Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

This is the fourth of several articles based on discussion at the 1/22/19 Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Quality of Life meeting. The first concerned timing for the B15 tower, with school, and the B4 tower. The second concerned questions about the affordability of future income-restricted housing. The third concerned plans to constrict streets around the B15 tower.  When will the permanent Vanderbilt Yard be finished? "We’re going to complete the permanent [rail] yard this year," Greenland USA's Scott Solish  said in May 2018 . "We’re in active design of the platform work, that enables us to build the buildings on top of the platform." In October 2018, he  said  the final two tracks were supposed to be installed in the fourth quarter of the year. According to the most recent Construction Update, the  third rail  for two storage tracks was still being installed. So what's the current timetable for completion, I asked. Is there a hard deadline? ...

According to the latest two-week Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Construction Update , "Demolition of 664 Pacific Street at the B15 site will continue during this reporting period." Indeed, it has, though 664 Pacific is the new address for the 27-story market-rate rental tower (with school at base) planned, aka B15, while 666 Pacific Street was the address for a three-story industrial building on the site. See photo at right. It has now been demolished, as shown in photos below sent by a reader.  The CBA and MWBEs Note the presence of A. Russo Wrecking, a WBE, women's business enterprise, which allows Greenland Forest City Partners to check off progress toward goals for MWBE (minority- and women-owned businesses). As I wrote back in 2010, a firm owned by a white female resident of Nassau County fulfills the official aspirations of the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement (CBA), but hardly represents the groups based in Central Brooklyn--however ...

Contractors for developer Greenland Forest City Partners today began hand demolition of two-story 495 Dean Street, one of two 19th-century houses long owned by the family of Jerry Campbell, which were taken via eminent domain (with the financial compensation yet unresolved, as far as I know). Campbell was evicted in May from the neighboring, three-story house, after he lost title via eminent domain. The two-story building, which had lost its roof and most of the second floor by the time I stopped by, is one of three houses left on a 100-foot stretch east of Sixth Avenue that was claimed, as best as I could determine, not because blight magically attached to that parcel. Rather, at least in initial plans, developer Forest City Ratner planned to use the entire lot between Dean and Pacific Streets for construction staging when the arena was being built simultaneously with four towers. That plan became financially infeasible, and the downsized arena was decoupled from towers ...

491, 493, 495 Dean, Oct. 20 They've been doomed for a while. Now three houses on Dean Street just east of Sixth Avenue, and an industrial building on Pacific Street behind them, are getting closer to the wrecking ball. So forget 491, 493, and 495 Dean Street, the addresses of a smaller-scale, older-time Brooklyn. They will be obliterated for 664 Pacific Street, the address of the building known as B15, a 27-story tower filled with market-rate rental apartments, with a public school at the base. At the Community Update Meeting Oct. 14, Forest City Ratner executive Ashley Cotton said that an 8-foot-high plywood fence--not unlike the one across Sixth Avenue for the B3 site--should go up on Dean Street in front of the homes, where abatement (not demolition) work is ongoing. Then comes demolition by the contractor, Russo Demolition, after permits are issued. That means a fence (purple in the slide below and at bottom) just three feet from the curb (yellow). The first bui...

The three houses left on Dean Street east of Sixth Avenue--impediments to that "neighborhood from scratch"  being marketed--are not just destined for the wrecking ball. Some windows seem to have been deliberately left open to the elements, which would further deterioration and make their vanishing inevitable. Coming to the larger B15 site that includes those three plots is a 27-story market-rate tower, with a school at the base. 493 Dean, Oct. 20, 2015 495 Dean, Oct. 20, 2015 491-495 Dean, Oct. 20, 2015

These three houses on Dean Street east of Sixth Avenue, condemned by the state via eminent domain and one eviction --compensation in case of one building is finalized, for the other two unresolved, as far as I know--are scheduled to be demolished for a 27-story, market-rate building (plus, likely, a school ). That building, B-15, will encompass a larger site stretching 100 feet wide (west) to the sidewalk at Sixth Avenue, and up to Pacific Street. Meanwhile, the houses stand marked with Xs--utility shutoff? target for wrecking ball?--and windows left open, with no worry about deterioration. If the designation of blight regarding two of these houses was  bogus , well, now blight is being achieved, unnaturally. (I took the photos Sunday. Brownstoner  reported  7/28/15 on the approval of demolition permits.) Remember,  documents indicated  that this 100-foot wide stretch was designated part of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park (at least in part) for business reason...

