Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Yesterday mid-afternoon, I was walking around the project footprint, and turned the corner on Dean Street, walking east from Flatbush Avenue. I saw a truck aiming to enter the Barclays Center loading dock sticking out over the curb. (So much for that "seamless" function, right?) When I got closer, I realized I couldn't walk around it. With the help of arena personnel, I crossed midblock. The teenager below walking west on Dean had to step out into the street. There were no collisions, thankfully, but it didn't feel too safe. The truck within minutes did get into the loading dock. There's just not much margin for error. And that corner near the loading dock will soon get residents moving into 38 Sixth , perhaps by November.

Well, how about that. It's tough to build an office tower without an anchor tenant, so we shouldn't be surprised that, as part of the city's bid to host Amazon's second headquarters, the developer of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, Greenland Forest City Partners, has proffered Site 5. Reports the New York Times's Charles Bagli: "Next to Barclays Center, there is a site for a 1 million-square-foot tower." Actually, there's a site that could host a two-tower project including office and residential space, as I reported last year. But it's by no means ready to go. First Forest City New York must settle with P.C. Richard, which owns part of the site catercorner to the arena and has filed a lawsuit that's stalled eminent domain. Then there has to be a public process, run by Empire State Development, to change the General Project Plan to allow the transfer of development rights from the unbuilt B1 (aka Miss Brooklyn) over the arena plaza. It...

This is among several articles to be posted regarding the 10/17/17 meeting of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC). With Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, most deadlines are flexible, we should remember. Just one month ago , at the bi-monthly Quality of Life meeting, Forest City New York executive Ashley Cotton--representing the joint venture Greenland Forest City Partners--said of the fourth tower in the project, 38 Sixth Avenue (aka B3), "we’re hoping for move-ins to start in October." Yesterday, however, Cotton told the board of the AY CDC that interior work at the building was ongoing and “move-ins are expected to begin later in November." She noted that the 67-space garage will be run by Park Pro Systems; as of last month, they didn't have a garage operator. The developer is currently working on the "fit-out" for the health space to be operated by Methodist Hospital, and is working with the Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Al...

The  next meeting  of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), an advisory body, is today at 3 pm. See previous coverage of footprint renters , West Portal/railyard timing , and project/building/green wall timing. When I covered a 9/27/17 panel associated with artist/activist Peter Krashes' exhibition, Block Party, I wrote about the tensions expressed in Krashes's paintings, as well as the onerous contract pushed on --but not required of--a project neighbor who wanted back windows thick enough to deter project-related noise. But another theme surfaced from Jaime Stein, Director of Pratt Institute's M.S. in Sustainable Environmental Systems, who serves on the state-created advisory board, the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), which first met in February 2015. The board was created as a compromise during a 2014 agreement to speed up the long-delayed affordable housing, but it does not have the policy-making powers once...

The  next meeting  of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), an advisory body,  will be tomorrow at 3 pm. Attendees must RSVP today.  See previous coverage of  footprint renters  and  West Portal/railyard timing From video by Isabel del Rosal, posted on Twitter While the agenda (below left) for tomorrow's meeting is typically vague--President's Report, Public Comments--there's at least one big issue, in two parts, that should be discussed beyond the ones mentioned above. And that connects to a smaller but very important question about the giant green wall still on Dean Street, in part, which just yesterday again snagged traffic, as described below and shown at right. Project timetable: 2025? 2030? 2035? First, the big question: is there a timetable for the project as a whole? Remember, in November 2016, developer Forest City Realty Trust--which owns 30% of the project going forward, as part of Greenland Forest City...

The  next meeting  of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), an advisory body, will be Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 3 pm. Attendees  must RSVP  by Monday. In March 2017, I tried to answer this question: How many former residents of the Atlantic Yards footprint, who agreed to leave in response to a pledge by developer Forest City Ratner to be relocated to a comparable apartment in the project--and have their rent in the interim subsidized--will be back? I couldn't get an answer, though the Daily News in November 2012  reported  that 17 former tenants had taken the deal, and were expected to move into the first tower, 461 Dean. That building took a lot longer than promised, too. The fulfillment of the pledge is the kind of thing that that an Independent Compliance Monitor, required by the project's  Community Benefits Agreement  (CBA), would report on. But that monitor was never hired . What the city says I did get...

Beyond his chilly quote about the New York Islanders, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment CEO Brett Yormark offered another notable quote in his 10/9/17  interview with Sports Business Journal, when asked about the Barclays Center: What we need to consistently do is create a point of differentiation because of the competitive landscape. We constantly emphasize Brooklyn as a market that has a cool and hip factor. It’s the combination that creates a reason for artists to come here for the first time and to keep coming back. We have to be mindful of maintaining the cost structure. At the end of the day, it’s great that your food is terrific, but artists want to make money and I have to keep an eye of managing our cost structure so artists and events can come here and make money. (Emphasis added) That to me partly echoed a 2008 quote from developer Bruce Ratner that presaged the dismissal of original architect Frank Gehry: “We need jobs, we need shopping that's appropriate a...

