Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Curbed New York on 11/27/19 included the Barclays Center--the only Brooklyn example, and one of two outer-borough picks--among  NYC’s 10 most important buildings of the past decade . Wrote Amy Plitt: When the Brooklyn Nets’ new stadium opened at the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic avenues in 2012, it was in some ways the culmination of a 55-year-old scheme to bring an arena to the neighborhood. A stadium was first proposed for the site in 1955 by former Brooklyn Dodgers manager (and likely contender for most hated Brooklynite) Walter O’Malley; a battle with Robert Moses (who preferred Flushing for a stadium) ensued, and ended with the Dodgers packing up and moving to Los Angeles in 1957. Decades later, the path to the new stadium was just as filled with twists and turn: Frank Gehry was originally tapped to design the stadium, which was to be the centerpiece of the long-delayed (and oft-contested) megaproject formerly known as Atlantic Yards. But Gehry’s design was scrapped in 20...

The Barclays Center has released its December 2019 calendar, which this year has no hockey, given the disproportionate number of New York Islanders games at the Nassau Coliseum. It includes 19 events in 19 days, including six Brooklyn Nets games, two college basketball events,  two high school basketball events (Battle in the Apple, Kyrie Irving Invitational), one wrestling event, one boxing night, and seven concerts, including New Year's Eve with The Strokes. There are no tickets on sale at this point via Barclays for LIU basketball, though the LIU web site says they're available on game day at the arena or by calling the university. Nor are there tickets as of now for the Invitational . (Update: There's an app , from Nike.) This is the second year for the tournament sponsored by Irving, with Nike , who last year played for the Boston Celtics. Notably, the chatter at the time was about him being coveted by the Knicks, who he easily spurned for the Nets. The Ba...

Update re the Wuhan project: "The project resumed on December 6, though still behind its 2016 original completion target, Greenland said after negotiating the payments," the South China Morning Post reported 12/10/19. Asia Times reported the tower will be 500 meters, rather than the original 636 meters. China’s skyscraper boom comes down to earth , the Financial Times reported 11/21/19. The prime example: Greenland Group: In an October 30 letter seen by the Financial Times, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co said it would halt construction on a 475m-high [1558 feet] skyscraper in the central city of Wuhan. It said Greenland Group, one of the nation’s largest property companies, had failed to make “a significant” project payment.   The Financial Times found more than a dozen so-called supertall skyscrapers, above 1,000 feet, either delayed or postponed, typical signs of what an analyst called an economic recession. An unnamed Greenland official did say tha...

The next meeting of the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC) will be held on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 3 pm in Manhattan. (This continues a string of meetings in Manhattan, not Brooklyn, as was once the pattern after the AY CDC started meeting in 2015.) No agenda has been released yet, but presumably there will be a presentation about the B12 and B13 towers, similar to that made at the recent Quality of Life meeting, as well as disclosure of plans to move forward on Site 5. There should also be questions about the timetable for the platform over the Vanderbilt Yard, and for affordable housing to meet the 2025 deadline for 2,250 units. (See this link for my coverage of those issues.) The location is the parent Empire State Development: 633 Third Avenue, 37th Floor Conference Room. Those attending should RSVP by 5 pm on Tuesday, December 3. RSVP press line (800) 260-7313; RSVP public line (212) 803-3766. Webcasting of the meeting will be availab...

This is the tenth of ten articles on the 11/19/19 Quality of Life meeting, which focused on the new B12 and B13 towers. The first concerned plans to finally move forward with Site 5. The second concerned the timing of the platform over the railyard. The third concerned the single parking garage entrance on the block. The fourth concerned the design of the new towers. The fifth concerned open space plans on that southeast block. The sixth concerned B4, Times Plaza, and the railyard. The seventh concerned art on the Dean Street construction fence. The eighth concerned recent traffic chaos around Disney on Ice. The ninth concerned the Pacific Park Conservancy.  At the meeting, we learned that the Pacific Park Conservancy, the entity overseeing the project's open space, is funded by the Pacific Park Owners Association--known as the Association. But what is it? The Declaration at bottom, which established the Pacific Park Owners Association as of 12/19/16, offers some detai...

