Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

A little more than a year ago, on 8/24/21, I wrote that the Barclays Center, recovering from the pandemic and requiring that workers be vaccinated against COVID-19, had a lot of job openings. Let's take another look, first at the food service component from Levy Restaurants . As of 2021, Levy jobs included Attendant, Catering ($31.80); Attendant, Warehouse ($17.80); Administrative Assistant ($21.50); Bartender ($14.55); Club Supervisor ($21.50); Club Server ($??); Catering Supervisor ($21.50); Suites Runner ($16.30); Suite Pantry Coordinator ($19.80); Cook ($19.80); Concessions Lead Stand ($17.80); Supervisor, Concessions ($21.50); Bar Back ($16.30); Cashier ($16.30); Concession Attendant ($16.30); Cook Supervisor ($24); Suites Supervisor ($21.50). Today, there are even more job listings, but unlike last year, a vaccination is not a must; the listings state that positions "may require a COVID-19 vaccination." (That's a little confusing; either it is or it isn't.)...

It was, to be sure, predictable.  Mayor Eric Adams, the former Brooklyn Borough President and unabashed cheerleader for post-COVID recovery, was not going to let the Brooklyn Nets enter--or, it turns out, approach--the playoffs without star guard Kyrie Irving, who's remained stubbornly unvaccinated and, ultimately triumphant. As disclosed yesterday by Politico, and with a press conference later this morning  at CitiField, Adams will announce "reverse the private-sector vaccine mandate specifically for performers and athletes in local venues, including Barclays Center — home to the Brooklyn Nets — and both Citi Field in Queens and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx." Is there political influence at work? To quote Politico: Among those lobbying City Hall on behalf of the Nets are The Parkside Group and former City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, according to public record. The Mets is owned by Steve Cohen, who donated $1.5 million to a political action committee backing Adams in t...

The plot thickens. As NetsDaily put it last night,  Nets All-Time Classic: Kyrie Irving scores franchise-record 60 points to lead Nets over Magic, 150-108 : It was an all-time Nets classic Tuesday night in Orlando; a night Irving scored a franchise-record and career-high 60 points on an efficient 20-of-31 shooting from the field and 8-of-12 shooting from 3-Point range. His 60-point blockbuster also marked a career-high and ties Karl-Anthony Towns for the most points scored in a single game this season. ...The offensive dominance of Brooklyn since KD returned reached another level  Meanwhile, as New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica wrote yesterday,  Baseball has its own set of Kyrie Irvings on its hands now ,: Here is the situation right now with major league baseball in the city of New York: All the unvaccinated players on the Yankees and Mets just turned into Kyrie. In fact, every one of them can stand up tomorrow and do a Spartacus turn: I am Kyrie Irving. And if t...

We all know the food at Barclays Center is supposed to be great, or at least, a cut above that at other large venues, as the New York Times pronounced before the 2012 opening, evaluating it during pre-event conditions. (My limited experience: pretty mixed . Recent Yelp reviews are similarly mixed .) Well,  Tammie Teclemariam , who's writing The Year I Ate New York, a weekly newsletter about eating through the city for New York magazine's Grub Street, on 3/1/22 offered a swipe: Biggest bummer The food at Barclays Center. I’d never been to an NBA game, but I went because I had it on good authority that the food served in the arena’s various concession stands was excellent. I was disappointed to discover that the reality was more like being offered five different kinds of commodity chicken tenders. Vax mandate gone Well, at least the vaccination mandate has been rescinded by Mayor Eric Adams, opening the arena up to more potential attendees (though perhaps deterring others), wh...

Does New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the former Brooklyn Borough President, want to be the guy who ensured star Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving could play home games, thus enabling the unlikely but not impossible reconstitution of a rebuilt team, allowing it to climb in the standings and become the NBA's most likely champion? Sure he does, and maybe the science agrees. But he's not ready to do it just yet.  See, he has rescinded the requirement for vaccination to enter establishment like arenas, but not for city employers , likely because that would force him to backtrack regarding city employees recently fired for not getting vaccinated. But if the Nets continue a likely comeback--thanks to the return, expected soon, of superstar Kevin Durant, and more--Adams may have some more ground to give, perhaps by playoff time. I wouldn't bet against it, given the glaring inconsistencies regarding 1) allowing unvaxxed visiting players to play and 2) allowing Irving into the buildin...

