From The Atlantic Cities: "Why Reviewing Brooklyn's New Arena Before It Opened Was Premature"

My essay in The Atlantic Cities, Why Reviewing Brooklyn's New Arena Before It Opened Was Premature:

Critics both amateur and professional began offering raves and pans even before the building opened, with the first of a string of eight sold-out concerts by Jay-Z, a fractional ownerof the arena and of the primary tenant, the Brooklyn (formerly New Jersey) Nets.
However incisive the comments, the push to be first, at least for the pros, seems premature: they've assessed the building mainly as an urban sculpture (and borough statement) and in part as a venue for event-goers, with its tight, basketball-centric bowl and below-grade event floor.
But the arena's also an organism, ingesting up to 19,000 people at a time for concerts, shows, and games, and delivering many of them not only to the subway, but also to narrow area streets and sidewalks, making neighbors wary....
Critics should have waited.

For more, see the full essay.