At meeting, arena rep outlines plans for kids' hoops at Modell's, offers reassuring rhetoric about arena operations (& vendors), leans into "Urban Experience."
This is the third of three articles about the Nov. 6, 2024 Atlantic Yards Quality of Life meeting, sponsored by Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project. The first concerned the way the project was framed. The second concerned the dog run and open space.
Marissa Shorenstein, Chief External Affairs Officer for BSE Global, which owns the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, and the Barclays Center operating company, was invited to present plans--previously disclosed at a meeting of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation--for a youth basketball program at the closed Modell's store opposite the arena.
She noted that there are uses of the plaza unrelated to BSE Global, notably protests and other gatherings. "It is an Urban Experience for a reason," she said, "in which case we wouldn't be the ones notifying necessarily about those events."
Again, it sounded like she was leaning into that term "Urban Experience."
Marissa Shorenstein, Chief External Affairs Officer for BSE Global, which owns the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, and the Barclays Center operating company, was invited to present plans--previously disclosed at a meeting of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation--for a youth basketball program at the closed Modell's store opposite the arena.
In other words, her presentation was more a commercial than a chance to answer questions, which she did at the end, with little detail or dialogue.
Had it been an in-person meeting, attendees might have been able to ask follow-up questions that comported with their experience, such as seeing illegal vendors regularly on and around the arena plaza.
Heck, even a virtual meeting--at least one with participants able to speak and chat rather than be be passive recipients only able to submit questions to the hosts, who kept those questions opaque--might have been better.
Also, it was curious, as I describe below, to hear the phrase "Urban Experience" to describe the arena's sponsored Ticketmaster Plaza. I think BSE Global is trying to position it as more a civic than commercial space.
Plan for Modell's
Brooklyn Basketball, a partnership between the Nets and the Liberty, is a "community-first basketball experience," Shorenstein said. (A "community-second" one would be what?)
The Modell's site, she said, could be "a really wonderful home for Brooklyn Basketball," programmed daily, as well as providing a place for kids to do homework before or after events.
Shorenstein said that the plaza, which she also called the Urban Experience (a formal name, from state documents, not typically used by arena reps), was cleaned daily, with staff cleaning the plaza from 6 am through the end of the event.
On non-event days, they have staff for plaza cleaning from 6 am to 6 pm, and then midnight to 6 pm. She didn't explain the gap.
Security, traffic, and rhetoric
Crowds and vendors
Someone--the format prevents attendees from knowing--asked Shorenstein if the arena operator was doing anything to address vendors attracted by events.
Brooklyn Basketball, a partnership between the Nets and the Liberty, is a "community-first basketball experience," Shorenstein said. (A "community-second" one would be what?)
It involves students at 200-plus schools in Brooklyn, plus hosted clinics with community organizations at BSE Global's own facilities in Brooklyn and beyond. This year, they expect to involve 80,000 kids, age 6 through 18+, at more than 1,600 events. (That's 50 kids per event.)
The Modell's site, she said, could be "a really wonderful home for Brooklyn Basketball," programmed daily, as well as providing a place for kids to do homework before or after events.
She said they recognized that, if and when Site 5 is developed for expected towers, they'd have to leave, but "if we're unable to stay in this space that we would we would commit to be looking for another space nearby."
She showed a rough outline of the plans. with three full courts and a half court/
What will it cost?
What will it cost?
I asked a question raised at the AY CDC meeting: are the camps and clinics free or for-fee.
Shorenstein said most are free, since BSE Global partners with the Department of Education. "Our additional programming is a mixture of both free and fee-based programming," she added, noting that they do offer sliding-scale fees based on the ability of families to afford those programs.
The camps and clinics at Modell's, she said, will be consistent with the overall statistics that she provided.
Shorenstein said most are free, since BSE Global partners with the Department of Education. "Our additional programming is a mixture of both free and fee-based programming," she added, noting that they do offer sliding-scale fees based on the ability of families to afford those programs.
