Iglesia Latina Evengelica, 506 Bergen Street (between 6th and Carlton Avenues)
Protecting quality of life for residents around the arena

Join Ashley Cotton and Jane Marshall of Forest City Ratner in a discussion about protecting the quality of life of those living and working near Barclays Center once it opens. Issues include crowd control, safety, clean streets and sidewalks, traffic, parking and more. Bring your questions and concerns.

Local elected officials and civic groups have proposed a Neighborhood Protection Plan, modeled on plans of other sports facilities around the country. The plan can be read here.
The sponsors are the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council,  the Park Slope Civic Council, and the Boerum Hill Association.

What will happen?

As I wrote recently, there have been a couple of quiet meetings regarding the plan--which requested garbage cans, new signage, and funding for two parks positions nearby, among other things--but no results yet. 

Council Member Steve Levin said it was essential to address traffic, crowd management, and sanitation issues before the arena opens. My prediction, based on no inside information, is that Forest City will announce some concessions; after all, the developer, after first resisting the distribution of rodent-resistant trash cans, in July 2011 agreed to provide them.

Also, the biggest "ask," neighborhood permit parking, has already been denied by the New York City Department of Transportation.

Given that Forest City and the Nets also announced on 4/5/11 that the arena would be open to the community for public events and tours in "the first several weeks of September," we should get an update on that schedule.
Pending questions

We also may learn whether and when Forest City plans to hire a Barclays Center Community Affairs Manager.

How finished is the arena, given that Forest City executive MaryAnne Gilmartin once said the arena had to be completed by early July for testing? What won't be ready when the building opens?

Perhaps someone also will ask Forest City why arena promoters sold hundreds of thousands of tickets before the "seamless" prepaid parking module was working, and why there are only seven lots (plus the arena lot) signed up.

Then again, Marshall said last January, "I would caution people not to pin your hopes on the most seamless operation, since it’s a new building, it’s opening, it is going to be a raucous--a very joyous occasion."

"Raucous is more appropriate," countered Council Member Letitia James.

“Yes, I know,” Marshall responded, to some chuckles.

AY District Service Cabinet meeting Thursday

Another key meeting will be Thursday at 9:30 am at Borough Hall: the bi-monthly meeting of the Atlantic Yards District Service Cabinet, which includes involves city and state agencies and offers an opportunity for elected officials, though not the public, to ask questions.

Expect an update from the "Day Two Task Force" headed by the elusively quiet Lolita Jackson, the city official tasked with coordinating city agency responses to arena events.

Also, perhaps, we'll hear about the promised but not yet implemented sub-committee on quality-of-life issues.

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