This is the ninth of ten articles on the 11/19/19 Quality of Life meeting, which focused on the new B12 and B13 towers. The first concerned plans to finally move forward with Site 5. The second concerned the timing of the platform over the railyard. The third concerned the single parking garage entrance on the block. The fourth concerned the design of the new towers. The fifth concerned open space plans on that southeast block. The sixth concerned B4, Times Plaza, and the railyard. The seventh concerned art on the Dean Street construction fence. The eighth concerned recent traffic chaos around Disney on Ice. The tenth concerned the Pacific Park Owners Association. Who's in charge of the open space? Well, there's something called the Pacific Park Conservancy, established by the Pacific Park Owners Association. The Conservancy was described somewhat vaguely at the meeting, but separate documents not discussed at the meeting help flesh it out. Bottom line: developer G...

This is the eighth of ten articles on the 11/19/19 Quality of Life meeting, which focused on the new B12 and B13 towers. The first concerned plans to finally move forward with Site 5. The second concerned the timing of the platform over the railyard. The third concerned the single parking garage entrance on the block. The fourth concerned the design of the new towers. The fifth concerned open space plans on that southeast block. The sixth concerned B4, Times Plaza, and the railyard. The seventh concerned art on the Dean Street construction fence. The ninth concerned the Pacific Park Conservancy. The tenth concerned the Pacific Park Owners Association. Typically a representative of the Barclays Center attends these bi-monthly meetings to make announcements and take questions. Occasionally, representatives of the NYPD's 78th Precinct attend. Less occasionally, representatives of the city Department of Transportation (DOT) attend. None attended this meeting, but their pre...

This is the seventh of ten articles on the 11/19/19 Quality of Life meeting, which focused on the new B12 and B13 towers. The first concerned plans to finally move forward with Site 5. The second concerned the timing of the platform over the railyard. The third concerned the single parking garage entrance on the block. The fourth concerned the design of the new towers. The fifth concerned open space plans on that southeast block. The sixth concerned B4, Times Plaza, and the railyard. The eighth concerned recent traffic chaos around Disney on Ice. The ninth concerned the Pacific Park Conservancy. The tenth concerned the Pacific Park Owners Association. The B12 and B13 towers along Dean Street between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues are expected to start construction early next year. Will there be art on the construction fence? "There is a project requirement that certain construction fences should have temporary art work displayed," said Tobi Jaiyesimi, Atlantic ...

This is the sixth of ten articles on the 11/19/19 Quality of Life meeting, which focused on the new B12 and B13 towers. The first concerned plans to finally move forward with Site 5. The second concerned the timing of the platform over the railyard. The third concerned the single parking garage entrance on the block. The fourth concerned the design of the new towers. The fifth concerned open space plans on that southeast block. The seventh concerned art on the Dean Street construction fence. The eighth concerned recent traffic chaos around Disney on Ice. The ninth concerned the Pacific Park Conservancy. The tenth concerned the Pacific Park Owners Association. Scott Solish of Greenland USA provided an update on several aspects of the project. B4 progress The foundations at the B4 tower site, 18 Sixth Avenue, "are basically finished," he said, and they'll "commence superstructure in December, so that project is on schedule." Noting that a sign o...

This is the fifth of ten articles on the 11/19/19 Quality of Life meeting, which focused on the new B12 and B13 towers. The first concerned plans to finally move forward with Site 5. The second concerned the timing of the platform over the railyard. The third concerned the single parking garage entrance on the block. The fourth concerned the design of the new towers. The sixth concerned B4, Times Plaza, and the railyard. The seventh concerned art on the Dean Street construction fence. The eighth concerned recent traffic chaos around Disney on Ice. The ninth concerned the Pacific Park Conservancy. The tenth concerned the Pacific Park Owners Association. The initial coverage, in real estate publications, focused on the green images. Curbed:  TF Cornerstone reveals renderings for Pacific Park mixed-users, public park . 6sqft: New renderings show 72,600-square-foot public park coming to Brooklyn’s Pacific Park development . Just as with the images of the buildings, as I wr...

Well, I got answers yesterday to questions raised at the 11/19/19 Quality of Life meeting about parking , but they just don't make sense, except to aid the convenience of the project's developers, as explained below. The large parking garage on that block was approved at 693 spaces but was said at the meeting to contain 758 spaces. Also, it will have just one entrance and exit, a contrast with previous information that suggested three separate access points. That location, at narrow Dean Street just east of Carlton Avenue, is already congested, Let's unpack those two issues. How many spaces? According to the 2019 Amendment to the Modified General Project Plan  (excerpt at right), the Parking Requirement Reduction, from 1,200 overall spaces to 1,000 spaces, states: a. Delete Paragraph 2 of the 2014 Amendment to the MGPP. b. The Project will provide 1,000 permanent parking spaces. This consists of 67 spaces that have been delivered on the arena block, 693 space...