The camps and clinics at Modell's, she said, will be consistent with the overall statistics that she provided.
That wasn't clear to me: did she mean the majority at Modell's would be free, reflecting the school partnership, or would the activities at Modell's, outside the schools, reflect the "mixture"?
If so, how does free and fee-based balance out? However, she didn't respond to my follow-up email query.
The plaza
Shorenstein said that the plaza, which she also called the Urban Experience (a formal name, from state documents, not typically used by arena reps), was cleaned daily, with staff cleaning the plaza from 6 am through the end of the event.
Was this a response to a video I posted of a post-concert mess on the plaza?
Security, traffic, and rhetoric
Security staff walk through the plaza every 60 to 90 minutes. And they walk work closely with the New York Police Department "to ensure that we are supportive of their efforts, especially when there are uses of the Urban Experience that are led by the community, such as gatherings or protests," she said.
Why "Urban Experience"? I suspect that they're positioning the plaza--er, Ticketmaster Plaza--as mostly a civic asset, and thus insulating BSE Global from having Empire State Development request payment for use of the plaza.
Why "Urban Experience"? I suspect that they're positioning the plaza--er, Ticketmaster Plaza--as mostly a civic asset, and thus insulating BSE Global from having Empire State Development request payment for use of the plaza.
"We provide supplemental traffic management, obviously, on all event days," she said, referring, apparently, to the yellow-jacketed pedestrian monitors.
They're helpful, sure, but how does BSE Global adjust when certain events bring more vehicles to the neighborhood? Those events have the biggest impact on neighbors, and the issue deserves more discussion.
 |
| Arena plaza, Nov. 7. Photos: Norman Oder |
Crowds and vendors
Someone--the format prevents attendees from knowing--asked Shorenstein if the arena operator was doing anything to address vendors attracted by events.
Her response: the arena security team works closely with the New York Police Department to ensure things on the plaza are legal, safe, and permissible.
Oh, really? The next evening I happened to walk on the plaza, when a crowd for a Marc Anthony concert was arriving, and saw dozens of vendors on the plaza and the sidewalk.
In the photo at right, two vendors (flag and food) are in the foreground, then a flag vendor right center standing right in front of two police officers, who perhaps have calculated that cracking down on vendors would harsh the vibe.
The video below shows many illegal vendors along the Flatbush Avenue sidewalk as it approached the intersection with Atlantic Avenue.
.
Oculus lighting
Shorenstein said the oculus, the prow from the arena with illuminated digital signage, operates daily from from 6 am to midnight, but is occasionally kept on later for half an hour after an event ends, to enhance safety for those leaving the building.
She didn't mention past episodes of the oculus malfunctioning. I haven't heard of recent ones, but note multiple episodes, most recently in 2018 , when the lights flashed until 1:30 am, disturbing the sleep of Pacific Street residents.
Inside, or out?
Why, Shorenstein was asked, were plaza events held outdoors rather than inside the arena lobby.
She noted that indoors spaces are regularly used, but, with an event outdoors prior to a game, obviously, the atrium is used for people coming in.
Event listings
She said neighbors and community organizations could be added to the mailing list for the monthly arena calendar, which is occasionally supplemented by late-breaking announcements.
Why, Shorenstein was asked, were plaza events held outdoors rather than inside the arena lobby.
She noted that indoors spaces are regularly used, but, with an event outdoors prior to a game, obviously, the atrium is used for people coming in.
Event listings
She said neighbors and community organizations could be added to the mailing list for the monthly arena calendar, which is occasionally supplemented by late-breaking announcements.
She noted that there are uses of the plaza unrelated to BSE Global, notably protests and other gatherings. "It is an Urban Experience for a reason," she said, "in which case we wouldn't be the ones notifying necessarily about those events."
Again, it sounded like she was leaning into that term "Urban Experience."
Comments
Post a Comment