Ad banners on streets near Barclays Center appear, then get taken away after complaints (just as in September 2012)

On Pacific Street

In an odd repeat of a September 2012 episode in which advertising banners appeared on residential streets near the Barclays Center only to be removed days later, another set of banners appeared late last week on those streets, only to be removed Monday.

The banners, placed apparently at the behest of NYC & Company, the city's tourism arm, appeared on Dean Street between Flatbush and Carlton avenues, Pacific Street between Sixth and Carlton avenues, and on Sixth near the arena.

The banners, which advertised the Super Bowl Host Committee and included the name of a different sponsor, seemed aimed at arena patrons going to the surface parking lot and/or walking around the neighborhood.

The placement suggested the tension between the arena's very commercial nature and the residential nature of immediately adjacent blocks, some of which are almost exclusively residential.

Complaints lodged, and responded to

On Dean Street

As one resident posted on 12/20/13 on Atlantic Yards Watch:

I arrive home from a business trip to find once again advertising on our streets, they had to remove it before. WHY again? Advertising is not permitted in residential areas.

The complaints were routed to the Department of Transportation. As Peter Krashes wrote on Atlantic Yards Watch:

The Department of Transportation responded quickly at a busy time of the year. The banners have been removed and the blocks have been flagged so no banners will be hung there in the future.

DOT spokesman Nicholas Mosquera responded to my query yesterday:

DOT manages the banner program and issues banner permits for all light poles in the city in accordance with the agency's rules on placement, size and other factors. In this case, the Super Bowl banners have been removed and will be relocated to nearby commercial streets in the coming days.

On Pacific Street, banners removed

And as of yesterday, the banners indeed were down, as shown in the photo at right.