Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

The next Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Quality of Life Meeting will be held virtually on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, at 6 pm, two days after MTV Video Music Awards may have caused significant disruption--at least according to pre-show announcements of street closures --in the immediate neighborhood of the Barclays Center.  Eight years ago, the VMAs were both celebrated as a success and seen as an imposition . We'll see how much this latest event impacts neighbors. The meeting's  Zoom link is here . Dial In: 646-558-8656 || Passcode: 967 1621 4798 #  Meeting ID: 967 1621 4798  Project-related questions and suggested agenda items may be sent to atlanticyards@esd.ny.gov. (An agenda, typically non-informative, should be circulated soon.) Note that the bi-monthly meeting, hosted by Empire State Development, was two months ago described as likely involving an in-person meeting, perhaps in a hybrid format. But earlier this month new Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation ...

Yesterday, the Barclays Center announced an extensive series of street closures and restrictions nearby, starting today, for the 2021 Video Music Awards, which are being held on Sunday, September 12th.  Note the announcement below, and a separate announcement yesterday from the 78th Precinct, which adds some details not mentioned by the arena, such as "privacy fence" at the arena plaza during the event, and the closure of additional streets, such as Pacific Street. "To facilitate the vast production needs, the perimeter of the arena’s streets and sidewalks will be restricted or closed," the Barclays Center announcement stated. "Pedestrians will be rerouted to the sidewalks across from the arena on Show Day." (Of course the "vast production needs" have spillover impacts on the immediate neighborhood, but does the arena offer any giveback? Apparently not.) Closures today As indicated below, pieces of Dean Street, Flatbush Avenue, and Atlantic Avenu...

A 6/8/21 press release announced that yes,  MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) return to New York City LIVE on Sunday, September 12th, airing globally in over 175 countries .  What's unclear is how many fans will be allowed inside the Barclays Center, but... it seems clear that many will be, as health and safety protocols evolve. And the limits on an audience might have more to do with production constraints than safety ones. Also unclear is the impact on the neighborhood surrounding the arena, which took a hit during the 2013 VMAs, the last time they came to Brooklyn. Note that the event will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The press release MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) return to New York City LIVE on Sunday, September 12th, airing globally in over 175 countries From Barclays Center and packed with epic performances, VMAs set as one of first fan-filled awards shows In observance of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, MTV and 9/11 Day to partner on events leading ...

Oh, well. The 6/29/30 announcement by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that the MTV Video Music Awards would return to the Barclays Center Aug. 30, with limited or no audience (and later clarified to no audience), has been overtaken by a decision not to hold an indoor event at all, but rather several outdoor performances around the city. That's a blow to arena managers' efforts to resume some revenue-producing events. That said, according to former arena executive Irina Pavlova, the arena operator would've incurred a loss. The VMAs are a “reputational” special event to put a venue on the map. It’s not a money-maker even in the good times. As a special event, it’ll have its own sponsors which don’t benefit the arena. Also huge load-in/out times, big egos etc = high costs that the venue absorbs — Irina Pavlova (@TheRealPavlova) August 8, 2020 Page Six  reported  yesterday: A source told Page Six earlier this week that some staffers expressed they did not feel safe going ahead with...

This is the second of three posts on the 7/21/20  Quality of Life meeting , sponsored by Empire State Development (ESD). The first concerned construction progress and open issues.  The third concerned the B12 and B13 sites. Barclays Center spokeswoman Mandy Gutmann responded to several questions and made a few announcements. MTV Video Music Awards The Barclays Center plans to host MTV's Video Music Awards on Aug. 30, without an audience. Neighbors pointed out that the 2013 production caused great strains on local blocks. "I was here in 2013," Gutmann said. "I know it was a massive production… This year will be different." As details are resolved, she said, "I can discuss with [ESD's] Tobi [Jaiyesimi] the best way to disseminate information." Noting that the North Prospect Heights Association has offered to organize a meeting before the event, Gutmann said, "we appreciate your help and your offer and will certainly be in touch a...

Confirming a report first floated in Variety 5/28/20, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in his press conference yesterday, declared that the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday, August 30. "The event will follow all safety guidance, including limited or no audience," a graphic stated. Later, the daily email from the Governor's office clarified, "The event will take place without an in-person audience." Still, it's unclear how many personnel will be needed to manage/operate the event, or how many performers/guests there will be. This will be the first event held at Barclays since it shuttered in March for the coronavirus pandemic. Surely, they need the money.  It will be interesting to see whether any protests will be continuing on the arena plaza. That said, it's possible that protests can proceed while the side entrance(s) and loading dock are used to make the vent go. "Extensive social ...

Variety yesterday published an exclusive, MTV Video Music Awards Exploring August Live Show From Brooklyn’s Barclays Center “We’re exploring with government officials, the medical community and key stakeholders on how to safely hold the 2020 VMAs at Barclays Center on August 30th,” an MTV spokesperson tells Variety. “The health of everyone involved is our number one priority. Additionally, we are working on several contingency plans to bring music’s biggest night to audiences everywhere.” Note that VMAs typically move around among venues , and were notably held once before at the Barclays Center, in 2013, gaining buzz while impinging seriously on the neighborhood. From Variety: While a traditional physical production is the goal, according to one source familiar with the plans, the network is keeping safety top of mind and exploring virtual performances and an audience-free show, among other contingency plans. Ya think? New York City is the nation's coronavirus epicenter,...

