Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Weekly Digest: A Quietly Important 2024 for Atlantic Yards; 38 Sixth Ave. Tenants Make Progress in Court ( link ) Despite absence of construction, big plans for project surface, with new entrant likely. BSE Global's ambitions, too. "Affordable" tenants push on landlord Avanath. 

In what a tenant representative called a "significant victory," the landlord of "100% affordable" 38 Sixth Avenue, Avanath Capital Management, has agreed to a stipulation and consent order to ameliorate conditions in the building that prompted a tenant lawsuit over a faulty front door, broken intercoms, and a roach infestation. The agreements, posted online yesterday, came after a two-day negotiation that began on December 17, the afternoon the case, filed by the 38 Sixth Avenue Tenants' Association (TA) and represented by Take Root Justice , was scheduled for trial. Notably, Avanath agreed to correct four roach violations cited in the lawsuit, considered Class C , or immediately hazardous, within 30 days, or be subject to fines of $150-$1,500 per day and $150-$1,200 per violation. The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development has found 12 more roach violations since the lawsuit was filed Sept. 10. The 303-unit building, all belo...

From February 2024 In working on my end-of-the-year round-up, I noticed the February 2024 advertisement at right, in which the Brooklyn Nets, unable to rely on superstars, promoted--duh--the borough: "For Brooklyn, By Brooklyn." Whatever that means. It should be noted that the team's two best players, Mikal Bridges (at right) and Dennis Schröder (at left), have both since been traded, to the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors, respectively. (I'm not sure who's in the center.) The New York Post's Brian Lewis Dec. 16 quoted Net Dorian Finney-Smith--another trade candidate, by the way, given the team's turn to tanking for a top draft pick--as saying of the Schröder trade, in part, “It's tough. But it's part of the business. We’re going to miss him." For the umpteenth time, it's a business. Shifting locations So it was wise of Schröder to not quite fully invest in Brooklyn, choosing to rent --not buy--a Red Hook townhouse for $40,000 a...

In 2024, No New Construction, But a Big Year for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park ( link ) Larger plans for railyard & Site 5 surface, as does Related's role. Liberty win WNBA. New Koch investment boo$ts BSE Global, planning Brooklyn media (+ more) venture. Will arena company pay for plaza?

The Barclays Center this week released its January 2025 event calendar, with 19 events--but only 18 available via the arena box office. The schedule includes seven Brooklyn Nets games and nine Disney on Ice performances, the latter over four days.  Last January, there were eight Disney on Ice performances over four days, with two Sunday shows, rather than three, as in the coming January. There were 16 ticketed events total, so this year represents a slight uptick. Also this January: one comedy show (Martin Lawrence) and the first of four Monster Jam  live truck stunt shows, with the other three on the first two days of February. Also, on Jan. 3, nearby Long Island University's men's basketball game is supposedly at Barclays, though, as of now, the game is listed as being played at LIU's Steinberg Wellness Center. January 2024 In January 2024, the arena scheduled eight Brooklyn Nets games and eight Disney on Ice performances, the latter over four days.  So January 2024,...

What happened to the six-month look-ahead regarding expected construction within Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park? Answer: nothing's happening, so there's no "required" document. However, there might be something deeper going on. Required document The June 2014 Second Amended Memorandum of Environmental Commitments ( link ) for Atlantic Yards documents commitments made by original developer Forest City Ratner (FCRC) to Empire State Development (ESD) the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project. Among other things, it states: FCRC shall provide ESD with “six month look aheads” that will describe, in general terms, the activities anticipated on the Project site for the next six months (including major milestones for areas of new construction activity, excavation, 15 construction, anticipated maintenance and protection of traffic (“MPT”) measures, soil and groundwater remediation work and soil characterization). The six month look aheads shall be provided to ESD on...