The Weinstein building--the last building on Block 1129, the southeast block of the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park site--is going down. The yellow former carbon paper manufacturing  factory  at 752 Pacific Street, renovated by developer Henry Weinstein to serve as offices and once part of a redevelopment plan, was taken by eminent domain in 2010 but not immediately demolished--as Forest City swore would be the fate of all such property on Block 1129--but instead used as offices. Had Weinstein’s building been joined by a renovated Ward Bakery, next door, Pacific Street between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues would have comprised a nearly block-long facade of loft-style conversions, the kind Forest City Enterprises  managed  in Richmond, VA. All photos by AYInfo NYC, except below right Forest City Ratner Brownstoner, which got photos from Forest City, said , not so accurately, "Greenland and Forest City Ratner Friday started demolishing the big old warehouse...

Most of the remaining buildings on the southeast block of the Atlantic Yards site, Block 1129, are being demolished, and Adrian Kinloch (aka Brit in Brooklyn) took some copyrighted photos , of which one is below, looking northwest at Vanderbilt Avenue between Dean and Pacific streets. The tower in the background is the Atlantic Terminal public housing building, while the broader building is 470 Vanderbilt, slated to hold HRA offices. Note that not every building is going down, since one is being saved for construction offices, despite official promises to the court that everything needed to be demolished quickly. The rest will serve as construction staging and interim surface parking.

From the L Magazine's The 50 Best Blocks in Brooklyn : 40. Best Block Currently Closed for Atlantic Yards Construction Pacific Street between Fifth and Sixth Aves, Prospect Heights It's been somewhat sparse for years, but the buildings dotting this AY-adjacent block are/were of an unusually high architectural pedigree, from the elegant brick Spalding Building at the corner of Sixth Avenue and the historical firehouse next door, to the ornate Atlantic Arts Building nearer to Fifth Avenue, all of which are coming down behind closed gates. Um, emphasis on were . And it's not just currently closed, it's permanently closed.

City zoning prohibits sports facilities from being built within 200 feet of residences, but that zoning was overridden by the Empire State Development Corporation in the case of Atlantic Yards. So those on the south side of Dean Street between Flatbush and Sixth avenues have some bird's-eye views of the site. First, a video shot at about 7:15 am today by a neighborhood resident. Below, a photo of 636 Pacific Street , the last building in the footprint, shot yesterday by Battle of Brooklyn documentary filmmaker Mike Galinsky.

The Empire State Development Corporation hasn't posted a Construction Update , but according to the latest Update, aka Construction Alert (below), all but one of the buildings on the arena block have been demolished, with that last building--and three smaller ones on the southeast block, Block 1129--under demolition. That last building, of course, is 636 Pacific Street, the rehabbed warehouse dubbed the Atlantic Arts building and known as the home of Daniel Goldstein, co-founder of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, until he agreed to a settlement in April . Demolition is expected to be completed next month. ( Photo and set by Tracy Collins) In a coincidence that could only be described as brutally weird , today Brownstoner featured 636 Pacific as the Building of the Day . The pseudonymous Montrose Morris wrote: Had this building been anywhere else, it would easily have been eligible for landmarking, as it is a rare example of [Chep] Kingsley's work in NY, as well as for it...

Reposting time-lapse video and verbatim text below from photographer Tracy Collins: The Last Two on the block from tracy collins on Vimeo . 6th Avenue near Pacific Street Prospect Heights Brooklyn, New York Demolition of 636 Pacific Street (aka The Atlantic Arts Building, aka former Goldstein residence) and 24-6th Avenue (aka The Spalding Building) on October 14, 2010 around 1pm. These are the last two buildings on the block of the Barclays Center Arena of Atlantic Yards. The arena would be bounded by Atlantic Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, Dean Street and 6th Avenue. This view is looking south on 6th Avenue; Pacific Street is the near intersection, and Dean Street is the far intersection. Pacific Street used to continue right/west past 6th Avenue to Flatbush Avenue, but was "demapped" to make way for the arena. To the right (west) would be the rear end of the arena.

The storm yesterday also took down (at least temporarily) part of a construction fence on Dean Street between Flatbush Avenue and Sixth Avenue, allowing views of the two remaining buildings on the arena block. At right is 636 Pacific Street. (Photo and video by Raul Rothblatt.) As shown in video below, the demolition of several buildings, notably the set-back 475 Dean Street , offers an unusual view of the light-colored back of 24 Sixth Avenue, the Spalding Building, known for its red-brick facade.