The  next meeting  of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), an advisory body, will be Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 3 pm. Attendees  must RSVP by Monday. The announcement Friday, 10/13/17, of overnight construction all weekend for the West Portal of the Vanderbilt Yard--a new entrance from the railyard to the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Terminal--prompts a question. When will that West Portal be done? December 1? December 31? Next year? What about the permanent railyard to store and service LIRR trains? Perhaps that question will be asked at the AY CDC meeting, since the timetable has shifted more than once. In a June 2014 presentation , the West Portal was to be finished by February 2016, as shown in the screenshot below. June 2014 projection That, of course, didn't happen. As I wrote 10/20/15, Forest City's Ashley Cotton, of Greenland Forest City Partners, disclosed that they'd shifted the date for completing the West Portal from ea...

In a segment yesterday on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen defended the administration's affordable housing plans. Starting at about 6:10, she said, "I could probably count on my hands the amount of times I've actually had a meeting with a lobbyist. If you look at the record of the administration, and if you look at the deals that we have done, it would pretty impossible to say that lobbyists have been influencing the way we build housing." Well, there's lobbyists, and then there are companies. And while de Blasio's efforts certainly surpass those of his predecessor, many advocates have been critical , given the city's need. Glen cited an article about how tough the administration had been in restructuring the affordable housing at the Domino Sugar site in Williamsburg. "Time and time again, we have demonstrated that we are getting a better bargain for the taxpayer and for the public," she said, "whether it...

A message from Pacific Park Brooklyn indicates late night and weekend work beginning during the overnight hours tonight, near the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Atlantic Avenue. "As part [of] Long Island Railroad West Portal construction for Pacific Park Brooklyn contractors will be working during the overnight hours" through 5 pm Sunday, "demolishing portions of a suspended electrical duct bank." The West Portal is a new entrance from the Vanderbilt Yard to the Atlantic Terminal railway hub. The notice states that "Localized directional lighting will be used and all construction equipment meets environmental project requirements regarding noise." That doesn't mean it will be quiet. The notice says that "Coordination with LIRR schedules require that his work take place during this time," which is plausible. Less plausible is that it was not announced in the two-week Construction Update circulated last Friday . For information/concer...

Outside 535 Carlton, looking toward Dean Street OK, it's small, pleasant enough, and still too early to evaluate. But one thing's clear: the first slice of open space (not an actual park) to open in the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project is not going to make a dent in Prospect Heights. Nor will it to deliver what Forest City New York CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin once said , “There will no longer be a dearth of green space in the heart of Brooklyn." Not to mention "sprawling lawns."  Nor, actually, will the open space serve "Brooklyn" once it's built out, by 2025 at best. Outside 535 Carlton (aka B14), only a piece of green space has opened, more or less a courtyard, without connection to the adjacent space to the east (the unbuilt B13), as shown above B14 in the rotated rendering at right, nor connection to the lawn that would span the demapped Pacific Street, not to be completed until construction over the adjacent railyard. Annotated rend...

On Monday, 10/9/17, a Prospect Heights neighbor snapped photos of metal fencing, wood fencing, and even a few jersey barriers overturned outside the B3 site, 38 Sixth Avenue, apparently by high winds. Fortunately, an additional cordon of jersey barriers kept the disorder away from pedestrians and vehicles. Remember, in June 2015, debris from the under-construction tower blew off high floors, into the street, though no one was injured. It's a windy corner, that's for sure, at Sixth Avenue and Dean Street.

The Barclays Center is now banning backpacks, surely a recognition of increased security risks. From an announcement yesterday: Beginning this season, Barclays Center has implemented the following policies to ensure a safe and enjoyable event experience for all guests. No backpacks of any size are permitted, with the exception of single-compartment drawstring bags, and no bags larger than 14”x14”x6” will be allowed inside the venue. Guests who arrive with bags that do not meet the entry requirements will be able to check them at the main entrance. This policy does not apply to working media who is entering at the designated entrance. Special consideration will be made for guests with medical needs and those caring for infants.

Judging by recent rhetoric, the Islanders-Barclays split is on its way, with the arena dissing the team, and the team looking elsewhere. In a 10/9/17  interview  with Sports Business Daily, Brett Yormark, CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, sounded distinctly soured on the Barclays Center as a home for the New York Islanders, as the hockey team enters its third year. "The economics just don’t work," he said. "It’s a Long Island team trying to create a fan base in Brooklyn, and to date it has been met with very modest success and not at the numbers we have hoped." That sounds like a prelude to a divorce. I would have expected more conciliatory words, since I expect a renegotiation of the arena-team deal rather than a new arena for the Islanders. But maybe it's strategic too, as Lighthouse Hockey pointed out . Why don't I expect a new arena, given that the team owners seem ever more serious about it? Because I think there would be an arena glut...