Troubles persist at 38 Sixth Ave. (B3 of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park), where both tenants and the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) have sued the landlord, Avanath Capital, over conditions in the building, some of which still pose hazards, according to the tenants.   Photo: Norman Oder Remember, City Limits on July 24 published my article  Despite New Owner’s Promised Upgrades, ‘100% Affordable’ Atlantic Yards Building Endures Hot Water Outages, Broken Door, Even Bees . The tenant lawsuit remains active, with a trial scheduled tomorrow at 2:15 pm at Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County, Housing Part, 141 Livingston St., Brooklyn, Part B, Room 409. The  petition , filed Sept. 10, from the 38 6th Avenue Tenants Association' (TA), cites "serious building-wide conditions," including "a front door that does not lock, a roach infestation, and repeated boiler outages that deprive tenants of hot water for hours and days at a ...

Weekly Digest: Does Construction on Terra Firma Vindicate Atlantic Yards? ( link ) Also: looking at a slow change near the Barclays Center, and an alert regarding a tenant lawsuit against 38 Sixth Avenue.

Something is finally happening at 604 Pacific Street, just below the intersection with Flatbush Avenue, a key retail parcel across from the Barclays Center and adjacent to a strip of retail spaces (Snipes, Chik-fil-A, Shake Shack), that draw a high volume of customers. See the photo below, taken Dec. 12. It's more than 12 years after the arena opened. Photo: Norman Oder What's happening? As indicated in the work permit (right), workers are converting a four-story building with a cellar and basement to a three-story building with a cellar only, as well as various interior renovations. As I reported in July 2021, once proposed as a bar/nightclub, and more recently as a retail flagship, the long beckoning largest available retail parcel near the Barclays Center was said to have a ground-floor tenant: Walgreens, the pharmacy and general convenience store. The retailer was expected to open in the third quarter of 2022, according to the Commercial Observer. That didn't happen. I...

A breathless "exclusive" Business Insider article published Dec. 11,  The billionaire owners of the Nets and Liberty plan to launch a media brand around the 'zeitgeist of Brooklyn' in 2025 , relies on five (!) unnamed sources all buffing the same vague but ambitious project. BSE Global's new media brand will focus on "capturing and sharing the zeitgeist of Brooklyn," spokesperson Sheerin Salimi told Business Insider. They're calling it "Brand X" and even considered "Boom," but it's no longer on the table. Much of this isn't new--it started with the purchase (and transformation) of once-indie Brooklyn Magazine (whose editor is gone) and has been amplified in other coverage, including plans for retail and events. Screenshot from Complex The Complex complex What's new is the influence of the youth culture brand Complex , which mixes content, including video, and direct marketing.  They've hired five former Complex st...

Times Plaza, a modest triangle bounded by Fourth, Flatbush, and Atlantic avenues just above the Site 5 parcel occupied by P.C. Richard and the now-closed Modell's, is still in limbo. It was  supposed to be revamped  as partial mitigation for an impact from Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park. but that never happened. Times Plaza today. Photo: Norman Oder Seven years ago (!), in October 2017, I  reported  that the project's main developer, Greenland USA, said open space work at Times Plaza—on about 4,500 square feet controlled by the Department of Transportation (DOT)—might go into construction in the second quarter of 2018.  That didn’t happen. “The developer remains in ongoing discussions with the Department of Transportation,” then-Empire State Development (ESD) Atlantic Yards Project Director Tobi Jaiyesimi said at a  public meeting  in January 2022. What about now? What's the status now? "At this time, there are no immediate construction plans for Times Pl...

Is 595 Dean a "Successful Project"? ( link ) To one real-estate journalist, all looks fine (and supplies fodder to dis Atlantic Yards opponents). But there's more reason for doubt.

In a required document aimed at bondholders, the Barclays Center operating company, Brooklyn Events Center, recently reported, for the third quarter of this calendar year and the first quarter of the new fiscal year, $5.4 million in suite and sponsor installments, and $40.3 million in ticket sales. That's a total of $45.7 million in cash receipts. How does that compare to past results? Well, in Q1 of FY 2024, the period of July through September of 2023, ArenaCo reported $4.8 million in suite and sponsor installments, and nearly $51 million in ticket sales, for a total of  $55.8 million. That's an 18% drop. So suite and sponsor revenues are up, perhaps--and this is total speculation--because of the new clubs (The Row and The Key) that have been carved out of former suite space, and maybe also because the success of the New York Liberty has driven new sponsorships. Ticket sales down But ticket sales are down somewhat, though still nearly double the figure two years earlier. In ...