The next Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Project Quality of Life Meeting will be held virtually on Tuesday, March 8 at 6 pm, according to Empire State Development, the state authority that oversee/shepherds the project. No agenda has been circulated yet, but those agendas are typically anodyne. That said, it's always time for updates on whether, in fact, the next phase of construction at the Vanderbilt Yard is planned, and/or plans for Site 5 are expected to advance. Questions and agenda items can be sent to atlanticyards@esd.ny.gov. Meeting details:  https://zoom.us/j/99950889749 Dial In: 646-558-8656 || Passcode: 999 5088 9749# Meeting ID: 999 5088 9749 Virtual meetings on the way out? The advantage of virtual meetings is that people can participate, or follow-along, from afar. But the ESD's not-so-transparent implementation means we can't see who else is at the meeting, see the chat, or ensure that real-time follow-up questions get answered. Given changes in COVID-19 spread-...

He's back--and the controversy/debate continues. Star Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving, thanks to a reversal of team policy to allow him as an unvaxxed part-timer, entered the lineup for away games starting 1/5/22 and immediately made a difference. Returning Kyrie Irving comes up big as Nets rally past Pacers , the New York Post reported 1/5/22, describing how the guard quickly got up to speed. He obfuscated when asked about vaccination: “I’m just taking it one day at a time,” Irving said. “It’s not an ideal situation, and I’m always praying that things get figured out and we’re able to come to some collective agreement, whether it be with the league or things that’s going on that can help ease what we’re all dealing with with COVID and the vaccine. Post Columnist Mike Vaccaro that night wrote the obvious, that Kyrie Irving provides big reminder Nets are better with him , suggesting this meant the team could indeed contend for a championship--and might have an incentive to avoid ...

Well, the Brooklyn Nets have not been postponing games to protect fans--rather, it's been players out in the NBA's health and safety protocols--but one big Barclays Center event has been postponed: the New Year's Eve concert with The Strokes. (Also postponed, Phish at Madison Square Garden.) A message from The Strokes: We were so excited to be performing for everyone in Brooklyn this New Year's Eve, but the Omicron variant has thwarted our plans. We’ve made the decision to postpone our show at Barclays Center. All tickets will be honored for the rescheduled date and details regarding refunds will be offered when the new date is announced. We want everyone to stay safe and healthy and we look forward to celebrating the new year with all of you ... just a bit later than originally planned. That said, the same vulnerabilities face fans who take their masks off too eat, drink, and cheer. 

A 12/22/21 announcement from the Brooklyn Nets, BROOKLYN NETS VS. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS GAME POSTPONED : The NBA has announced that tomorrow’s Brooklyn Nets game at Portland Trail Blazers has been postponed due to the number of players in Health & Safety Protocols. The Dec. 23, 2021 game against the Trail Blazers will be rescheduled and we are working with the NBA to confirm a new date. That would be the third straight game, though NetsDaily yesterday summarized the situation as Good News, Bad News: Nets plan to play on Christmas but with 10 players in protocols .  (Those "protocols" mean either a positive or inconclusive test, or, if unvaccinated, exposure to someone positive--and requires two negative COVID tests at least a day apart to exit. The AP notes that the league and players are discussing "whether to change the current protocols about returning to play after a positive test — something that typically has taken 10 days or more in most cases." Most w...

Sports Should Take a Holiday Vacation , New York Times Sports columnist Kurt Streeter wrote presciently 12/16/21, citing "a new wave of coronavirus infections sweeping the globe," notably changing policies and postponing games in the NFL, NBA, and NHL, plus college basketball and European soccer. "What should the sports world do?" he wrote. "Take the holidays off. No games. No practices. No fans jammed in stands mask-less, passing along Omicron with every high-five and throaty cheer." As Streeter noted, "[p]layers won’t like it," nor would "[leagues and team owners and sponsors... because of their insatiable desire to make money, money and more money." Indeed, we're faced instead with more ad hoc policies and, perhaps, the resumption--as Streeter suggests--of daily testing. He calls for required vaccination for all players (hey, Kyrie Irving!) and required vaccination from fans and the wearing of masks.  (Well, NYC requires both, wi...

Yes, things change--and change again. The Brooklyn Nets' justification for refusing to let unvaccinated star Kyrie Irving be a part-time player for (most) road games was the effect on team continuity, so their new justification, given a roster devastated by COVID-related absences (both positive and inconclusive tests), was that, sure, he can return, because continuity is gone . That, of course, ignores the additional risk both faced and posed by an unvaccinated player, despite the safeguards of regular testing. And--oops--yesterday Irving joined fellow star Kevin Durant in the league's health and safety protocols, with five consecutive days of negative tests required for him to rejoin the team. Did he have a positive test, or an inconclusive one? Well, NetsDaily said positive. No wonder the tabloid back pages were scornful, and the Daily News referred to last night's home loss to Orlando, with most original team members out, as a "create-a-player roster." Indee...

