While (truncated) open space at two Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park towers is barely used, the Vanderbilt Avenue open streets are bustling

Yestderday, I walked around Prospect Heights at about 3 pm, and decided to check out the limited extant open space outside the two Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park buidlings that have it, B14 (535 Carlton) and B11 (550 Vanderbilt).

It was a lovely day, but there was literally no one in the 535 Carlton open space. See below the view looking south toward Dean Street, after entering from Carlton Avenue.

This was notable because, at least compared to 550 Vanderbilt, less of the open space is truncated.

Meanwhile, entering the 550 Vanderbilt open space from Dean Street and looking north toward (closed) Pacific Street, the fencing from the B12/B13 sites encroaches significantly on one segment of benches.

As shown in the photo below--and it's a littler harder to see--there were some parents at a table in the 550 Vanderbilt courtyard, and a couple of kids bounding about in the main section of the open space. (The bike belonged to another guy who was chilling. The rules say no bicycle use, by the way.)

Then I got to Vanderbilt Avenue Open Streets, where vehicular traffic is barred on Saturdays, Sundays, and also Friday evenings. The outdoor seating--open for dining at restaurants as well as in some cases picnicking--was full--and the street was vibrant.

The lessons? Well, the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park open space is too picayune for now: it lacks magnets, like retail, or opportunities for active recreation, such as playgrounds or ballfields. 

Perhaps the daily and Saturday construction at the B12/B13 sites--in between 535 Carlton and 550 Vanderbilt--has dulled the appetite of neighbors to use the open space (though it was quiet when I visited).

It will take years for the full Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park open space to be developed, perhaps not until 2035, though by mid-2023, the two new towers in between should open. The only problem is that there may well be construction of the railyard platform and the six towers over the two railyard blocks during that time.

So, remember that June 2015 Daily News "exclusive"? "There will no longer be a dearth of green space in the heart of Brooklyn," then Forest City CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin said. "Instead, there will be sprawling lawns, shaded benches and valued neighborhood amenities."

It's all in the timing.