Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

One year after bowing to pressure from animal rights activists (and more) and removing elephants from its shows, the parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will close down the 146-year-old circus, citing increased costs and a higher than expected decline in ticket sales. PETA claimed victory and called for other animal circuses to follow suit. The circus has had an important place on the event calendar at the  Barclays Center . with 15 performances upcoming in nine days, from Feb. 23 through March 3. (That also meant circus performers in trailers essentially camping out on "the pad" outside the arena loading dock, or parked on neighborhood streets.) And it was to be a staple of the revamped Nassau Coliseum , with 17 shows over nine days, from May 12 through May 21. Both venues, operated by the same parent company, will now have to find substitute family-friendly entertainment. According to CBS , the animals in the shows will be placed in sui...

Atlantic Avenue on north side of arena Oh, the circus is back in Brooklyn, and it has to be fun, right? Last chance to see Ringling Bros. elephants before they retire to Florida , the New York Post reporter tells us, enlisting his kid for a review. A New York  Daily News reporter joins Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus pros, talented stunt dogs at Barclays Center --yes, another stunt. However, as in past years, the moving trailer park that is is the circus comes to rest in Brooklyn, bending the rules Unlike in past years, when they've used the "pad" outside the loading dock on Dean Street on the south end of the arena, now they're using temporarily closed public streets behind construction fencing (aka MTP, or Maintenance and Protection of Traffic) on Atlantic Avenue, previously the site of construction cranes. See the videos below, and note that the first shows them using a generator. How is this permitted? And why was it not announced to the ...

The circus is coming, which means traffic freezes outside the Barclays Center on Dean Street for load-in starting Wednesday at midnight and load-out starting on March 6 at 10 pm. Barclays Center Community Affairs Manager Terence Kelly writes: Ringling Bros. Circus - Community Notice: Temporary Traffic Changes on Wednesday 2/24/16 (tomorrow overnight) In the service of a safe and expeditious circus load-in, the NYPD will introduce and direct temporary changes to vehicular traffic on the arena block late tomorrow night. Dean Street between Flatbush & 6th Avenues will experience traffic freezes & vehicle restrictions during the following times: Wednesday, February 24th from 12am until 10am (expected end time) Sunday, March 6th 10pm through Monday, March 7th 11am All crosswalks will remain clear and fire lanes will be preserved throughout both periods of production activity.

A message issued at 3:07 pm from Terence Kelly, Community Affairs Manager for the Barclays Center: In the service of a safe and expeditious circus load-out in winter weather conditions, the NYPD will introduce and direct several temporary changes to vehicular traffic on the arena block later this evening. Beginning at 6:30pm tonight, the arena block will see a heavy volume of circus trailers coming to load out the show. At times, there may be traffic freezes & vehicle restrictions on the following blocks: - 6th Avenue between Atlantic Avenue & Dean Street - Dean Street between Flatbush & 6th Avenues All crosswalks will remain clear and fire lanes will be preserved at all times, with constant contact and coordination w/ FDNY & NYPD 78th Precinct. Thank you very much for your time and consideration in this matter. Couldn't they have announced this as a possibility a bit earlier? Update: photos added 6 pm

According to a tweet from the 78th Precinct today around noon, the circus load-in for the Barclays Center tomorrow means road closures tomorrow. From 8 am through noon tomorrow, Sixth Avenue will be closed between Atlantic Avenue and Dean Street, and Dean Street will be closed between Flatbush and Sixth avenues. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents CIRCUS XTREME at Barclays Center starting Thursday, February 19 through Sunday, March 1. The circus, with its large cast of performers, trainers, and animals, typically poses a challenge for the arena, given the significant number of trucks and trailers, and the fact that cast members have appeared to camp out in trailers on the "pad" next to the arena loading dock on Dean Street. Why weren't the road closures announced earlier, such as at the Atlantic Yards Quality of Life meeting last week? They weren't decided by that time, I'm told, which isn't great planning. The notice appears A no...

Confronted with some untoward neighborhood impacts, the message from Barclays Center operators was again "we're trying," though there are no apparent internal or external sanctions. From Atlantic Yards Watch Take the example of circus trailers blocking nearby streets, including a bus stop on Atlantic Avenue near the arena, last Thursday, on the day the circus came to the Barclays Center for an 11-day stint. Speaking at a meeting last night of the Atlantic Yards Quality of Life Committee, which meets about every two months to discuss project-related issues, arena Community Relations Manager Terence Kelly said " bad weather compounded an already large-scale operation" that involved a 40-hour load-in. "We certainly did our best to remedy the situation," he said. "We take it seriously, and we really do want to operate in good faith and keep those clear and not keep them an ongoing and persistent problem." Jim Vogel, a Pacific ...

There's a large, unused arena parking lot one long block away from the Barclays Center. Still, yesterday, when Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® brought circus trailers to Brooklyn for 23 shows between today and March 2, there were trailers all over the neighborhood, parked illegally in bus zones and blocking traffic, awaiting load-in to the arena. The problem persisted through a good part of the evening, though, this morning, I'm told, the trailers are gone. (Presumably this will be a topic for the next Atlantic Yards Quality of Life meeting , but it's appears to be another example of how business priorities trump following the rules.) According to a mid-afternooon  post  on Atlantic Yards Watch, note the trailers in the photo at right, parked in an eastbound late of Atlantic Avenue northwest of the arena, blocking the B45 bus stop. In the photo below, the trailers are blocking the main (turning) lane on the Carlton Avenue bridge; the perspective is looking ...

Prices for the Ringing Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus at the Barclays Center may seem reasonable--they start at $24 but group tickets go for $16, and kids' tickets for weekday performances go for $12. Oops. That's where the gouging starts. Would you believe that, at least via Ticketmaster, those $12 tickets come with $8.90 in fees, so they actually cost $20.90? Then come the concessions. While other Barclays Center events sell t-shirts and other souvenirs outside on the plaza, none display quite the hucksterism as displayed in the video below. You've got to get your program now, before you go inside the building," the man at the yellow booth barks. " Each family must have a program.... They do autograph signing with the program." Programs cost $15. ( Update : this video  suggests they're doing what they can to downplay mention of the $15 price. Perhaps this post had an impact.) Inside, I'm told, the souvenirs are quite costly. But...

Instagram/ dadarocks The Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey circus arrived yesterday in Brooklyn, and the elephants were the highlight--both for circus-watchers and protesters. First came a staged walk-through DUMBO in the morning. As NY1  reported : To celebrate its arrival Wednesday, a parade of eight elephants and their handlers marched across Old Fulton and Old Water Streets, wowing school kids and adults who came out to see the unusual sight. ....Borough President Marty Markowitz also proclaimed it Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus days while they're in town. Protesters were kept a block and a half away, according to Gothamist . A New York Post article headlined  Jumbo in dumbo  cited the arena developer: “I have been waiting for this moment for 10 years!” Barclays Center developer Bruce Ratner yelled to the crowd of bystanders that gathered, referring to the time it took to get the arena built. An evening  protest Before t...