My essay published yesterday in City & State is headlined Brooklyn’s Barclays Center is a questionable part of Bloomberg’s legacy, with the sub-heading "The mayor showed solicitousness toward fellow moguls above all."
The lead:
Extra: Bloomberg on the CBA
I point out in the commentary how Bloomberg backed Bruce Ratner's Community Benefits Agreement when it was unveiled in 2005.
We should also remember that, less than a year later, as skepticism toward such CBAs mounted, Bloomberg dismissed a proposed CBA in Queens as a "demand to get some ransom.” He later was even more critical.
Extra: Bloomberg on the the Nets' opener
Remember the opening of the Barclays Center in 2012? The Brooklyn Nets were supposed to open big, playing the crosstown New York Knicks on national TV. But Superstorm Sandy slammed the city, shutting down the subways.
Though two Barclays concerts were nixed, the NBA affirmed the game. Bloomberg--despite the fact that the arena was built to rely on public transit--deferred to the league: "If it's scheduled I will go.” After some incredulous public pushback, plus lobbying by city safety officials, Bloomberg a day later canceled the game, without chagrin.
The lead:
As a self-proclaimed “doer and a problem solver,” former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg surely considers Brooklyn’s oft-lauded Barclays Center, which opened in 2012, a triumph.For the rest, please go to the essay. Below, a few extras.
But Barclays goes unmentioned on his extensive presidential campaign website. Perhaps the controversial arena and its still-incomplete parent project – originally known as Atlantic Yards, now Pacific Park – would raise some uncomfortable questions about how the development has delivered far less than promised.
Extra: Bloomberg on the CBA
I point out in the commentary how Bloomberg backed Bruce Ratner's Community Benefits Agreement when it was unveiled in 2005.
We should also remember that, less than a year later, as skepticism toward such CBAs mounted, Bloomberg dismissed a proposed CBA in Queens as a "demand to get some ransom.” He later was even more critical.
Extra: Bloomberg on the the Nets' opener
Remember the opening of the Barclays Center in 2012? The Brooklyn Nets were supposed to open big, playing the crosstown New York Knicks on national TV. But Superstorm Sandy slammed the city, shutting down the subways.
Though two Barclays concerts were nixed, the NBA affirmed the game. Bloomberg--despite the fact that the arena was built to rely on public transit--deferred to the league: "If it's scheduled I will go.” After some incredulous public pushback, plus lobbying by city safety officials, Bloomberg a day later canceled the game, without chagrin.
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