Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

A proposed Department of Transportation (DOT) and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) plan ( link ; also at bottom) for the northern part of Flatbush Avenue, from Livingston Street to Grand Army Plaza, proposes new center-running bus lanes, separated from regular traffic, to prioritize and speed bus service. So three current lanes would be come two, plus bus boarding islands. Six of 12 existing curbside bus stops would be consolidated into six bus boarding islands near subway stations. New pedestrian spaces would reduce crossing distances and improve visibility where Atlantic, Flatbush, and Fourth avenues meet. While the plan does not assess an impact on Barclays Center operations, the emphasis on moving Flatbush Avenue traffic presumably implies less tolerance for scofflaw activities illegal idling and double-parking, which are part of the scene around the arena., at least on Flatbush That said, such activities could instead be concentrated on other streets, and enforcement de...

Place this in the bucket of "things everybody forgot about." According to the June 2014 Second Amended Memorandum of Environmental Commitments  (MEC), a state document reflecting commitments made by original developer Forest City Ratner and its successors to avoid adverse environmental impacts, there was supposed to be a traffic study after 1,500 Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park apartments were built. That would have been in October 2021, after 662 Pacific (B15, aka Plank Road) opened between Dean and Pacific streets east of Sixth Avenue, across from the Barclays Center. It didn't happen. Why the delay? I asked Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project. The response: We are told that the developer reached out to NYCDOT [Department of Transportation] regarding this study. NYCDOT expressed an interest in postponing until a later date and possibly tied to future planning for Site 5. (I queried DOT, but didn't hear back.) There...

On Oct. 31, I wrote about how the coalition  BrooklynSpeaks , in its briefing to local elected officials regarding the future of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, urged that they ensure deeply affordable housing and have the Barclays Center operator fund quality-of-life monitors. Here's the link . Let's take a second look at the latter recommendation, which I thought worthy but asking too little. It's clear, from the events of Sunday, when quality-of-life violations were blatantly encouraged, that it couldn't be viable without a vastly changed political firmament. Pacific Street and Carlton Avenue, access  managed not by the NYPD but by the Shomrim safety patrol My coverage:  Unannounced Barclays Center event for Hasidic group draws elected officials. NYPD lets volunteers (!) cordon off streets. Scofflaw vehicles block sidewalks, paths.   In other words, the powers that be--city and state leaders--wanted the event to run at the convenience of attendees and arena operators...

Every month, neighbors of the Barclays Center used to get an arena event calendar from "Barclays Center Cares." The reality, though, is they care very selectively.  [Update: the current administration no longer uses that slogan, so I added the phrase used to .] Pacific Street and Carlton Avenue, access managed by the Shomrim safety patrol Yesterday, with no public notice, the arena hosted an event for the Satmar Hasidic sect that proved disruptive to neighbors and represented, as I wrote on Twitter/X, "one of the more egregious takeovers of public space in Barclays Center history." Here's a press release for the event, Satmar Barclays Event will Celebrate 80th Anniversary of Rebbe's Rescue from the Nazis, Spearheading the Community's Rebirth in NY , which was circulated by the Satmar community, curiously enough, only today. Political power    This was done surely with the encouragement of the Mayor's office, which likely wanted to meet the needs of ...

Looking south on Flatbush. Photo: Nov. 15 Well, there's a (partial) solution for the congested sidewalk on Flatbush Avenue below Pacific Street opposite the Barclays Center, where Shake Shack and especially Chick-fil-A generate an enormous number of takeout orders, some from drivers who like to double-park but mostly via app-based delivery services. A new bike corral has been created in the parking lane, which is now blocked by planters for southbound traffic.  That does not, as shown in the photos (and video) below, fully deter drivers from double-parking or some delivery guys to park on the sidewalk, as I saw during a daytime visit and an evening one. "Constant issue" It's been a "constant issue" since Chick-fil-A opened in September 2019, according to a letter from Community Board 6's Eric McClure.  Photo: April 19 Earlier this year, 78th Precinct Commander Frantz Souffrant took temporary action, using barriers to deter parking and set up a bike cor...

