Two views of Block 1129: in one, two towers progress toward completion. In another, perspective on the missing platform.

When I did a walk Aug. 5 around the arena block, I took two photos of Block 1129, the southeast block of the project, where B12 & B13 (615 Dean St. & 595 Dean St.) have topped out and are nearly fully enclosed, headed for a mid-2023 opening. 

The block is bounded by Dean and Pacific streets, and Sixth and Carlton Avenues.

But it all depends on perspective. The first photo below, taken from Carlton Avenue south of Atlantic Avenue, shows the four towers--including the already completed B11 (550 Vanderbilt Ave., far left) and B14 (535 Carlton Ave., far right)--without much perspective on what's left to do.

Photos: Aug. 5, 2022

The second photo, looking east over the MTA's Vanderbilt Yard, shows the towers only fractionally. The railyard block is bounded by Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Streets, and Sixth and Carlton Avenues.

A large and expensive platform must be built to support three towers (B8/B9/B10), and that's the second phase of a two-phase project that hasn't yet started (though it was supposed to start in 2020).

Only after that can Pacific Street between Carlton and Vanderbilt be converted from construction staging to the heart of the project's promised open space. (The project schematic is here.)

Will that be complete by 2031, as a developer's representative recently predicted (albeit rather casually, and without any construction schedule)? I wouldn't bet on it.