Last week I published  Making Sense of the 962 Pacific Street Rezoning Story , a couple of weeks after the New York Times published two online articles about the failed rezoning effort for that Crown Heights lot, but just before the Times published the package in print . So this post repurposes some of that long article. One lesson from some past spot rezonings, as I reported, is that the applicant, often spouting promises of community commitments, is not looking to (or even able to) build, and plans to sell the property once a lucrative rezoning as been achieved. “What we're trying to do… is work with all of you so that we can maintain control over our property, and that we could then bring in somebody, a developer, that echoes the same values we have and that the community has,” property owner Nadine Oelsner told Brooklyn Community Board 8. Would the Oelsners maintain a majority ownership in a joint venture? “We pray to God," she responded, "we can keep this property an...

(Bi-)Weekly Digest: The Strains of Gentrification ( link ) What a stymied rezoning (badly reported by the NY Times) and a new book have in common. Also, more Brooklyn ambitions for BSE Global.

OK, so that New York Times coverage of the 962 Pacific Street rezoning saga, which I wrote about at length yesterday in my newsletter, Making Sense of the 962 Pacific Street Rezoning Story , now appears, in significant part, in tomorrow's print Metropolitan section, which is delivered with the Saturday paper. Except "Two Buildings Were Planned, But Only One Was Erected," published online as Two Apartment Buildings Were Planned. Only One Went Up , gets a lot of wrong, notably the discussion at Brooklyn Community Board 8, which successfully negotiated for more affordable housing that the developer proposed--or was disclosed in the Times.  Please take a look at my coverage .

Making Sense of the 962 Pacific Street Rezoning Story ( link ) The New York Times wrongly posited a NIMBY backlash, missing the Community Board's affordability gain, and downplayed reasons for skepticism. But yes, it was Council Member Hudson's call. From the article: Why should I write about a New York Times series on the “affordability crisis,” which included two articles chronicling 962 Pacific Street, an empty lot that might have delivered a new 150-unit building with affordable housing in Crown Heights? Because 1) yes, it’s Atlantic Yards-adjacent, in a few ways; 2) the Times got some key things wrong; and 3) such coverage furthers the simple  “build more homes” narrative . As the only reporter to steadily cover 962 Pacific, I know the story of this failed rezoning is far more complicated—and strange—than presented. Notably, Brooklyn Community Board 8 didn’t offer knee-jerk opposition, but successfully negotiated more affordable housing than landowner Nadine Oelsner initia...

In October, I cited ( link ) a Bloomberg report that BSE Global, the holding company for the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, and Barclays Center operating company, would launch the Brooklyn Wine Club, which promises "A New Experience in the World of Wine" or, as the publication put it, "education and conversations with sommeliers at Barclays and possibly other venues." Well, it's a lot more ambitious, billed as "A new wine experience where luxury and lifestyle are intertwined." Based on the homepage graphic, it looks like they're aiming at a well-heeled, younger, multicultural crowd (which would rather not go to a local wine bar or restaurant?). Membership includes access to: Member-Only Events Invitations to Uncork & Dine gatherings Immersive Global Wine Journeys Wine at Work sessions Special Member Discounts & Perks The cost: a cool $1,500 a year, plus a $250 initiation fee, though Nets and Liberty season ticket members may get a prefe...

So single-game tickets are now available for the 2025 New York Liberty season and, yes, some prices are pretty high for the 2024 WNBA champions.  I checked a couple of games yesterday and today and saw 1) a big spread and 2) some lower-priced tickets already off the table. For the May 17 finals rematch against the Las Vegas Aces, a standard ticket starts at $125.85, while resale tickets start at $118.58. Note: in this game, and the others I checked, they're not selling the whole Upper Bowl (which not long ago they weren't even trying to sell). It looks like they're omitting certain sections. notably 201-204 and 228-231, as well as 205, 211, 221, and 227. Perhaps those seats will become available, as needed. For a May 27 game against the expansion Golden State Valkyries, a standard ticket starts at $49.30, while resale tickets start at $41.14. For a June 1 game against the Connecticut Sun, a standard ticket starts at $44.15, while resale tickets start at ...

