Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Weekly Digest: Related Deal Still Murky; Momentum for Site 5 & Permanent Plaza ( link ) New York State officials, at public meeting, sound cagey. What about the middleman with a criminal record?

This is the fifth of five articles about the Sept. 26  meeting  of the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC). The  first  concerned BSE Global's plans to use the closed Modell's store for a youth basketball program.  The  second  concerned the expected entry of Related Companies and the obligations for affordable housing.  The  third  concerned plans for a giant, two-tower project at Site 5.  The fourth concerned the plan to make the arena plaza permanent. Let me cover a few issues unmentioned in previous coverage. For many years, Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project, held bi-monthly Quality of Life meetings to update neighbors on project changes and to answer questions from them. The last such meeting was in February 2023, more than 20 months ago. The meetings slacked when vertical construction finished, and also, I suspect, because ESD personnel had departed. However, the reason for such meeting

This is the fourth of five articles about the Sept. 26  meeting  of the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC). The  first  concerned BSE Global's plans to use the closed Modell's store for a youth basketball program.  The  second  concerned the expected entry of Related Companies and the obligations for affordable housing.  The third concerned plans for a giant, two-tower project at Site 5.  The  fifth  concerned plans for a Quality of Life meeting. In my coverage of plans for Site 5, catercorner to the arena, I noted that the presentation to the AY CDC by Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project, used loaded language to describe plans in a document called Exhibit K, part of the parcel's interim lease.  The giant two-tower project at Site 5 would involving transferring bulk from the flagship tower (B1, aka "Miss Brooklyn") once planned to loom over the arena, across Flatbush Avenue to Si

Winnie Greco, Mayoral Aide Under Investigation, Steered Adams’ Relations With China for Almost a Decade , The City and Documented reported yesterday, detailing yet installment of important but belated reporting on a character who was clearly ethically dubious a decade ago . (Why didn't anyone investigate further? Not enough journalists, and publications, to do so, I guess.) Greco, for example, tilted Adams toward the Chinese government and away from anything to do with Taiwan, which China does not consider independent. From the article: Despite serving as an unpaid volunteer, Greco early on was treated as something more than this. Just months into her tenure, she was shown designs for a business card by Borough Hall staffers that identified her as the “American/Chinese Ambassador” for Adams. The card contained an image of the Brooklyn seal, according to a mockup contained in the emails. She would later get a government email address to go with it:  ChinaAmbassador@brooklynbp.nyc.go

This is the third of five articles about the Sept. 26 meeting of the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC).  The  first  concerned BSE Global's plans to use the closed Modell's store for a youth basketball program.  The  second  concerned the expected entry of Related Companies and the obligations for affordable housing.  The  fourth  concerned the plan to make the arena plaza permanent.  The  fifth  concerned plans for a Quality of Life meeting. So, how exactly did Greenland USA, the current master developer for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, gain New York State encouragement to build a massive two-tower project at Site 5, the parcel catercorner to the arena block? As presented at the meeting (video here , also below), the approval path for what might be the bulkiest--and second-tallest--building in Brooklyn sounded rather bureaucratic. Also, conveniently, it was the responsibility of a previous set of leaders at Empire State Development (ESD), the

This is the second of five articles about the Sept. 26  meeting  of the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC).  The  first  concerned BSE Global's plans to use the closed Modell's store for a youth basketball program.  The  third  concerned plans for a giant, two-tower project at Site 5.  The  fourth  concerned the plan to make the arena plaza permanent.  The  fifth  concerned plans for a Quality of Life meeting. Something's happening with the six development parcels (B5-B10) over the Vanderbilt Yard, with rights to build at least 3.5 million square feet of housing (and maybe more), but just not yet. At the meeting, representatives of Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project, were cagey about some key details, saying all was premature.  What about the 876 affordable housing units due by May 2025, and the $2,000/month in liquidated damages for each unbuilt unit? Does the obligation transfer to a new

The Barclays Center yesterday circulated its October 2024 event calendar to neighbors, announcing at least 15 ticketed events. It includes four Brooklyn Nets games (two of them pre-season), eight* concerts, one Gold Over America gymnastics tour, one WWE wrestling event, and at least one New York Liberty WNBA game, which today is preceded by amplified sound on the plaza beginning at 4;30 pm. Note: nine concerts are listed, but the Myke Towers concert has been postponed .  Also note: another semi-final game in the WNBA playoffs is possible, if the series against the Las Vegas Aces goes to five games. Then, if the Liberty win the series, at least two, and possible three home finals games would be held in Brooklyn. Also note one non-ticketed event: the Just Brooklyn Prize on Oct. 30, an award funded by the Social Justice Fund of the Joe and Clara Wu Tsai Foundation, owner of the arena company, Nets, and Liberty. October 2023 The October 2023 event calendar had 12 ticketed events, plus one

According to its latest financial report, the Barclays Center is finally making a moderate profit: $15.5 million, at least by my alternative calculation, though the arena operating company still declares significant--if dubious--losses for tax purposes.  For the first time in his ownership, billionaire Joe Tsai did not need to supply capital or draw on a reserve fund to bolster operating finances.  Still, subsequent to the June 30, 2024 end of the fiscal year, "a parent company" supplied $51 million "to fund ongoing capital projects at the Arena and support the Company’s operations," according to the report. It's possible large portion of that went to convert 30 suites (of 87) for club-like spaces called The Row and The Key, accommodating a total of 436 seats. Note that in late June--and perhaps formalized in the new fiscal year--the family of billionaire Julia Koch, widow of the businessman and notorious right-wing funder David Koch, paid $688 million for a 1