Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

I previously  noted  that the BrooklynSpeaks coalition has  posted  video and the slideshow from the 1/12/22 Urban Design/Street Design Presentation, part of the four-week  Crossroads discussion series , with the opportunity for  comment on the presentation board .  And I just wrote about proposed changes for Pacific Street adjacent to Site 5, where the developer is expected to propose a far larger building than previously permitted. But let's look now at another element of the presentation, Dean Street east of Flatbush Avenue. BrooklynSpeaks proposed that the city redesign Dean Street between Sixth and Vanderbilt avenues as a slow, narrow street intended for local use" and that, to ensure student and pedestrian safety" near the under-construction middle-school at 662 Pacific St.  (slated to open in 2025), a "reduction of municipal uses." A lot of that makes sense, but not all the complexities and implications were teased out, because making part of the street

I previously noted that the BrooklynSpeaks coalition has posted video and the slideshow from the 1/12/22 Urban Design/Street Design Presentation, part of the four-week Crossroads discussion series , with the opportunity for comment on the presentation board . Developers' 2016 proposal Let's take a closer look at their suggestions--notably a slowed-down Pacific Street and a modestly-scaled streetwall--regarding Site 5, bounded by Pacific Street and Atlantic, Fourth, and Flatbush Avenues.  It's long been home to Modell's and P.C. Richard and approved for a 250-foot, 439,050-square-foot building, but slated for, perhaps, a  project  more than three times the height and 2.5 times the bulk. That could result in a mixed-use tower--once contemplated as mostly office space, now perhaps more housing--that includes retail once likened to the Time Warner Center. That depends on a public process in which developers Greenland Forest City Partners get permission to move most of the

Progress, apparently, in Prospect Heights, as Council Member Crystal Hudson confirms that the sound plaguing residents, from malfunctioning equipment at 38 Sixth Ave., is being addressed by the developer. Thing is, this is something that the developer and/or Empire State Development should have been telling us, even on a holiday weekend. Here are a few more sound samples, taken just a short while ago today. First, St. Marks Avenue looking north. Then, intersection of Bergen and 6th. Then the Dean playground. pic.twitter.com/HRGZmZJEMs — Louis V. Galdieri (@lvgaldieri) January 16, 2022 This has been plaguing residents near #38Sixth @pacificparkbk for weeks. With the developer (Greenland Forest City Partners, mostly Greenland USA) & @empirestatedev not providing rapid/weekend (public) response, good to see @CMCrystalHudson , a Prospect Hts resident, following up https://t.co/1XvY1aEmCy — Norman Oder (@AYReport) January 17, 2022

Alternative images of #BarclaysCenter honoring legacy/impact of MLK #mixedmessages https://t.co/vA4gM2i5hH pic.twitter.com/GFMT8LlpfN — Norman Oder (@AYReport) January 17, 2022

He's back--and the controversy/debate continues. Star Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving, thanks to a reversal of team policy to allow him as an unvaxxed part-timer, entered the lineup for away games starting 1/5/22 and immediately made a difference. Returning Kyrie Irving comes up big as Nets rally past Pacers , the New York Post reported 1/5/22, describing how the guard quickly got up to speed. He obfuscated when asked about vaccination: “I’m just taking it one day at a time,” Irving said. “It’s not an ideal situation, and I’m always praying that things get figured out and we’re able to come to some collective agreement, whether it be with the league or things that’s going on that can help ease what we’re all dealing with with COVID and the vaccine. Post Columnist Mike Vaccaro that night wrote the obvious, that Kyrie Irving provides big reminder Nets are better with him , suggesting this meant the team could indeed contend for a championship--and might have an incentive to avoid

Thank you, online/mobile sports gambling: last week, after such wagering went live 1/8/22, I "won" more than $82 on NBA games, which I can now spend, I guess, in the local economy. On paper, though, I lost more than $300, given that the casino companies gave away $400 in free bets. (That's separate from deposit bonuses.) Had it been my money, I'd be deep in the hole.  I've stopped, but I must admit, it's tempting.  After all, when Caesar's offered a $25 free bet, up to $100, for every free throw made in the final two minutes of the Knicks-Mavs game, well, that's a likely $100, right? See screenshot at left. You just had to wager at least $100 on the game. Oh. That's why this gambling thing can be dangerous. I can see how people who have gambling tendencies might enjoy the dopamine or figure that, if they lose, there's a good chance to recoup those losses, by doubling down.  Hence the requisite warnings about Problem Gambling. as indicated at r

