Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Weekly Digest: In Philadelphia Arena Analysis, Misreading Brooklyn ( link ) Also: landlord Avanath, after I wrote about "absurdly priced" rents at "100% affordable" buildings, reverts to what city documents seem to require.

The September 2024 calendar ( link ) circulated by the Barclays Center to neighbors should be updated. According to the arena, an additional concert was added for the month of September, based on a belatedly announced tour . DATE EVENT DOORS OPEN EVENT BEGINS EVENT ENDS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 LINKIN PARK 6:30PM 7:30PM   11:30PM The original total was 18 ticketed events: twelve concerts, four WNBA New York Liberty games, and two Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow Parties. Now there are 13 concerts and 19 ticketed events. Additionally, two home playoff games for the New York Liberty, seeded first in the WNBA, should be added for the last week of the month, once an opponent is determined. The tickets, albeit without a date or opponent, are already on sale .

Apparently, the entities--more on that below--controlling the collateral backing the Atlantic Yards EB-5 debt, the U.S. Immigration Fund (USIF) and Fortress Investment Group, are expected to partner ( link ) with the Related Companies on a joint venture to develop six development sites over the Vanderbilt Yard. But how did this happen, and who exactly is involved?  We know that master developer Greenland USA borrowed $349 million under the  EB-5 Program , in which immigrants investing in a purportedly job-creating enterprise offer low-interest loans in exchange for green cards for themselves and their families The loans were organized by the USIF, a business known as a regional center, which recruited the investors, in two tranches, $249 million and $100 million, marketed as "Atlantic Yards II" and "Atlantic Yards III." (The nomenclature is because there was a previous round of EB-5 funding, organized by the separate New York City Regional Center, for $228 million,

In recent weeks I've written about the possible--er, likely--extension of the You Belong Here"/"We Belong Here" neon art (or is it marketing?) installation outside Barclays Center past the end of 2024, which is three years and two months after it was installed on a "temporary" basis. It was installed by the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation's Social Justice Fund, launched by the owner of the Brooklyn Nets and arena company in the wake of 2020 protests, with a purported $50 million commitment over ten years. The signage, to me, serves both as art and advertising, as I wrote for The Indypendent in December 2021, encouraging people to buy tickets for arena events. If it's also supposed to be a "visual reflection" of the couple's philanthropy, as explained below, it's likely they'd want it up for a full decade. Getting to an extension An extension is apparently an internal decision by Empire State Development (ESD), the state authorit

OK, this is interesting. Screenshot Aug. 10, from Apartments.com In mid-August, I wrote ( link ) about landlord Avanath Capital's apparent effort to rent 2-BR apartments at 38 Sixth Ave. and 535 Carlton Ave., two "100% affordable" buildings within Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, for $5,483. That astounding figure  prompted confusion on Reddit, with a poster calling them "absurdly priced." The advertisements on Apartments.com, which also reflected the rent levels at one point advertised on each building's website, also sought $4,274 for 1-BRs and even studios. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Had Avanath, the California-based firm that bought both buildings in 2022, figured out how to legally game the rent-stabilization system? Was it violating an agreement with the city, which seemingly required rents starting in 2017 at $3,206 (2-BRs) and $2,663 (1-BRs) to rise according to the modest increases from the Rent Guidelines Board? Or perhaps it was som

Does the Barclays Center Offer Lessons for Philadelphia Arena Planners? ( link ) Yes, but the Community Impact Analysis relies on flawed articles and flattering photos. It omits the arena's expanded promotional canvas and the real story of the green roof.

The increased popularity of the WNBA (featuring marquee rookies like Caitlin Clark) and league-leading New York Liberty has led the team to open up Upper Bowl seats in the Barclays Center for every game (and an average attendance of 12,646 , second in the league, a 60% jump over last year). Numerous sports celebrities were in the audience yesterday. It's also led the team to increase ticket prices significantly for next year. A letter from CEO Keia Clarke claims the decision "is based on what the market is calling for and we believe it will ensure tickets belong to the most loyal Liberty fans."  What? Well, she said "prices for the Upper Bowl will start at $25"--it's unclear what seats and for what games--and that "our longest-tenured season ticket members in non-premium seats" will see per-game price increases capped at 25%.  That means season ticket holders for four years or a more, according to Sports Business Journal, a very small group. (Th

Weekly Digest: Getting the New York Arena Market Wrong (in Philly). Link here . What lessons does the Barclays Center have for a new arena? Well, context is key. Plus more (low-key) Brooklyn news.