Remember how I (quoting court papers) predicted that, despite Forest City Ratner's stated plan to immediately demolish all buildings in Phase 1 of the Atlantic Yards condemnation plan, the staunch six-story building on Pacific Street long owned by Henry Weinstein was likely to be used as construction offices? As stated in the Empire State Development Corporation's Construction Update for the weeks beginning August 17 and August 23, and the latest Construction Update issued yesterday: The building at 752 Pacific Street will be used temporarily for construction shanties. During the next two week period, the former occupants’ trash will be removed from the building to prepare for construction teams.

Photographer Tracy Collins has been keeping track of Forest City Ratner's demolition of some sturdy buildings for the arena block. August 11 483 Dean demolition from tracy collins on Vimeo . August 12 483 Dean demolition continues from tracy collins on Vimeo . August 13 Freddy's demolition time lapse - August 13, 2010 from tracy collins on Vimeo . August 16 Freddy's demolition time lapse - August 16, 2010 from tracy collins on Vimeo . August 17 The End of Freddy's - August 17, 2010 from tracy collins on Vimeo .

Prospect Heights resident Raul Rothblatt has posted both photos ( set ) and videos (below) of demolition at the Atlantic Yards arena site, as some rather sturdy and venerable buildings are being dismantled. The coverage includes the building housing Freddy's Bar & Backroom (right) and the building housing the condo that was home to Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn. Some pointed exchanges Also linked to some of these photos, see a rather pointed and nasty back-and-forth on NetsDaily between Goldstein and some commenters, mostly anonymous, regarding his $3 million settlement for leaving the condo he'd already lost to eminent domain. The CBA in action And note the role played by A. Russo Wrecking, a firm owned by a white female resident of Nassau County that nevertheless fulfills the official aspirations of the Community Benefits Agreement, as I explained last week, but hardly represents the groups--however unrepresentative themselves--that signed the C...

From Raul Rothblatt, aka Raulism on YouTube : Below is a walk along Pacific Street from Carlton to Sixth Avenues in Brooklyn, viewing both construction for Atlantic Yards and demolition of existing properties. At the end, he gets to the renovated Spalding Building at the corner of Pacific Street and Sixth Avenue, sheathed in scaffolding, pictured at right and part of a set taken yesterday regarding Atlantic Yards work. New ramp According to a supplement to the latest Construction Update: New Information: Construction of a new temporary access ramp for the stage 2 construction area will be installed on block 1120 lot 35 just west of the Carlton Ave Bridge to allow access to construction vehicles and equipment on the north side of the yard. Upon completion of the ramp, contractor will mobilize equipment to install the required test piles for the next phase of construction. Mobilization will not happen until the week of 7/26/10 at the earliest. The test piles will be drilled approximate...

Here's a set of photos , via Raulistic (aka Raul Rothblatt), of demolition on Dean Street from Wednesday through Friday. And, with some annotation added by Brownstoner , note how a handsome old door disappeared, perhaps to be re-sold or to grace some demolition worker's own project. That must not have been completely kosher, because the door was temporarily replaced with an out-of-context substitute. But it does show that someone sees some value to preservation. Next, will we see the nicely restored 24 Sixth Avenue dismantled for parts as it's demolished?

Prospect Heights resident Raul Rothblatt (aka Raulism) offers a video of this morning's demolition work at 473 Dean Street ( past photos by Tracy Collins). According to the latest Atlantic Yards Construction Update , this is one of several buildings on the arena block for which demolition is in process or anticipated. For those curious, Breeze Demolition of Red Hook is not part of the state's database of Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses .

Today I show two videos, shot on May 22 and May 23, that cover the same ground. My aim was to show the transition between thriving Vanderbilt Avenue just southeast of the Atlantic Yards site, and the blighted northern border of Dean Street, where Forest City Ratner is using land cleared by demolitions (notable the Ward Bakery) for construction staging and surface parking. Most notably, the path to the arena block from parking on Dean Street relies on a sidewalk that is very narrow in several segments, far from the "approximately 18 feet" claimed by the Empire State Development Corporation. (In an attached table, bottom, the ESDC claims that the "effective width" is 11.5 feet on one stretch and 10.5 feet on another stretch. Not so.) No pictures? Turning left (west) from Vanderbilt, I continued west along Dean Street, along a fence obscured by fake greenery aimed at blocking views inside. In the first video, at about four minutes in, when I pointed my camera at gap i...