Hey, remember the Dubai Mini-Mart at the southeast corner of Dean Street and Sixth Avenue, in front of which pop stars gamboled on a red carpet for the August 2013 MTV Video Music Awards ? It closed at the end of 2016 after a dispute with its landlord. (I've heard different versions.) Now the store is Dean Organic, perhaps aiming at a changing demographic.

There was not a lot of discussion of Atlantic Yards at last night's 78th Precinct Community Council meeting. I asked about the progress of the announced effort to crack down on illegal parking around the Barclays Center, and was told it would be discussed next Wednesday, 12/4/13, at the Atlantic Yards Quality of Life Committee meeting , 6 pm at the 78th Precinct, Bergen Street and Sixth Avenue. VMAs and the Code of Conduct Peter Krashes of the Dean Street Block Association also updated attendees on one lingering question about the MTV Video Music Awards , held at the end of August at Dean Street and Sixth Avenue. The block association, he said, met with the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and was told that the Code of Conduct applicable to film shoots and community outreach was in effect during the weekend, confirming a lingering question . "We did find numerous examples of violations," Krashes said. For example, he said, the Code of Conduct req...

It's time for some Atlantic Yards whiplash regarding the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) held 8/26/13, with the red-carpet pre-show on Sixth Avenue and Dean Street outside the Barclays Center, the first arena event to officially adjacent streets. (Remember, according to the Final Environmental Impact Statement  for Atlantic Yards, "The arena block is adjacent to a residential district to the south, and accordingly, the arena has been designed to minimize its presence and effect on the residential uses on these blocks.") Visitors flood a Dean Street stoop; Atlantic Yards Watch At the bi-monthly Atlantic Yards Quality of Life meeting 9/26/13, Terence Kelly, the Barclays Center's community affairs manager, declared, "I believe VMAs were a total success." He soon faced some pushback from residents at the Borough Hall meeting. Those critiques have been amplified in a long account on Atlantic Yards Watch, MTV's Video Music Awards takes neighborhood by ...

From Atlantic Yards Watch Isn't that special: MTV yesterday sent a message (below) to various officials and residents in and around Prospect Heights, Brooklyn: "We'd like to extend our sincere thanks for playing host to MTV in your beautiful neighborhood over the past week. You were exceptionally kind hosts and we are grateful for your gracious hospitality." As with previous MTV missives regarding the Video Music Awards, the letter was unsigned by a named human being. Of course, the residents weren't exactly hosts--they didn't invite MTV, but rather had MTV's presence imposed on them , with no public meetings involving MTV and the city's office of broadcast/tv/film. And MTV somehow didn't acknowledge the reports on Atlantic Yards Watch  (excerpted above) about the imposition on the community, including threats from a visitor, a garden trashed , lots of illegal idling / parking , and garbage left behind. Then again, the Dubai Mi...

So, was the MTV Video Music Awards and pre-show at the intersection of Dean Street and Sixth Avenue "the block party to end all block parties," with surmountable hassles,  according to a report from International Business Times,  Living Inside the MTV Awards , from the very exclusive territory of Dean just west of Sixth? (I was with the majority of locals east of Sixth on Dean.) Or as radio.com reported, in  No Sleep For Brooklyn: MTV VMAs Disrupt Neighborhood Surrounding Barclays , were residents "particularly soured to the experience and worried it would set an ugly precedent for future events of this scale"? Pacific Street this morning, via AY Watch Maybe both. A lot of people had mixed feelings--see 13 interviews of Dean Street residents, some pleased, some very frustrated--and for fans there was surely enough of a thrill to make it enjoyable. But Dean Street west of Sixth had much tighter security, so people there were not inundated by visitors n...

Some videos shot early this afternoon during the set-up for the MTV Video Music Awards Employees go through metal detectors on Flatbush Avenue, near Dean Street Red carpet for pre-show viewed from Sixth Avenue below Dean Street Red carpet at Dean Street east of Sixth Avenue Trailers idling mid-block on Dean Street outside residences

10:08 pm last night; photo via Next2BarclaysCenter The MTV Video Music Awards show is coming to the Barclays Center from 9-11 pm tonight, with the "concert-loud" pre-show outdoors on the southeast corner of the arena block from 8-9 pm--though as the photo from last night shows, the lights were still shining bright. In other words, it's going to be an interesting experience for Brooklyn neighbors of the arena, even as "Brooklyn" is being sold hard as the broader backdrop to the concert, beyond the fake Brooklyn Bridge and a fake brick wall . Here's a list of street closures and other changes, including amplified sound from 12-4 pm and 6:30-9 pm. 2 PM - 4 PM and 6:30 PM – 9 PM 2 PM - 4 PM and 6:30 PM – 9 PM The Holllywood Reporter headlined its article MTV VMAs: Exec Producer Promises Love Letter to Brooklyn: The occasion: MTV’s Video Music Awards, touching down on the outer borough for the first time and using its local culture, storied his...