Dog treats at the door One of the two restaurants in the base of the 595 Dean towers, visibly in the works since last April at least ( link ), is expected to open Thursday, Sept. 12 (updated to Saturday, Sept. 14-- see here ). From Eater's NYC’s Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings of Fall 2024 : Zwann Grays, a star sommelier, was once Olmsted’s wine director. Now, she is leading the beverage side of another Prospect Heights restaurant, Nin Hao , where she pairs wines with Fujianese cuisine. Nin Hao is owned by Evan Toretto Li, who was involved in opening MáLà Project, and has brought along Kim Hui Teo as executive chef, an alum of Tim Ho Wan and Red Farm. 609 Dean Street, between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues, Prospect Heights Yes, they're giving out handmade dog treats via a dispenser at the door. The New York Times's clarified  that it would open Sept. 12: To Prospect Heights, where Chinese restaurants are in short supply, comes the seafood-driven fare of Fujian. Evan

As indicated by the September 2024 event calendar ( link ) and the post on Twitter/X at right, this week the Barclays Center practiced a bit of synergy, installing a Brooklyn Nets/New York Liberty monster truck on Ticketmaster Plaza to promote two monster truck arena events on Sept. 28. So there you have it, a monster truck painted Nets black on one side and Liberty green on the other. Plus various logos, images, and slogans. Both sides got "light it up" and "strong," but I think only the Nets side got "wow." Plus the all-important signifiers "Dean Street" and "Atlantic Avenue," where, presumably, such monster trucks would provoke consternation. All told, a bit more sophisticated, I suspect, than the "Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow Party" that is aimed at kids. Check out this video for an example. It's another example of using the branded "public" plaza for promotional purposes. The truck, from two angles

The current developer behind Pacific Park, Greenland USA, has been financially struggling, with six tower sites in foreclosure, and has not had much reason to promote the project for a while. In fact, its website, at least for several months, has been dead. Click on http://www.pacificparkbrooklyn.com/  and, as shown below, the result is that "This account has been suspended." The last update to the website's press release page , according to the Internet Archive, is Sept. 26, 2018,  Greenland Forest City Partners, TF Cornerstone and Brodsky Organization Announce Partnership to Advance Next Phases of Development of Pacific Park . The last update to the website's news page , according to the Internet Archive, cite's Curbed's May 11, 2019 article,  A guide to the major megaprojects transforming New York City . Then again, Greenland USA still owns the rights to Site 5 and the unbuilt flagship tower once slated to loom over the arena, and has planned a giant projec

Following up on my coverage yesterday ( link ) about a consultant's dubious report on the concert market, I took a look at Pollstar's 2023 ranking of ticket sales for the world's busiest arenas. Notably, the Barclays Center showed a significant drop, to 25th worldwide, with 726,548 tickets sold, even trailing the Prudential Center in Newark. Madison Square Garden sold 1,985,832 tickets. Barclays from 2013-18 had maintained a top-ten position in Pollstar's rankings (based on ticket sales) slipped to 11th in 2019, rose to 5th in the truncated 2020 calendar, and fell to 26th in the Covid-shortened 2021 calendar. Note that in 2019, when Pollstar reported on both ticket sales and gross revenue in the same chart, Barclays ranked 11th in volume but, by my count, third in revenue. In 2020, it was fifth in tickets and third in revenue. In 2021, it was 26th in tickets and 24th in revenue. Revenue is different That said, higher ticket prices meant both Prudential and Barclays ra

Consultant's Dubious Philly Arena Forecast Relies on NY-Area Venue Fictions ( link ) Dishonest and deceptive, CSL ignores competing arenas, MSG renovation, new-venue bump, and post-pandemic surge.

