Now boosting Vanderbilt Avenue's "Open Streets, Good Vibes" is Chelsea Piers. Their below-ground space was a gift from the public, with no reciprocity.

Photos by Norman Oder Aug. 5 (except lobby)

"Open Streets, Good Vibes" is the message from Vanderbilt Avenue Open Streets in Prospect Heights, "the only volunteer-run Open Street of its kind in Brooklyn, and one of the most visible in New York City."

It's open this year April 21 through October 29, Fridays 5-10 pm, and Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 12-10 pm. 

And when I've stopped by, yes, the vibes seem good.

Chelsea Piers steps up

I couldn't help but notice, however, that one of the sponsors, as shown in the photo below, is Chelsea Piers, operator of a fitness center and fieldhouse at the two-tower 595 Dean complex, mostly below ground, not far to the west along Dean Street.

So, by allowing money-losing parking to be swapped for valuable Chelsea Piers space, ESD gave a bonus to developer TF Cornerstone, which had bought development rights from Greenland Forest City Partners, owned nearly in full by Greenland USA. 

And ESD ignored the call by the BrooklynSpeaks coalition and local elected officials for some reciprocal public benefit.

And that deserves an asterisk.

It would be unneighborly if Chelsea Piers, as a new player nearby, didn't contribute, but the good vibes such sponsorship creates shouldn't let us forget how they got there: a dubious approval by Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, of new underground "recreational" space, a heretofore unacknowledged category, without any official public review.

595 Dean East Tower lobby serves Chelsea Piers

Moreover, by ceding crucial sidewalk-fronting space in the East Tower to a Chelsea Piers entry and eliminating a residential lobby, TF Cornerstone has created an odd and off-putting configuration, requiring those entering the East Tower to walk further west along Dean Street to the West Tower to then travel underground to their building.

That, of course, directs those coming from the east, for example the Vanderbilt Avenue open street, to overshoot their building. 

That's not good vibes.

About the Open Streets

Vanderbilt Open Streets is a community-led initiative organized by the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council (PHNDC) in coordination with NYC Department of Transportation’s NYC-wide Open Streets Program.

The PHNDC founder is Gib Veconi, a neighborhood activist who also serves as a key player on Community Board 8's Land Use Committee (and leader of the M-CROWN Subcommittee), a key representative on the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), and a leader of BrooklynSpeaks, the coalition--including PHNDC--that has tried to monitor and improve Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park.

Wearing his advocacy hat, Veconi was a leading critic of the Chelsea Piers deal. But in managing the open streets, there's no space for such advocacy. 

It is what it is. But we shouldn't forget that asterisk on Chelsea Piers.