Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Also see coverage of the Atlantic Yards CDC meeting regarding project timing  and the explanations for the giant green fence on Dean Street. Neighbors and visitors instantly see the problem: the blocked travel lanes on Atlantic Avenue from the Barclays Center going east to Sixth Avenue/South Portland Avenue, in combination with Pedestrians and vehicles dangerously close construction at Sixth Avenue, forces northbound traffic from Sixth Avenue to swerve. That also means southbound traffic from South Portland turning left on Atlantic threatens those crossing, and flummox pedestrians and bicyclists. As shown in the screenshot at right, from a video below, the striped pedestrian path is at a sharp angle. Not only does that conflicts with the metal lane barrier, it comes dangerously close to the path for northbound drivers. Neighbors are understandably unsettled. Now there are plans--with no specified timetable--to ultimately add to pedestrian safety with a new median....

Officials Unveil Pedestrian Safety Improvements Near Barclays Center , reported CBSNewYork yesterday. Actually, it's not so near the Barclays Center and Streetsblog more precisely reported it as Atlantic and Washington Gets Fixes, Now What About the Rest of Atlantic ? As Streetsblog reported: The multi-leg intersection of Atlantic Avenue, Washington Avenue, and Underhill Avenue has received its second round of street safety improvements in four years. Adding to a 2011 project that expanded pedestrian space, this latest set of changes includes new turn restrictions, crosswalks, and larger median islands [ PDF ]. Advocates welcomed the changes, but want DOT to think bigger when it comes to overhauling Atlantic Avenue, one of the city’s most dangerous arterial streets. There are continuing problems, indeed, around the Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue intersection actually near the Barclays Center. As DNAinfo reported 7/14/15, there were more than 150 car crashes occurred in...

A New York Post article, Full-court pressure on Barclays cops: Brooklyn cops have been experimenting with new strategies to deal with growing pains from the Barclays Center — from lingering limos to berserk Beliebers. , touches briefly on issues raised at the 78th Precinct Community Council meeting last week. First, the police have let limos and black cars wait on the south side of Atlantic Avenue east of Sixth Avenue rather than have them hover on residential streets--which the cops say is working, but--as residents point out--is a giveaway of public space. How many police? This factoid is new (and unconfirmed): Since the arena opened, police sources said, it has taxed NYPD resources. The detail is just eight officers, a sergeant and a lieutenant, sources say. “We were promised more [cops] than that,” said a source. That said, the detail has been augmented significantly, with dozens of cops available at early events, including the Jay-Z concerts. Last week, Deputy Inspe...

Guess what, limos are getting public parking space--an issue that surely will come up at tonight's postponed meeting of the 78th Precinct Community Council, at 7:30 pm. From Atlantic Yards Watch, yesterday, NYPD to allow limos to stage on Atlantic Avenue during arena events : AYW has been informed by a representative of the Empire State Development Corporation that the NYPD intends to allow limos to queue during arena events on the south side of Atlantic Avenue between Carlton and Vanderbilt Avenues. [ UPDATE: On November 13, we were informed by Council Member James' office that the block of Atlantic Avenue designated by DOT and NYPD for limo staging was between 6th Avenue and Carlton Avenue, not Carlton and Vanderbilt. ] The section of Atlantic Avenue is currently available for public parking except during overnight street cleaning hours. On Friday, November 9, use of the area was reserved for vehicles registered with TLC license plates, consistent with the NYPD propos...

There's some serious revisionism going on in a New York Times article posted tonight headlined  Nets’ Opener Against the Knicks in Brooklyn Is Postponed . No one--not the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA, nor Mayor Mike Bloomberg--apparently will grapple with the fact that the Nets and the NBA, apparently with the cooperation of City Hall, confirmed that the Nets home opener was on even though they knew the subways would not be restored by the time of the game. The article states: About 19 hours after saying the Nets would make their regular-season debut Thursday night at Barclays Center against the Knicks, the N.B.A. on Wednesday accepted Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s recommendation that the game be postponed because of Hurricane Sandy’s lingering effects on the public transportation system. ...The league’s initial optimism — expressed Tuesday in a tweet that said, “Knicks-Nets game will be played as scheduled this Thursday at 7 p.m. — followed hopeful remarks by Bloomberg earlier tha...

( Note: Dialogue 99% invented. Ameri, when I've spoken with him, can be pugnacious but not profane. ) How exactly did New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, whose office on Tuesday let the NBA announce the Brooklyn Nets' home opener with the New York Knicks was on for tonight, despite the shutdown of the subway system, change his mind and yesterday announce the postponement of the game? Press accounts are rather confusing . But it might have gone down in a conversation between NYPD Captain Michael Ameri (MA), Commanding Officer of the 78th Precinct (which includes the arena), and a Deputy Mayor (DM). MA: I just heard this clown Brett Yormark on the radio saying the game was on after a "collective decision" involving all parties, including local government. DM: Well, yes. We did all talk. MA: Did you ask me ? DM: Well, we spoke with One Police Plaza. MA: Did you call freakin' me? DM: No, but-- MA: I gotta run the 78th freakin' Precinct-- DM: ...

The big news yesterday at the Atlantic Yards District Service Cabinet meeting yesterday was the Barclays Center's scramble toward the finish line , with a delay in the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy and silence about once-promised pre-opening events. However, government officials also shared other significant information, including not-yet-clear plans for a "Day 2 Task Force" to address arena operations and a transformation of the District Service Cabinet--a bimonthly morning meeting that included agency officials, elected officials and developer Forest City, with no public input--into a committee meeting in the evenings to focus more narrowly on quality-of-life issues. While that transformation should increase input from neighbors, both as committee members and visitors, the impact on accountability is less clear, given that the District Service Cabinet has sometimes been the venue for Forest City to face probing questions from elected officials about Atlantic Ya...

I wrote last week about the expansion of the 78th Precinct to encompass all of the Atlantic Yards project as well as the malls north of it. Yesterday, Mayor Mike Bloomberg formally requested (below) the City Council to approve new boundaries, with a new Sector K. The Council must agree, though no dissent has surfaced. Public meeting Also, given concerns about policing the arena and environs, there will be a meeting at the precinct on August 22. An announcement from Council Member Letitia James's office: ATTENTION: Barclays Area Community Safety Meeting; 8/22 With the upcoming opening of Barclay Arena, and various Community Safety Concerns : Please Join Council Member Letitia James and Captain Michael Ameri (of Brooklyn's 78th Precinct ) to discuss and answer questions regarding the safety and quality of life concerns in residential communities after the September arena opening. • NYPD’s 78th Precinct will be responsible for policing the arena as well as enforc...