After 19 months, state to resume Quality of Life meetings Nov. 6 to hear neighborhood concerns about the project & arena. Conservancy has new phone #!

OK, there will finally be a forum to hear community concerns about Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, and the Barclays Center. 

As I wrote Oct. 5 (link), officials at Empire State Development, the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project, said they would soon schedule a Quality of Life meeting, the first since February 2023.

The meetings slacked when vertical construction finished, and also, I suspect, because ESD personnel had departed. 

However, the reason for such meetings, with ESD having the ability to bring representatives from various agencies and companies to field questions, has not waned.

"This meeting is a forum for the community to receive updates and engage Empire State Development, Barclays Center operators, and other project partners in the Atlantic Yards Project regarding issues affecting the quality of life for residents and businesses in close proximity to the project site," the notice stated.

I'll publish an update before the meeting about some potential issues, though I mentioned several in previous coverage, including traffic congestion, sewer work, school operations, and a noisy dog run.

Virtual meeting

The meeting will be virtual, which is a questionable choice that dampens transparency.

Yes, it may accommodate more people, but it also allows--as past experience has shown--the organizers to ignore follow-up questions and prevents attendees from conversing with each other and possibly sharing information.

The meeting will be Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 6 pm, via Zoom. Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jfX9MgsFTsWiguTSctqB1w

Questions and comments for the presenters can be submitted via email to AtlanticYards@esd.ny.gov before the meeting. Questions and comments can also be submitted in the virtual platform’s chat feature during the meeting.

Meeting agenda

The agenda includes presentations from/about:

1. Empire State Development
2. Barclays Center (BSE Global)
3. Greenland USA
4. Pacific Park Conservancy
5. Additional Updates

It will be interesting to see what Greenland USA, the master developer which is slated to lose development rights to six railyard parcels, has to say.

Greenland does have the rights to develop Site 5, the parcel catercorner to the arena, and likely would either engage a partner or sell the rights. Note that a proposed shift of bulk from the unbuilt B1 tower, once slated to loom over the arena, to Site 5 would require an approval process involving public hearings.

Note that the Pacific Park Conservancy, which I described in May as a phantom because no one answered emails and the phone number didn't work, is on the agenda, and presumably will be asked about managing the noisy dog run that has plagued residents of the West tower of 595 Dean.

Who will represent the Conservancy?

There's a new phone number listed, 646-930-4852. When I called it last night, it was a voice mail, with no name attached. That number, by the way, is different from the number in the photo above; that number has never worked when I called.

Also note that the 24/7 phone number for the Barclays Center listed below was previously provided as a point of contact for neighbors alarmed when the arena's oculus stayed on past midnight.

Atlantic Yards Project Contacts

Empire State Development (ESD) Atlantic Yards Team
(212) 803-3736
AtlanticYards@esd.ny.gov

Greenland USA Community Liaison Office
CommunityLiaison@PacificParkBrooklyn.com

Barclays Center Arena
24/7 Contact Number: (917) 618-6661
Community@bseglobal.net

Pacific Park Conservancy
(646) 930-4852
conservancy@pacificparkbrooklyn.nyc