Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

As I wrote last month, when asked if the Barclays Center had been granted permission for "combat parking" on Atlantic Avenue where there is a “No Standing Anytime” sign, the response from Empire State Development, the state authority that oversees/shepherds the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project  was: There has been no formal permission granted for parking along Atlantic Avenue. Parking signage is regulated by NYC Department of Transportation and enforced by the NYPD. But the informal permission continues, as shown in the photos I took last Thursday around the arena.  While it's true that drivers can't continue in the drop-off lane, or even the next lane--to which the parked cars extend--because they're ultimately blocked by the construction of the B4 tower, the drop-off lane has long been used for parking. Moreover, that casual flouting of the law--crucial to arena operations, it seems--has consequences. As shown in the photo below, parked cars block a fire hyd

I'm curious: will NYC editorial boards offer multiple, RCV endorsements for Mayor? For other citywide races? For BPs and Council? (You'll need more space, but I hope so: it helps frame strengths/weaknesses) @MaraGay @nahmias @SquarePegDem — Norman Oder (@AYReport) April 13, 2021 No response. And then... "Well-read Manhattanites will have to decide for themselves." — @JCColtin , Campaign Confidential https://t.co/Cm0PUepvf6 pic.twitter.com/5UHaqr4qA1 — Rachel Holliday Smith (@rachelholliday) April 14, 2021 There are hundreds of candidates for NYC City Council and it’d be hard for the NY Times to interview even half of them. But we’re about to replace almost the entire city govt! The Times edit board could make a bigger impact in these races than on e.g. the presidential primary. — Seth Pollack (@sethmpk) April 15, 2021 I appreciated that they endorsed most IDC challengers in 2018. good things can happen when they deign to engage with local issues! — Seth Po

Earlier this week, I wrote that the Barclays Center was selling tickets to some scheduled musical performances, but also that a music booker  said that tours won't run until venues are at 100% of capacity. Indeed, My Chemical Romance, previously scheduled for a 9/11/21 performance at Barclays, will be pushed back exactly a year, with tickets to the original show honored.  Presumably they projected that their tour would not be able to perform at capacity, and recognized the enduring risks, stating , "We just want to be as sure as we can be that everyone is safe." This, actually, has been a double postponement , first from 2020 to 2021, then from 2021 to 2022. Stay tuned to see if the first listed Barclays show, Justin Bieber on 7/20/21 , actually goes forward.

The latest Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Construction Update (bottom), covering the two weeks beginning April 19 was circulated yesterday at 12:35 pm (lead time) by Empire State Development (ESD) after preparation by Greenland Forest City Partners.  From Monday April 19 though Friday April 30, according to the Update, the Long Island Rail Road has "has tentatively scheduled track alignment and geometry testing and verification of the recently completed Yard Storage Tracks."  This would presumably achieve Final Completion and make it easier for developer Greenland Forest City Partners to advance plans, presuming they're The wor--not expected to be noisy or disruptive--is expected to be done during nights and weekends when trains are not present in the Yard. But the specific dates aren't certain, because the work depends on availability of personnel and equipment. Ther was no mention of overnight track remediation work, scheduled to last through at least this weekend and

As I've recently written, there's a lot of uncertainty about venue capacity as vaccinations for COVID-19 ramp up, and there are no tickets yet for New York Liberty games at Barclays Center, and (seemingly) tight capacity for some other events . Well, it must be a moving target. As Patch reported yesterday, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran called for 50% capacity at the Nassau Coliseum for New York Islanders games, saying 46% of the population in the county had been vaccinated: "As you know, the Islanders are ingrained in the fabric of Long Island," Curran wrote in a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "With this being the last season at the Coliseum before the big move to Belmont, my hope is that by increasing capacity to 50 percent, we can give more Isles fans the opportunity to safely 'Rock the Barn' one last time." Her letter cited the requirements for masks, and the use of the Excelsior Pass to register vaccinations. Still, it's not about fan

A press release yesterday from Queens state Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.,  Addabbo hopes mobile sports betting begins before next year's Super Bowl , hailed legislation he championed: With New York State facing a major economic deficit caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and witnessing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and educational funding flowing to the New Jersey and illegal sports betting markets, by legalizing mobile sports betting, New York is expected to bring in around $99 million in Fiscal Year 2021-2022. That estimated figure then jumps to approximately $357 million in FY 2022-2023, eventually reaching over $500 million in FY 2025-2026, most of which will fund education in the state. Mobile sports betting will allow people to place wagers on sporting events through their mobile phones or other internet-connected devices. Thirteen other states and Washington D.C. also have legal mobile sports betting. That, of course, can create collateral damage for gambling addicts-

Yesterday, the WNBA released its 2021 schedule, with the 12 teams playing a 32-game season starting May 14, which is when the New York Liberty make their full-season  Barclays Center debut . As ESPN reported , WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was asked about attendance: "I think it's right now nine of our 12 markets, but we're negotiating on the 10th because you have to negotiate locally as well as with the local health officials," Engelbert said, although the league didn't identify which markets those were. "It'll be reduced, and we're hoping as we go into the Olympic break and come off of that, maybe we can have more full arenas." Right now New York State is allowing 10% attendance, as I wrote yesterday , which suggests 1,773 max capacity at Barclays for basketball. But the arena operator and team, owned by Joe Tsai, are surely hedging their bets, since tickets are not available just yet. Surely they hope protocols will change, if not by May

OK, now that people are allowed back in arenas, at least in limited numbers, the Barclays Center is listing new events , but--understandably--being cagy about the precise location and number of tickets available. As of February, venues were allowed to open at 10% capacity--that's  about 1,773 for Brooklyn Nets games and up to 1,900 for concerts, according to the arena web site --but surely the Barclays Center operators are expecting bigger growds. Besides Nets games, which do not include the inevitable playoffs, right now there are nine events listed, several of which have been rescheduled. Bieber comes first The first event is the Justin Bieber World Tour , scheduled for July 20, 2021, a concert that likely would have sold out before the pandemic and surely now would benefit from the tamped-up demand built over the past year.  (That, I suspect, would outweigh the number of potential ticket-buyers still wary of attending such an event, given the youthful demographic.) Click throug