In an announcement that startled the basketball world, the Brooklyn Nets--shorthanded due to injuries and players exposed to COVID--are bringing back the unvaccinated Kyrie Irving, who can't play home games in Brooklyn (or against the crosstown Knicks), nor travel to Toronto. "Nets Cave on Kyrie," the New York Daily News backpaged it, coupled with Kristian Winfield's article headlined Kyrie Irving return to Nets as part-time player reeks of negligence . Even though Irving will have to register negative COVID tests to play, and various vaccinated (though maybe not boosted?) NBA players have gotten COVID (and, being young athletes are at less risk), his unvaccinated status raises the risk both for himself and those around him, which may include other team/NBA associates at higher risk.  (That said, New York City's willingness to allow unvaccinated visiting players, not ones on the home team, to play is "bonkers." as noted below.) While the Nets presented i...

In May 18, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, at a City Hall press conference, donned a Brooklyn Nets jersey to announce a new COVID-19 vaccination site across from the Barclays Center, with the incentive of a free Nets t-shirt and a chance to win Nets playoff tickets--plus a plan for 100 free tickets to vaccinated Nets fans in "33 neighborhoods that have been identified by the Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity." Yesterday, Gov. Kathy Hochul, gaining the spotlight on a day for New York City elections, did de Blasio one better, coming to the Barclays Center for a press conference and photo op, announcing a plan for two free tickets--Nets games or other arena events--to anyone who gets vaccinated at the former Modell's site on Flatbush. The gist:  Beginning Nov. 3, Individuals Who Visit Arena's Vaccination Site and Receive First COVID-19 Vaccine Dose Can Receive Two Complimentary Barclays Center Event Tickets . This builds on efforts with NFL teams. The backd...

Yesterday, as indicated in the tweets below, "an anti-masker construction worker" at/near the B4 (18 Sixth Ave.) site harassed a dad and his six-year old son "screaming 'Take that muzzle off your kid."  While no one from the developer(s)/contractor/state responded publicly on Twitter, a representative of the master developer, as indicated in the tweet at bottom, "responded promptly & appropriately...& took action," according to the complainant. What exactly that was we don't know, but presumably it will be mentioned at the next project Quality of Life Meeting, Tuesday, November 16 at 6 pm on Zoom . Dial In: 646-558-8656 || Passcode: 946 8877 3423#. Meeting ID: 946 8877 3423. Project-related questions and suggested agenda items may be sent to atlanticyards@esd.ny.gov . Another question arises: how many construction workers have been ignoring safety protocols? The exchange Where exactly? Dean St. between Carlton/Vanderbilt? 662 Pacific St. ...

The big drama involving unvaccinated (apparently) Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving took another twist yesterday, when The Athletic reported (and more from NetsDaily ) that the Nets' practice facility in Sunset Park, was now open to him, since it was now considered private office space. This makes it somewhat more likely that Irving can be integrated into the team and play, at least, in road games. And it surely results from lobbying by the team/ownership. From The Athletic, Nets' Kyrie Irving can participate in practices in Brooklyn, per city official : Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been cleared to participate in home practices due to New York City determining that the team’s practice facility — the HSS Training Center — is a private office building, a City Hall official tells The Athletic. Irving practiced with the team while it spent the first week of training camp in California, but was not with the team when it returned to Brooklyn on Tuesday . Irving previously att...

It should be great news for the Brooklyn Nets. To quote John Schuhmann of NBA.com (h/t NetsDaily ): When it comes to predicting the 2021-22 season, there’s just no denying the talent on the Brooklyn Nets . In the 20th annual NBA.com GM Survey, both Kevin Durant and James Harden were named the best players at their position, and 72% of responding decision makers picked the Nets to win their first NBA championship. But marring such predictions is the vexing case of star guard Kyrie Irving, who, having not provided proof of vaccination status, is unable to practice or play games in New York City, given local law. He is the only player on the three teams (New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors) facing local mandates who has not complied. Decisions, decisions Now, as ESPN reports (again, h/t NetsDaily ), the Nets have to decide whether to let Irving play and practice only on the road--missing half the games--or working with a Kyrie-less team (and thus possibly tradin...