A conversation with Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani, whose new book significantly chronicles Prospect Heights, with Atlantic Yards as a backdrop. From Common Edge : A diner where the proprietor welcomes all. A neighborhood tradition of sharing clothing on fences. A donut shop that lets an immigrant community hang out. A supermarket that serves as a community anchor. These places are evoked in Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani’s recent book, The Cities We Need: Essential Stories of Everyday Places (MIT Press). A bodega replaced by a craft beer bar. Photos: Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani Another excerpt: NO: I want to play devil’s advocate. You call what happened to Vanderbilt Avenue and Prospect Heights a manmade disaster. As you know, I’m a skeptic about Atlantic Yards, but I do meet people who say it’s great to have more people in the neighborhood, more stuff. So I assume you’re channeling the people who feel a sense of loss. GBV: I think that displacement is real. You have more people, but where it used ...

A Nov. 26 New York Times article,  5 Ways to Fix New York City’s Housing Crisis , quoted various experts, including former deputy mayor Alicia Glen, now managing principal at the real estate firm MSquared : She said the city needs to focus on the “small and practical” things, like regularly pursuing big neighborhood rezonings to make way for more density and negotiating better prices with landowners and contractors for affordable housing development. She said the city should spend more on subsidizing mixed-income housing developments and not just developments that target only low-income people. Among 51 comments, the eighth most recommended was this one , from Eve Salinger: Re: Alicia Glen's point about small and practical - more that 3000 units of housing - including 800 affordable - have yet to be built on the Atlantic Yards site, a 20 year old project that has received hundreds of millions in subsidies and little oversight. If developers are to be given increased subsi...

In case you hadn't noticed, snackmaker Wise is the official chips of the Brooklyn Nets--and more. Sports Business Journal reported in June that the three-year deal also involves the New York Liberty and the Barclays Center arena, and "includes Nets and Liberty indicia on packaging, point of sale and possible player involvement." As you can see from the photo showing the Ticketmaster Plaza fenced off in preparation of an evening event, this "civic" space also is a significant revenue producer for BSE Global, which operates the arena and owns the teams.

The Barclays Center yesterday released its December 2024 calendar of events: 15 ticketed events including five Brooklyn Nets games, two college basketball tournaments, and eight concerts--but no New Year's Eve show. Last December, there were  16 ticketed events , including one wrestling show and and a New Year's Eve concert. See below. As I wrote, that was a significant improvement over  December 2022 , which had only eight ticketed events, including one concert. Should that be attributed to  the switch  from SeatGeek to Tickemaster? A declining  honeymood period  for the UBS Arena in Nassau County? More details Note that two Shakira concerts planned for this Dec. 6 and Dec. 7 were  cancelled , but those dates were then filled by two concerts from Usher, who had  already performed  four times at Barclays in September. The month includes the inaugural Women’s Champions Classic , a doubleheader featuring women’s college basketball teams from UC...

Weekly Digest: a Shifting Zeitgeist on Development? ( link ) Also, lingering questions about Atlantic Yards, and a big move by arena operator BSE Global into a Brooklyn icon.

It's notable that the WNBA's New York Liberty, which first played in Brooklyn in 2021 and won a championship this year, have had an easier welcome than the Brooklyn Nets, which debuted in 2012 and have gone through numerous ups and downs, including changes in players, coaches, ownership, and sponsors. Photo of New York magazine print issue So there you have it, in New York magazine's recent holiday season gift guide , a recommendation, among 95 gifts under $50, for a Lady Liberty Tee, featuring mascot Ellie the Elephant, "arguably the most famous member of the WNBA team." It's only $38, at the New York Liberty store. A month ago, New York recommended  an Ellie costume for Halloween. Let me quote: As the New York Liberty’s Ellie the Elephant danced her way to stardom, she proved that mascots don’t have to be corny. She’s been written up twice by Vogue and has a keen eye for fashion, not to mention her own stylist. She’s even been seen carrying a Telfar bag ....