The hours are counting down until the MTV Video Music Awards and, as the photos suggest, they're creating a little Brooklyn near the corner of Sixth Avenue and Dean Street, at the southeast corner of the arena block. The main stage faces almost diagonally to the corner, on a piece land once occupied by Freddy's Bar & Backroom and now destined for a 25-story tower, but which has been used in the interim for bicycle parking. As the photo directly below shows, thanks to the Twitter account Next2Barclays , they're using a replica of the Brooklyn Bridge, which surely will look bigger on TV. (The account also posted the third photo.) As the second and fourth photos below the second subheading show, they're creating a faux brick wall. The dress rehearsal for the red carpet pre-show, with at least 700 extras but no stars, is 8-9 pm tonight. The real thing is tomorrow night, with the show inside the arena from 9-11 pm. A 360-degree look at the corner surroundings--...

The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) are coming to the Barclays Center on Sunday, with an outdoor pre-show at 8 pm and the event inside at 9 pm. Here's a preview from the Times on the overall event. Newsday reported : Though producers had no comment on rumors Justin Timberlake would reunite with *NSync on the show, or where in the borough Katy Perry would perform the night's finale "Roar," there were plenty of new Brooklyn-related revelations. Teen heartthrob Austin Mahone will play somewhere near Coney Island on Saturday afternoon that fans can find on Twitter at #VMAPopUp. The night's stars will be seated in Barclays Center's lower levels, with Timberlake sitting next to Kanye West in the front row, near fellow performers Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke. And the stars will be receiving some Brooklyn swag in their gift bags, including a Brooklyn Nets hoodie, H. Fox & Co. chocolate-flavored syrup, and Ovenly beer nuts. In the neighborhood The VMAs also ma...

In the same way the Justin Bieber fan frenzy on the southeast corner of the arena block could only have taken place before the Atlantic Yards project was further built out--because, otherwise, the site would have been the B3 residential tower--so too does the MTV Video Music Awards show depend on unfinished space. First, will there be a pre-show concert on the B3 space, which was belatedly disclosed to locals. BiZBash reports : It doesn't stop there: an hour-long preshow will take place outside the Barclays Center on Sunday with State Farm-sponsored performances by Austin Mahone and Ariana Grande. DJ duo Nervo will spin on the carpet, while MTV News reporters Sway Calloway, Christina Garibaldi, and James Montgomery interview guests with questions submitted by fans using the hashtag #AskVMA on Twitter, Vine, and Instagram.  Consider, in the photos below, how trailers and tents on Pacific Street relies on sidewalk space that's supposed to be adjacent to a tower built on the...

Prospect Heights residents living close to the Barclays Center are worried and wary about the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards 8-11 pm Sunday, which will use their neighborhood for a pre-show "Red Carpet" with concert-level noise and set up a confusing cordon aimed to keep groupies out but let residents in. Trucks staged this morning on Pacific Street between Carlton & Vanderbilt Avenues, presumably for VMAs The complex, hugely promoted event, some 11 months after the area opened, comes after a series of headaches for locals, including leaking concert bass that shakes their homes, post-event vandalism that has left car windows keyed or broken, excess trash untouched by a noisy late-night sweeper, and police tactics that immobilize resident kids on the corner when post-event arena procedures (like the escorted escape of Justin Bieber) have priority. Moreover, no MTV or city representatives have been willing to attend a public meeting (though an MTV rep did go to a ...

The southeast corner of the arena block, at the intersection of Dean Street and Sixth Avenue, seems likely to play a major part in the MTV Video Music Awards next Sunday, August 25, likely involving a red carpet, bleachers, and many celebrities. To that end, arena operators have been busily swapping out the temporary bike parking racks on that surface (which ultimately will be the site of a tower known as B3. As of [ updated ] 8 am today, as the photos indicate, there was but one bicycle still there. If it isn't gone as of this writing, I bet it will be soon. And when the VMAs are over, the bike racks should be back.

Well, MTV may not be compensating or meeting with (most) residents of the blocks around the Barclays Center, but it's giving back to New York music fans in the lead-up to the August 25 Video Music Awards. As the New York Post reports in  The Thicke of it: MTV’s A-list rollout celebrates B’klyn ‘VMAs’ , MTV is offering five free concerts beginning Tuesday, Aug. 20: “MTV’s had a loud presence in the New York music scene for the last couple of years, most notably with our two monthly music shows — the live stream series ‘Artist to Watch Live’ at Webster Hall and the Artist to Watch concert series at Highline Ballroom,” says Amy Doyle, MTV’s head of music and talent strategy. “With the ‘VMAs’ in Brooklyn this year, we really wanted to build upon this groundwork and throw a week-long party that was open to music fans across the city.” Three of those concerts are at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, one at Terminal 5, and one at Webster Hall.