Yes, I saw yesterday's post on New York YIMBY, Permits Filed For Two-Tower Development At 840 Atlantic Avenue In Prospect Heights, Brooklyn , unhelpfully coupled with a rendering of a previous design for a single tower, one that was presumably revised before the project went through small revisions at Community Board 8 and thus at the City Council. YIMBY doesn't offer links, but  a search  at the Department of Buildings for Filing Details: Job# B00657569 Filing# I1 does indicate, as YIMBY says, two towers, a new (or additional) architect, Hamish Whitefield Archtects of Albany, and a professed total square footage of 237.197, which may be subject to change. No renderings are available. The site is at the southeast corner of Atlantic Avenue, just across from the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park B10 site, perhaps the last to be built on (if at all). "Demolition permits have not been filed yet," says YIMBY, because, guess what, litigation involving McDonald's, which occu

The BrooklynSpeaks coalition has posted video and the presentation board/slideshow from the Jan 12. Urban Design/Street Design Presentation, part of the four-week Crossroads discussion series . Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park is at an inflection point , given expected changes requested by the developer, and a looming deadline for affordable housing.  I  noted  comments by Council Member Crystal Hudson about the developer paying fines for that unbuilt housing. I've posted both the video and presention below, and will analyze a few aspects in future posts, notably plans for Pacific Street between Fourth and Flatbush Avenues and Dean Street between Sixth and Carlton Avenues. But those who  wish to comment  should go to BrooklynSpeaks, which is using the stakeholder collaboration tool Konveio  to solicit feedback . (See screenshot at right.) That allows people to weigh in, for example, on the design of Pacific Street near Site 5, currently home to Modell's and P.C. Richard but slated

Last night, the first session of BrooklynSpeaks’ four-week Crossroads series , aiming to develop revised plans for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, focused on 1) a history of the project (to get the 70-plus attendees up to speed) and 2) a discussion of potential changes to streets and building design. I’ll look at the latter soon, in a separate article. (For history, see BrooklynSpeaks’ summary , and my FAQ + timelines .) To me, a crucial piece of information emerged near the end, in brief public comments from newly elected Council Member Crystal Hudson, a Prospect Heights resident who represents the 35th District, which includes nearly all of the 22-acre project site. Hudson stressed accountability from project master developer Greenland Forest City Partners, including expected fines for missing affordable housing, and said she recently discussed it with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who controls the project via the state authority Empire State Development. That has not (yet) become a focus for Broo

Beyond my preview of tonight's  Crossroads Brooklyn: Urban Design session and a look at the value (and future) of Site 5, let's look at an October 2019 session, sponsored by BrooklynSpeaks that should, in many ways, be a preview of current advocacy efforts. As I wrote , Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park seems to be at an inflection point, presenters at the forum, and that should offer leverage for improvements in public benefits and public oversight. From BrooklynSpeaks slideshow However, lead developer Greenland USA seems financially strained, it has not yet been pressured by the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo for such improvements. In fact, Cuomo’s Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority overseeing and shepherding the project, recently eased the way for a Greenland lessee, TF Cornerstone, to gain below-ground space to build a field house and fitness center below two towers slated to start next year, with no reciprocal benefit.  Will Gov. Kathy Hochul's ESD be

"The BrooklynSpeaks Crossroads series invites the public to envision a plan for future development at Atlantic Yards," according to the BrooklynSpeaks coalition, though--as I've  written --a lot of the "asks" have already been announced. The four-part series  begins tonight  at 7 pm, with the topic Introduction/Urban Design. The rest will be on future Wednesday nights, though an interactive website is promised for those who can't attend. The principles Let's take a quick look at the updated BrooklynSpeaks Urban Design principle s, under the rubric "1. Respect and integrate with surrounding neighborhoods." Note that, due to changed circumstances, this differs vastly from the previous iteration of those principles, which: as of 2009  warned about "a massive surface parking lot," and called for programming "interim active and passive open space on unused areas," among other things, and as of 2006  called for the project size t