Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

So, the Brooklyn "ecosystem" being built by BSE Global--media, events, etc.--continues to expand.  Note the synergy between Brooklyn Magazine, aka BKMAG, and the Barclays Center. A March 27 article on the New York Liberty's new Greenpoint practice facility did, appropriately, credit the announcement to "BSE Global, the owner of the team (and, full disclosure, BKMAG)." It's the first time, as far as I can tell, that there's been any such disclosure.   Below the radar   Some other synergy is more below the radar. Posted under  Arts & Entertainment , rather than "Sponsored," BKMAG on March 14 offered  Win Two Tickets to See Katt Williams Live at Barclays Center , pointing readers to follow the publication on Instagram, comment, and sign up for the publication's weekly newsletter. (It didn't disclose that they all share the same owner.) Below is a screenshot of the Instagram post .  Similarly, on March 24 BKMAG offered Win Two Tickets ...

In the midst of a lousy season for the Brooklyn Nets, parent BSE Global has some positive news to share. Last week, it was a new practice facility for the New York Liberty. This week, it's the second phase of a five-year plan, announced in October 2024, to enhance the Barclays Center. (Both new announcements involve the architectural firm Populous.) The decision by owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai last year to sell a 15% stake in BSE Global to the Koch family (of right-wing notoriety), at an astonishing valuation, brought in $688 million, of which $192 million (as noted by NetsDaily) was earmarked for working capital. Gallagher Terrace As with the previous Toki Row and JetBlue at The Key, a good part of the new announcement is aimed at big-spending customers.  Gallagher Terrace (images via Barclays Center) Barclays Center’s Loge Boxes and sections of 40/40 Club, according to the press release, "will be reimagined as Gallagher Terrace, a 5,300 square-foot space capturing the ambi...

View south from Vanderbilt Ave.; Beer Street  South at corner, retail space at right past car Last April, I wrote ( link ) that retail space at 550 Vanderbilt (aka B11) once used as a construction field office and community liaison office was finally up for rent, after Greenland Forest City Partners, which built the tower, had finally sold the three retail condos--one subdivided--at the base of the building. I had suggested that that 2400-square-foot space might not be easy to rent, given that there's relatively little foot traffic west on that stump of demapped Pacific Street. (If and when the adjacent railyard is developed and the open space complete, it would become prime property.) Well, new signage indicates that part of the space--that closest to Vanderbilt Avenue--will by June become the new home of Prospect Heights Eastern Spa , a body work and foot reflexology spa long operated down Vanderbilt Avenue.  It'll be a spa. Photos: Norman Oder Yelp reviews describe it as a...

The lesson of my recent coverage of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park is that the state officials who should know the most don't know much (or aren't telling), and the official advisory board hasn't been told. See: Brooklyn’s Stalled Atlantic Yards Plan Faces More Questions Than Answers  from City Limits  State officials say they expect a new developer to emerge. But without a new plan, will they pursue damages on June 1 for absent affordable housing? , from this blog The lesson from some other coverage and events is that other people know even less. Consider, as detailed below, an op-ed from a former state official, comments from one candidate for Brooklyn Borough President (though the incumbent had a better grasp), and a friendly interview with a city official who worked on the project. Blaming the NIMBYs It’s time for New Yorkers to embrace YIMBYism , wrote Elizabeth Fine, former counsel to Gov. Kathy Hochul and now principal of Liz Fine Advisory, wrote in Crain's New York...