Arena operator BSE Global says it didn't need DOB permission to put up the Liberty Portraits exhibition on Ticketmaster Plaza. (Updated/corrected)

Photos: Norman Oder

See below for an update and correction.

It came up at the very end of the Aug. 6 Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC) meeting.

(My coverage of the other discussions is here.)

Almost offhandedly, Chair Daniel Kummer asked about the installation of the Liberty Portraits--an exhibit of photos of New York Liberty players, with text, that's billed as art but which I see equally as promotion--on the Barclays Center's Ticketmaster Plaza.

He called it a "public plaza." I think it blurs private and public, as it significantly serves BSE Global, which constricts it to accommodate arena crowds.  

"Was there some sort of approval that they sought for that or did they submit a plan for that?" Kummer asked. "What's the process there? Do they do they have free rein to just put up something like that?... I'm not commenting on whether it's good or bad."

Attorney Matthew Acocella of Empire State Development. the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project, responded, "I don't want to hazard an answer to that." ESD staff indicated they would look into it.

I queried ESD, but didn't hear back. I asked BSE Global and was told, by Chief External Affairs Officer Marissa Shorenstein, that no ESD permits were required.

(Would you believe that a private company was more responsive, albeit past my requested deadline, than a public agency?)

What about the Department of Buildings?

I followed up to ask if the installation required a permit from the Department of Buildings (DOB), as I didn't see a permit on the DOB NOW Public Portal.

"We take permit requirements very seriously for all of our events and installations both at the plaza and other locations where we have ancillary events," Shorenstein responded. "DOB, DOT, Parks, NYPD, FDNY (among other agencies) have various permit and regulatory requirements that we adhere to."

"In this case, we conducted extensive internal and external review of the art installation. Based on those requirements, the installation did not meet the threshold for permitting," she continued. "I will not go through every requirement, but some examples include that the installation is not anchored into the ground, it does not include permanent lighting or sound, the portraits are not taller than 10’, nor greater than 120 sq. feet, they are more than 60’ from subway stairs."

Updated Aug. 20: Though I thus explored the issue of 120 square feet, that's moot, since the Department of Buildings tells me that the installations seem to be free-standing objects that will not support additional weight and therefore would be considered a “prop." Props, including statues and sculptures, under 10 feet tall do not require a permit.

 

That said, only an official inspection, such as one generated by a 311 complaint, could confirm whether any permit would be required, I was told. (Here's info on the Temporary Place of Assembly permitting process.)

About 120 square feet

Well, the individual portraits, and likely the cumulative total footprint for them, do not exceed 120 square feet, but overall, the three-row installation well exceeds that. 

So, should the portraits be seen as a series of individual structures or even three narrow rows? Or as a cumulative installation, from end to end? 

I think it's the latter, even if BSE Global may have met the letter of the law on that front.

The issue, again, is moot, since the Building Code section referenced below references structures that are not "props."

 

But maybe there's another issue. The closest applicable (as far as I know) Building Code section says no permit is required for:

The erection and use of temporary platforms, reviewing stands, outdoor bandstands, and similar miscellaneous structures that cover an area less than 120 square feet, including connecting areas or spaces with a common means of egress or entrance, for not more than 30 days.

Let's drill down. Because the connecting areas do not have a common means of egress or entrance, they do not contribute to the total of 120 square feet, thus exempting this installation on that ground.

However, this only applies when such temporary structures are up for no more than 30 days. The installation was launched in early July and will be up through October. 

So that strikes me as a permit requirement--though I'm no lawyer and, without seeing BSE Global's full, legally-vetted reasoning, there may be other factors that intervene. 

At the borders

If this holds, it suggests that BSE Global, which controls operations at the "temporary" plaza under a lease, has a lot of leeway to put up more projects that blur the line between promotion and art--and constrict the ability of the public to cross the plaza--as long as the specific footprint is not too big.

Note that the plaza would not become permanent until and unless ESD permits the transfer of bulk from the unbuilt tower, B1, once slated to loom over the arena, across Flatbush Avenue to Site 5, long home to the big-box stores P.C. Richard and the now-closed Modell's, creating a much larger two-tower project than currently approved.

That approval process, I've suggested, gives ESD leverage to demand more from BSE Global as well as the Site 5 developers. 

BSE Global did have to get approval in 2021 from both ESD and the MTA to put the "You Belong Here"/"We Belong Here" neon art/signage above the plaza's transit entrance for three years and last year got approval for an extension through October 2026. (I'm not sure about DOB approval in this case.)