The Barclays Center oculus stays on overtime again, despite new measures

Two nights after a report that a new computer system to operate the Barclays Center oculus’s flashing ads and announcements had been installed and there “have been no issues for anyone,” the oculus malfunctioned, operating past midnight on Friday morning and disturbing neighbors trying to sleep on nearby Pacific Street.

Despite that new system, the lights flashed until about 1:30 am, leaving neighbors frustrated, just as they were earlier this year, which then led to pledges of progress.

Barclays Center VP for Communications Mandy Gutmann responded yesterday to residents:

Thanks for alerting us to the issue with the oculus. I was informed that our security leader at Barclays Center made the appropriate call and the oculus was off by 1:30 a.m. Nonetheless, our apologies for the disturbance early this morning.

As I had mentioned in this week’s Quality of Life Meeting, our new system is in place and running, which is a huge step forward. Unfortunately, one small detail was missed yesterday while it was being programmed, which caused the oculus to stay on. The issue has since been corrected. As mentioned in our meeting a few months ago, a customized solution was built for Barclays Center so both the manufacturer and our staff are working hard to understand any idiosyncrasies. We appreciate your patience.

That was not fully appreciated: it's tough to ask for patience when residents asked the arena to put the system through specific tests and were told there were processes in place for building staffers to check the oculus at midnight.

So, however well-meaning the arena has been--and staffers certainly indicated more concern and responsiveness than in past years--there's just a small margin for error when the arena is so close to residences.

Below, a previous episode, from April 2018, shot from a Pacific Street residence.