As his likely second term awaits, Mayor Bill de Blasio is facing pressure from the left/grassroots regarding affordable housing, which necessitates some hard choices. As City Limits reported today, in Massive Rally Demands Adoption of Alternative Housing Proposals : Those rallying want the mayor to adopt two alternative housing proposals conceived by East Brooklyn Congregations and the Metropolitan Industrial Areas Foundation, faith-based organizations that have long been critical of the mayor’s housing approach. One calls for the rapid construction—within four years—of 15,000 units of senior housing on NYCHA and other city-owned lots and stresses the necessity of targeting low-income households. The other calls for a “top-to-bottom” rehabilitation of NYCHA over the same timeline. These are proposals worth discussing, though it all comes down to numbers: de Blasio's plan for housing on NYCHA land would include a significant slice of market-rate units, and thus fewer low-income o...

From Brownstoner, 10/3/17, RSVP Now for Talk With Bravo Star Ryan Serhant at Brownstoner Open Houses on October 24 : “Million Dollar Listing” star and Nest Seekers broker Ryan Serhant will talk about his experience in the Brooklyn market at the next Brownstoner Open Houses . Attendees can also tour a model apartment and the building at 550 Vanderbilt, where the free networking event will take place. The model apartment will be staged by City Chemist and Kendra Scott . The 278-unit, 17-story LEED-certified building was designed by COOKFOX Architects and developed by Greenland Forest City Partners as part of the 22-acre Pacific Park development. The event, which will include drinks and appetizers, is the fourth in the Brooklyn real estate networking series, Brownstoner Open Houses. It is hosted by Nest Seekers and 550 Vanderbilt . The evening’s sponsors are Sixpoint Brewery , City Chemist and Kendra Scott. The soiree will take place Tuesday, October 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. at 550 Vand...

According to the latest Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Construction Update (bottom), covering the two weeks beginning October 9, there's only a little new work in this period, compared to the previous period . The update was circulated at 11:05 am Friday (early) by Empire State Development (ESD) after preparation by Greenland Forest City Partners. Officially, the only new work (marked in red, with an asterisk), and it's minor, is at B14, aka 535 Carlton Avenue, which will involve one light pole installation in the open space, as well as traffic striping installation at Dean Street. Also, work on the open space will continue. While the following work at B3, aka 38 Sixth Avenue, was not listed as new, it was not described in these terms in the previous update: Ongoing punch list work on floors 12 to 24 and turning over apartments to owner. Installing wallpaper and carpet. Cutting expansion joints at all lobby and amenities space. Similarly, regarding B11, aka 550 Vanderb...

The next meeting of the Directors of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), a subsidiary of Empire State Development, will be held Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at 3 pm. It is supposed to meet quarterly, but last met 6/6/17 . There's no agenda yet, but likely one will emerge, and I'll write about it. At the very least, attendees should get an update on the project. It will not be held in Brooklyn, at a location easy to access for community members, but rather at ESD headquarters: Empire State Development 37th Floor Conference Room 633 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 This meeting is open to the public. Web casting of the meeting should be available at this link . Due to building procedures, those attending should please RSVP by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 16, 2017. RSVP press line (800) 260-7313; RSVP public line (212) 803-3766.

From Real Estate Weekly , 9/19/17, surely based on a press release: Cushman & Wakefield announced that the firm has arranged the sale of 751 Myrtle Avenue, a warehouse site in Brooklyn. The final closing price was $6.5 million... The single-story warehouse consists of three commercial units and totals 15,775 s/f. The space is currently leased to a tile business and auto repair shop. The building is located on the northwest corner of Myrtle Avenue and Nostrand Avenue, close to Atlantic Yards and the Pratt Institute. (Emphasis added) Well, it's clear that Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park is still a selling point, and that Pacific Park hasn't quite caught on. But what exactly does "close to Atlantic Yards" mean? About 1.8 miles (and a 38-minute walk) to the closest existing building, 550 Vanderbilt Avenue, as the map below shows. The site, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, is not that close to Pratt, in Clinton Hill, either. You know what it's actually close to? Public ...

Well, we've come a long way from that May 2006 brochure "A Vision for Downtown Brooklyn," haven't we? Well, power defines reality , right? As shown in the screenshot below, the rental tower 535 Carlton is being pitched as "NEW RENT STABILIZED APARTMENTS IN THE HEART OF BROWNSTONE BROOKLYN": Create a comfortable, inviting home filled with natural light flowing in through the large windows of every 535 Carlton residence. Enjoy views of Manhattan, Pacific Park and tree-lined brownstone Brooklyn along Dean and Carlton. Bring family and friends together in a space designed to be lived in, in a luxury building that always considers its residents and their loved ones. The neighboring streets to the south and west are, indeed, brownstone Brooklyn, though Dean Street contains some converted and extant industrial buildings. That "eight-acre park" The pitch continues: Brooklyn, New York’s creative nexus, is known for its art, music a...