Build More Homes for Families , real estate developer and former Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen wrote June 26, 2024 for Vital City: The average two-bedroom apartment in New York now rents for $5,145 per month . That means a family needs to earn at least $200,000 in order to “afford” that apartment without being rent-burdened (rent burden is defined as spending more than 30% of income on rent). But the area median income for a family of four is only $155,300 , a whopping 25% less than what they need.  Indeed, see the rising Area Median Income in Ben Keel's graphic below. The line for 100% AMI, as of 2024, now rises slightly about $150,000. What about those needing help? Others, she notes, can't afford to move out, but can't afford to stay. But we're not building for them, either: A review of affordable apartments — by which I mean housing that is income-tested and rent-restricted — completed in New York City in the last five years shows tha

(Bi-)Weekly Digest: Would Related "Rescue" Atlantic Yards or Wrangle Concessions? ( link )  If new developer wants New York State authority to back a supersized project before entering the deal, wouldn't that make future public review meaningless?

Update: see Sept. 16 concert added ( link ), for a total of 19 ticketed events and 13 concerts. The Barclays Center this week circulated its September 2024 event calendar, which includes 18 ticketed events: twelve concerts, four WNBA New York Liberty games, and two Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow Parties. That's a considerable bump from the six concerts and ten ticketed events in September 2023 , again perhaps attributable to the switch back to Ticketmaster from SeatGeek, plus the fact that there are four Usher concerts. Unlike with last year, the monster truck events will be advertised, according to the community notice, by the arrival Tuesday, Sept. 3, of a monster truck on Ticketmaster Plaza, where it will stay three days, with amplified sound. In other words, that "public" space is valuable as a promotional device. Non-ticketed events The calendar also lists several non-ticketed events, starting with the free plaza party, Angela Yee Day , form noon to 6 pm on Sund

We know, thanks to reporting first by The Real Deal and more recently by the Wall Street Journal (my coverage ), that a business deal is proceeding for a new developer, Related Companies, to partner with the entities controlling the six future tower sites over the MTA's Vanderbilt Yard, to develop them. That's according to a representative of one of those entities, the U.S. Immigration Fund (USIF), the "regional center" or loan packager for two loans to immigrant investors under the EB-5 investor visa program, which totaled $349 million, of which about $286 million remains.  (The other entity is Fortress Investment Group. Whether and how much the EB-5 investors, recruited in China, have any say is unclear.) The inability of the current master developer, Greenland USA, to repay those loans means that its collateral, the sites for towers B5-B10, have faced foreclosure. Those towers have been approved for nearly 3.5 million square feet. Does that mean that construction m

So, what to make of the Wall Street Journal article today headlined Related Closes In on Deal to Rescue Notoriously Stalled Massive Housing Project , which was summarized somewhat conclusorily by The Real Deal as Related, Fortress, USIF to develop Pacific Park as joint venture ? Well, it sounds like a business deal to develop six railyard development sites, which The Real Deal had already reported was brewing, is further along. But it's yet to get--at least officially--government approval. And the only named source is a rather self-interested businessperson. What next? As the WSJ summarized it, "If all goes well, Related could resume construction on the site as soon as the end of 2025, a person with knowledge of the project said." That doesn't rule out the possibility of a reconfiguration of the project, perhaps along the lines current master developer Greenland USA proposed to rescue it via a significant expansion, as I reported . That could mean new deadlines and, p

Barton Lewis "is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker and photographer whose current work centers around features and fixtures of the street and subway transformed by street artists and organic decay," according to his website . "Before turning to photography in 2018, Barton made films about natural light and the urban landscape." So check out the 13-minute video, fire doors, Pacific Street, Atlantic Yards , described as a "study of 13 graffiti-scrawled fire doors (now dismantled) attached to a fence along the perimeter of the Atlantic Yards development on Pacific Street in Brooklyn, NY." It's sure a snapshot of a different world, yet... there's still a fence bordering the railyard that suggests a yet-to-be developed site. fire doors, Pacific Street, Atlantic Yards from Barton Lewis on Vimeo . The film was posted on Vimeo "14 years ago," meaning 2010, but I suspect it was shot years before at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Vande