This is the eighth of ten articles on the 6/7/22 meeting of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation. The  first  concerned the affordable housing timetable. The  second  assessed an estimated 2031 completion date. The  third  addressed the impact of a potential Greenland default. The  fourth  concerned expectations of 421-a benefits. The  fifth  concerned the deadline for the Urban Room. The  sixth  addressed timing for the school.  The  seventh  concerned plans for the platform.  The  ninth  concerned plans for B12/B12 affordable housing.  The  tenth  concerned the Open Meetings Law. Platform construction will not only curtail sidewalk and crosswalk access around Block 1120--bounded by Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street, and Sixth and Carlton avenues--but also eliminate parking on that north side of Pacific Street. Scott Solish of Greenland USA, which owns nearly all of...

Regarding yesterday's brief meeting of the (purportedly advisory) Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), I wrote separately about discussion of platform construction and potential less affordable housing. A few other issues were discussed. Presenter Tobi Jaiyesimi, who serves as the parent Empire State Development's (ESD) Atlantic Yards Project Director as well as AY CDC Executive Director,  said , regarding the planned middle school, the last update she received from the School Construction Authority is that it's expected to open for academic year 2024. Well maybe, maybe not. The SCA's latest  five-year Capital Plan , updated in February 2022, indicates that the school should open in March 2025. That is the 2024-25 academic year, but it's well past the halfway mark. So either Jaiyesimi's estimate is wrong or the SCA's Capital Plan is too conservative. Budget questions, staff mystery Upon approval of the entity's budget, Jaiyesimi wa...

The BrooklynSpeaks proposals regarding transportation and traffic (my preview ) got a general endorsement from the more than 60 people who attended an online session 1/19/22, even as they expressed general dismay about conditions in the area around the Barclays Center and larger Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project.. Posted below is the video of the presentation, as well as the presentation board/slideshow, but those wishing to comment on the document should go to the  posting here . Uncontroversial asks After all, who could object to calls for new subway entrances to the expected building at Site 5 across Flatbush Avenue from the arena, longtime home to P.C. Richard and Modell’s. It’s approved for a large building, 250 feet and 439,050 square feet, but the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park developers want to move bulk from the unbuilt “Miss Brooklyn” tower, once slated to loom over the arena, across the street, creating a two-tower project that could rise 80 stories and exceed 1.1 millio...

Tonight's session, the second in BrooklynSpeaks' four-week Crossroads initiative  to generate a new plan for, and improvements related to, Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, concerns Transportation. It's at 7 pm; the main presentation and slideshow should be posted soon after, with the opportunity to comment. (Last week concerned Urban Design , which I covered, focusing on proposals for Pacific Street and for Dean Street . The entire effort is keyed to an expected effort by the developer and state to move the bulk from the unbuilt "Miss Brooklyn" tower, once slated to loom over the arena, across Flatbush Avenue to Site 5, long home to Modell's and P.C. Richard, to enable a giant two-tower project.) Let's look at an October 2019 session, the only previous BrooklynSpeaks public meeting since 2014, which was something of a preview. From BrooklynSpeaks' summary,  After 16 years, it's time for a new plan : Include a transportation plan that works The transp...

I previously  noted  that the BrooklynSpeaks coalition has  posted  video and the slideshow from the 1/12/22 Urban Design/Street Design Presentation, part of the four-week  Crossroads discussion series , with the opportunity for  comment on the presentation board .  And I just wrote about proposed changes for Pacific Street adjacent to Site 5, where the developer is expected to propose a far larger building than previously permitted. But let's look now at another element of the presentation, Dean Street east of Flatbush Avenue. BrooklynSpeaks proposed that the city redesign Dean Street between Sixth and Vanderbilt avenues as a slow, narrow street intended for local use" and that, to ensure student and pedestrian safety" near the under-construction middle-school at 662 Pacific St.  (slated to open in 2025), a "reduction of municipal uses." A lot of that makes sense, but not all the complexities and implications were teased out, because making...