It may have some big signs, but the Barclays Center will not have big sodas. Following the approval of the Big Sugary Beverage Ban today, Bruce Ratner announced that his new Brooklyn arena would be voluntary complying with the rule. Read More
We were actually expecting a lot worse, really. Preliminary renderings showed a giant blue crest and the Barclays name emblazoned beside it, not unlike the huge logos atop the Staples Center in L.A. (and the neighboring Nokia Theater). Instead, the photos revealed yesterday by the WCBS chopper show a small, even diminutive logo that barely dominates the large white roof atop the new SHoP-designed arena. Read More
Could it get any more Brooklyn than Red Hook? From On the Waterfront to that new Spike Lee movie you haven’t seen, the neighborhood is just off the grid enough to keep nostalgic hipsters feeling like they live in some far away place that is anything but Manhattanized (never mind the IKEA and high-end restaurant scene). But just as the Barclays Center has transformed the nexus of Park Slope and Fort Greene (for the worse, at least in certain [fresh] eyes), might a new Nets training facility do the same to Red Hook? Read More
A lot of bombast has been spread on both sides of the great Barclays Center battle of the past decade, but Andrea Peyser manages to take the cake as she always does, along with the amazing “photo composite” the Post put together of Bruce Ratner as ring leader. Cue Ms. (or is it Madame?) Peyser: Read More
It could be the biggest thing to come to Atlantic Yards since Barbara Streisand and Justin Beiber announced they would be playing concerts at the Barclays Center this fall. While everyone (but the neighbors and former neighbors) is looking forward to the opening of the new arena, Forest City Ratner now has its eyes trained across the street, to the two malls it owns there.
Once work on the arena is complete, the difficult task of moving forward with the adjoining apartment buildings lies ahead. But as interest in the area’s retail has boomed in anticipation of the new 18,000-seat venue, Forest City Ratner has also accelerated plans to redevelop the Atlantic Center and Atlantic Terminal malls.
“It’s an obvious opportunity,” MaryAnne Gilmartin, Forest City’s executive vice president, told The Observer. “One of the many things we think about is the impact the arena will have, and how we can help create a holistic neighborhood at Atlantic Yards from there.” Read More
Forest City’s Ratner’s Mary Anne Gilmartin praises “the democratic feel” during a recent tour of the nearly complete Barclay’s Center with Curbed, while SHoP’s Chris Sharples waxes about the urban appeal of the place. “Everyone is going to be able to feel the energy” from the cafe overlooking the arena floor. It is certainly a dynamic place, a great space to take in a show—it’s already been a circus for years—but democratic? When it took eminent domain to put this together? Not the first time we’ve heard such claims this week. Read More
We already know that the first game to be played at the Barclays Center will not be basketball but hockey, as the New York Islanders are playing an exhibition game there. There has been a lot of talk about the team moving there for good, after its lease runs out at the Nassau Coliseum in 2015.
This has been seen by some as a bargaining move for team management to get a new arena approved, but it could become a reality as soon as next season. A state investigation has found asbestos at the coliseum, according to The Brooklyn Paper, and if it’s not cleaned up before next season starts, the Islanders will be looking to leave. Read More
The issue of parking and traffic is always a problem in New York. If you aren’t renting a space for an exhorbitant price, then chances are that you are driving around the block a few dozen times. (Unless you are in the Bronx, then you just park wherever on the street.) But no other borough likes to hoot and holler over traffic more than Brooklyn.
The construction of the Barclays Center is no exception, the Post reports: Read More
Bruce Ratner has dodged another foul at Atlantic Yards. After the facade fabricator for the new Barclays Center closed abruptly in December, it was not clear how soon fabrication could resume given the complex nature of the work. But just a few weeks after the closure, ASI Limited is back in operation and Read More
That is Michael Powell’s assessment of the Brooklyn developer in his column in today’s Times, noting that Mr. Ratner is involved in at least two corruption scandals involving state politicians. Read More
