Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

The Barclays Center has added two New York Liberty games to its September calendar ( link ): Sunday, Sept. 22, at 1 pm, and Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 7:30 pm. Given that the Liberty are the top seed against the 8th-seeded Atlantic Dream, they're a good bet to win two games at home in the best-of-three series, and to stay home for the semi-finals, which, like the finals, are best-of-five. The first semi-finals game will be Sunday, Sept. 29, and the second will be Tuesday, Oct. 1. The Liberty lost in the finals last year to the Las Vegas Aces.

While Yelp ( link ) reports the drive-through McDonald's at Vanderbilt Avenue and Atlantic Avenue as closed, and Google ( link ) no longer says "temporarily closed," the fast-food restaurant has reopened. It was closed for an interior renovation, estimated to cost $60,000, to "relocate/install new front counter registers, kiosks, partitions, menu boards, and related finishes," according to Department of Buildings records. There's a clear emphasis on self-service, as shown in the photo at right, and at bottom.  Long-running lawsuit The investment, though it's likely to be recouped in the short term, is a sign that the federal lawsuit McDonald's filed in 2019 against its landlord, Vanderbilt Atlantic Holdings, isn't close to being settled.  As I wrote last October, the landlord's request for summary judgment--a full decision in their favor without a trial--on its claim that McDonald's failed to follow contractual rules for setting a new re

A Sept. 16 New York Times article,  In New York Case, Signs of a Familiar China Playbook , described how various members of the Chinese diaspora are under suspicion for political interference in Western democracies, include a former New York gubernatorial aide, Linda Sun. Such efforts are very different than seeking industrial or technological secrets. From the article: What Ms. Sun is accused of doing is part of a different side of Chinese intelligence work — one that is focused on influencing political discourse so that it leans more favorably toward China’s positions on contentious issues like the status of Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by Beijing, or the repression of China’s ethnic Uyghur minority. Wait a sec: isn't that what Joe Tsai (Taiwanese-Canadian, but his billions come from the Chinese giant Alibaba), who owns the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, and the Barclays Center operating company, does too, more or less, without being accused of taking bribes? Tsai&

I don't get these reports as often as I used to, but I don't think it's because Barclays Center is today consistently calm after events. It's just that fewer people report it. But an arena neighbor sent me a couple of videos shot early this morning, at about 12:45 am, after the Sexyy Red show ( calendar ) had ended at the arena. As the first video shows, the number of garbage cans (few) was not enough for the plastic cups and garbage strewn on the arena plaza, sponsored by Ticketmaster. If the arena doesn't have a late-shift cleanup crew--and it didn't look like it--well, presumably that was cleared by this morning. Around the corner As the video below shows, there was some impromptu vending along Flatbush Avenue. As has been obvious, unlicensed vendors (and scalpers) operate regularly outside the arena for all kinds of events, from concerts to family shows to basketball games. That's not (regularly) enforced, just as numerous traffic violatio

On July 2, The Real Deal had a scoop: Related in talks to take over Pacific Park megaproject . (My coverage .) The publication didn't have any other details other than that they had "learned" that Related Companies was seeking to build on the six railyard development sites facing foreclosure. No other news outlet followed with more details, but had we checked the state's lobbying database, as shown in the screenshot below, for the May/June period, the report , filed on July 12 , indicated that it had been lobbying two executives at Empire State Development (ESD), Arden Sokolow and Joel Kolkmann, as well as the authority's CEO, Hope Knight. ESD oversees/shepherds Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, and is likely being asked to renegotiate the May 2025 deadline for affordable housing, as well as the scale of the project--both proposals floated last year by the current (though fading) master developer, Greenland USA. Note: in its March/April lobbying report , Related did n

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?