Outside the Barclays Center on the second night of playoffs: limos in "No Standing" zone, fans mostly subdued, parking and garbage problems
I stopped by the Barclays Center last night in the middle of the fourth quarter, during the second game of the Brooklyn Nets' first-ever playoff series, in which the team, after winning handily in the first game, lost 90-82 to the tough Chicago Bulls.
Though the Nets had a chance to win--assuming some quick three-point shots--and came as close as four points with four minutes left, attendees were trickling out steadily from the middle of the quarter, some with kids on a school night, others wanting to get the jump on transportation.
Two sections of the stairs to the transit hub were roped off, in an effort to slow the crowd from going downstairs. Drivers surely wanted to avoid traffic jams. Other fans streamed out with a minute or two to go, obviously (and accurately) not expecting a miracle.
From the arena plaza, you can see part of the scoreboard, but you can't see the score unless you're standing right up against the doors.
Outside the arena
As noted on Atlantic Yards Watch and in the video below that I shot, limos line up on the north side of Atlantic Avenue in the lay-by lane to wait for pick-ups. That violates a clear "no standing" zone rule and, while it's surely helpful for the VIPs lucky enough to have their vehicle among the few waiting, it penalizes others who exit the building faster.
Fans orderly, but...
I watched the crowd exit from the back of the arena on Dean Street; they were fairly subdued, neither cheering boisterously (it was a loss, after all) nor talking loudly. (The loudest group I heard were a couple of guys shouting as they exited the Q train I was on several stops into Brooklyn.)
As they exited, attendees competed with valet parking vehicles exiting from the loading dock and the adjacent above-ground Pad.
I followed the group heading to Pacific Street and immediately encountered two fans (in Nets hats) relieving themselves against the wall of a warehouse building immediately east of Sixth Avenue. They proceeded to the Newswalk parking garage two doors down to pick up their vehicle.
Continued impacts
An Atlantic Yards Watch contributor reports Illegal parking and idling at all the usual spots on 5th Avenue etc., below Flatbush Avenue (where I didn't go).
Another noted that a "pile of 20 or 30 bags of garbage has been in the satellite uplink parking lot (at the northeast corner of Sixth Avenue and Dean Street] since at least Saturday." (See photo at right.) That's next to a residence.
A dissent on the food
While reviews of the arena food have been mostly positive, the Village Voice's Robert Sietsema, who focused on one vendor, disagrees strenuously, in Food at Barclays Fatty 'Cue is Really, Really Terrible.
Though the Nets had a chance to win--assuming some quick three-point shots--and came as close as four points with four minutes left, attendees were trickling out steadily from the middle of the quarter, some with kids on a school night, others wanting to get the jump on transportation.
Two sections of the stairs to the transit hub were roped off, in an effort to slow the crowd from going downstairs. Drivers surely wanted to avoid traffic jams. Other fans streamed out with a minute or two to go, obviously (and accurately) not expecting a miracle.
From the arena plaza, you can see part of the scoreboard, but you can't see the score unless you're standing right up against the doors.
Outside the arena
As noted on Atlantic Yards Watch and in the video below that I shot, limos line up on the north side of Atlantic Avenue in the lay-by lane to wait for pick-ups. That violates a clear "no standing" zone rule and, while it's surely helpful for the VIPs lucky enough to have their vehicle among the few waiting, it penalizes others who exit the building faster.
Fans orderly, but...
I watched the crowd exit from the back of the arena on Dean Street; they were fairly subdued, neither cheering boisterously (it was a loss, after all) nor talking loudly. (The loudest group I heard were a couple of guys shouting as they exited the Q train I was on several stops into Brooklyn.)
As they exited, attendees competed with valet parking vehicles exiting from the loading dock and the adjacent above-ground Pad.
I followed the group heading to Pacific Street and immediately encountered two fans (in Nets hats) relieving themselves against the wall of a warehouse building immediately east of Sixth Avenue. They proceeded to the Newswalk parking garage two doors down to pick up their vehicle.Continued impacts
An Atlantic Yards Watch contributor reports Illegal parking and idling at all the usual spots on 5th Avenue etc., below Flatbush Avenue (where I didn't go).
Another noted that a "pile of 20 or 30 bags of garbage has been in the satellite uplink parking lot (at the northeast corner of Sixth Avenue and Dean Street] since at least Saturday." (See photo at right.) That's next to a residence.
A dissent on the food
While reviews of the arena food have been mostly positive, the Village Voice's Robert Sietsema, who focused on one vendor, disagrees strenuously, in Food at Barclays Fatty 'Cue is Really, Really Terrible.
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