BP Adams: at (accidental) arena plaza tonight, a vigil "to stand with Charleston and members of the A.M.E. community"

The Barclays Center Plaza--the Daily News Plaza--is the site tonight for a vigil in support of the victims of the massacre in Charleston, which Borough President Eric Adams rightly calls "an act of terror."

Arena operators are sacrificing 30 minutes of oculus advertising for a message of solidarity. Will they go so far as to call for South Carolina to take down the Confederate flat? I'd be surprised.

Note that, should Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park be built as approved, there would be no plaza but rather an enclosed Urban Room, a tougher (though not impossible) place for public gatherings. That Urban Room was part of the giant B1 tower, some 620 feet (later 511 feet) tall and over 1 million square feet.

As I wrote in 2012, The plaza view of the arena was never planned. But not building a tower at the intersection makes Atlantic Yards more modest (though it never would have been approved).

Why wouldn't it have been approved? Because the office tower was supposed to deliver crucial tax revenue. Might it still come? Yes. If Greenland Forest City gets pressured not to build B1, would it accept the loss of 1 million square feet? No, it would want some compensation, such as a shift of development rights.

A message from Adams:

Friends,
Brooklyn mourns all the victims of the terrible Charleston shooting. What happened at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church was an act of terror, and I am committed to doing what it takes to keep all our churches protected. Yesterday, I held an emergency meeting with close to one hundred local clergy leaders and NYPD officials, including members of their Intelligence Division and Counter-Terrorism Bureau, to discuss safety at houses of worship in Brooklyn. In the coming weeks, steps will be taken that will make all of us more secure.

This Sunday, June 21st, I ask all New Yorkers to stand with Charleston and members of the A.M.E. community for an interfaith candlelight vigil at Daily News Plaza outside of Barclays Center. The faith community, along with local leaders and concerned residents, will gather beginning at 8:00 PM for the vigil, which is scheduled to start at 8:30 PM. The oculus display at Barclays Center will show a message of solidarity during the proceedings. A copy of the flyer is below as well as posted here. You can also RSVP on our Facebook event and share it with friends.

Let us stand united as the ultimate family, One Brooklyn, this Father's Day evening to mourn those we have lost and recommit to all those we have and cherish.

A press alert:

Tomorrow at 8:30 PM, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and civil rights attorney Norman Siegel will hold an interfaith candlelight vigil in memory of the victims of Wednesday's terror attack at Emanuel A.M.E. Church that claimed nine lives. Faith leaders, along with local elected officials and concerned residents, will gather in Daily News Plaza outside Barclays Center, where the exterior oculus display will show a message of solidarity during the proceedings with those mourning this mass shooting. Borough President Adams and others Borough President Adams and others will express the borough’s grief and outrage over this blatant act of terrorism.

***PLEASE NOTE: Vigil attendees will begin gathering at approximately 8:00 PM. The message of solidarity on the exterior oculus display at Barclays Center is scheduled to be shown from 8:30 PM to 9:00 PM.***