What happened last Sunday around Barclays Center? Arena says a fraction of "20-30 buses" for Catholic service parked nearby. Videos show 60+, many idling.

A hydrant on Flatbush Avenue

Last Sunday, I heard reports of buses parked around the Barclays Center, and a neighbor shot video and shared it with me, showing dozens of buses, some of them idling illegally, with a few blocking hydrants, bus stops or (partial) crosswalks, as well as double-parking. 

Oddly enough, the arena had not announced an event in its July event calendar circulated to neighbors. Nor had it sent an update.

But the videos, as shown below, indicate widespread idling, which is prohibited for more than three minutes. (My source says buses were still idling on a second walk-through.)

A Catholic service

A search on Twitter/X turned up a post from the Diocese of Brooklyn stating, in the associated image (below left), "Brooklyn is Proud to Host Eucharist in the Barclays Center." I saved the image.

(Here's background on that Catholic ritual and service. The event was well-attended, with the arena's upper deck occupied if not full, from this Instagram post, and the arena said 14,500 people were there.)

The image explained, "After 50 years, The Neocatechumenal Way"--an evangelizing force within Catholicism born in 1964 in shantytowns outside Madrid--"has grown to more than 1,100 communities within the United States. Cardinal Pierre will preside over a special celebration this Sunday with the participation of two cardinals and other bishops and priests."

Idling buses

I tweeted, "This is apparently why there are dozens of buses idling in the blocks around #BarclaysCenter now, including double-parking along Atlantic Ave. No announcement circulated by #BSEGlobal/arena management Aren't buses supposed to stage elsewhere?" One neighbor estimated 50 buses parked for eight hours.

Double-parking on Atlantic Avenue

I queried the Diocese's John Quaglione, who was listed in the image "for press inquiries." By the time he got back to me, the Diocese's original post was deleted.

Quaglione deflected my questions and sent me to the Neocatechumenal Way, noting it "was originally set to take place in New Jersey, but plans were changed." He told me to contact the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Newark, but my email and call didn't get a response.

First, 12+ of buses

Below is one of the three videos (shot in the late afternoon) sent to me, focusing on Flatbush Avenue near the arena, then circling back toward Site 5, home to the big-box store P.C. Richard.

I'm only counting 12 buses in this video, since some of them, on Atlantic Avenue, appear in another video.   

Barclays says 20-30 buses

I posted several questions to the arena, and got this response from BSE Global spokeswoman Rachael Lewis:

Barclays Center hosted a private event on Sunday, July 7 for approximately 14,500 attendees from all across the country, with event organizers utilizing 20-30 buses to transport guests to and from the arena. Guest drop off was staggered and began at 10 a.m. with pick up scheduled to begin at the conclusion of the event. Many of the buses were redirected to park at a different location once they completed their drop off, however Barclays Center also worked with our partners at the NYPD to secure various permits allowing a few of the buses to park around the arena as needed.

(Emphasis added)

Her response didn't explain why no announcement was circulated or when the event was moved to Barclays. Nor did she respond to my follow-up question regarding whether it was OK to park at hydrants and bus stops.

How many buses, really?

In the video below, I count 48 buses, including two not full size, including some from New Jersey and Connecticut. Note one on Sixth Avenue below Atlantic Avenue, parked between the residential towers 18 Sixth Ave. and 38 Sixth Ave.

There were "No Parking" signs visible along the south side of Atlantic Avenue indicating permission for the buses, but not--according to my source--elsewhere.

The NYPD was present and presumably could have ticketed those illegally idling, but nah, it's all part of the partnership. 

It's worth nothing that the absence of development over the railyard, where six towers are planned, means there are were no residential tenants to complain about pollution and noise from the idling vehicles.

It's also worth noting that Empire State Development's previous bi-monthly Quality of Life meetings, suspended indefinitely given no vertical development, previously provided an opportunity for neighbors to get questions answered.

A touchy history

Many don't remember, but there have been a few episodes in the past where the streets were inundated with buses, and Barclays pledged that buses would stage somewhere else, like Red Hook, and then pick

May 2015

people up in a staggered fashion, so as to not clog the streets.

The most notorious example was in May 2015, when hundreds of school buses--one news outlet said 270--delivering visitors to the memorial for an Orthodox Jewish educator inundated neighborhood streets, double-parking on both Flatbush Avenue and residential streets and blocking bus stops and hydrants.

That was a larger number of buses, and more disruptive to weekday traffic. That said, the buses were not idling. 

But this Sunday's episode is another reminder that the arena's a very tight fit, so, even if Brooklyn Nets fans are habituated to take public transit, that's not the case for those attending one-off events, especially when coming from a distance.

One last video

Below is one bus parked along Fourth Avenue below Pacific Street, outside the Pacific Branch library of the Brooklyn Public Library.