Cozy. (Matt Chaban)

Atlantic Yards living. (SHoP)

Well, modular is here, and it's real. After decades of dreaming by architects, an unlikely patron, developer Bruce Ratner, has made it possible to build a New York City building in a factory, assembling the units on site. Instead of cars, we will now be rolling apartments off an assembly line.

New Yorkers got their first look at the product, too, or at least the "chasis" around which these units will be built, at a ground breaking for the first Atlantic Yards residential tower, B2, nestled up beside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. 

"This may be the means and method to create more opportunities for construction that would not have existed if it were not for this technology," Gary LaBarbera, head of the New York City Building Trades Council declared from the dais.

Mr. LaBarbera has become an unlikely ally for the development, considering many union jobs were promised when this project came along, and a good deal of the savings modular offers is through limiting the most high-cost jobs of certain union workers. The units will still be constructed in a union shop at a factory, but using lower-paid workers. Still, Mr. Labarbera seemed pleased that what he touted as 125 new union jobs, even if they were low-paying, were better than none at all.

B2. (SHoP)

Plus, there are the other opportunities this new technology opens up, not only making unfeasible projects buildable, thanks to the estimated 30 percent savings, but it could also convert non-union jobs to unionized ones. Bruce Ratner, Mayor Bloomberg and Borough President Marty Markowitz all cheered on the possibility of modular housing becoming a booming export from Brooklyn and elsewhere in the city. "It's a whole new industry, born here in Brooklyn," Mr. Markowitz proudly declared.

"Many of the guys working on these types of projects are the same ones who could be living in these units," Mr. LaBarbera said.

Having seen them now, would you?

Modular construction has long been a dream of architects, for its efficiency and control, and now it could be a boon for New York City developers as well, since prefab methods can save 20 to 30 percent from traditional design methods. The only issue is for construction workers. Because the projects are built in factories, even when using union labor, the jobs tend to be less skilled and thus lower paying. Many labor unions had bridled at this, especially since Mr. Ratner had made extensive promises about the well-paying jobs Atlantic Yards would provide. But today the Building and Construction Trades Council announced its support for the development, saying that the prefab builders will get their own division within the labor group.

Gary LaBarbera, president of the council, suggested that without this agreement, nothing would have been built (never mind promises by Mr. Ratner with the state to start building at some point), and so this deal was acceptable.

"Today, we move forward with an innovative approach to development that will allow us to realize the vision of the Atlantic Yards project and create traditional construction jobs that may otherwise have been at risk," Mr. LaBarbera said in a statement. "And as we bring training, skill, quality and safety to modular construction through a strong labor-management partnership on this project, we see the potential to have this approach improve our competitiveness elsewhere in the local market and expand into an export industry to create even more sustainable union jobs that pay good wages and benefits.”

Indeed, Mr. Ratner and others have touted modular construction's ability to be a boon for the entire development industry, particularly on the affordable housing front. This is an area of development the unions have not typically occupied—though they are also increasingly trying to horn their way in in other ways—and if it can corner the prefab market, many projects employing it in the future would have to deal with the unions. Even with higher wage rates, the cheaper costs—from controlled environments of the factory floor and streamlined construction processes, plus cheaper union jobs—could entice many developers across the city.

In other words, Atlantic Yards might not simply revolutionize this corner of Atlantic Yards, but also housing across the city.

Or even across the world. B2, as the apartment tower is known, would lap many times the current record holder for prefabricated construction, a 20-story hotel in England. And the involvement of SHoP is meant to suggest that prefab can be sleek and design-y as well. "With modular, we are also transforming how housing is built in New York City and, potentially, around the world," Mr. Ratner said in a statement. "And we are doing it, as we do with all of our construction, in partnership with union labor, the best labor, in the best City in the world."

Part of the reason for building modular is because the return on the first tower is limited, following a commitment by Forest City Ratner to make the building 50 percent affordable. Of the 363 unit in the building, half will be affordable, though there have been complaints of just how affordable they will actually be.

Working with SHoP and engineers at Skanska, Forest City Ratner developed a system that will allow some 930 modular units, known as mods, to be assembled at a factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yards. They will be trucked onto the site, at the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Dean Street, hoisted into place and connected. There are more than 30 different mods that can be combined to create apartments ranging in size from a studio to a three bedroom. The project will also be green, seeking a LEED Silver rating.

"Two years ago, due to the financial environment and other issues, we undertook intensive research and development to explore the feasibility of modular and to infuse technologically modern means of construction in our design and construction methods," said MaryAnne Gilmartin, Ratner executive vice-president. "We believe we’ve achieved a significant break through that will allow us to create world-class design and keep our commitment to union labor and deliver a significant amount of affordable housing.”

There was no mention of whether or not there is a special tax break for building modular housing.

Those towers? Still on except for one. (SHoP Architects)

Some good news for Bruce Ratner today, but probably not for the neighborhood or the folks who want to move into the developer's promised apartment towers at Atlantic Yards. The Islanders will mean more crowds roaming the streets of Prospect Heights and Fort Greene before and after games, and more revenue for the Barclays Center, but this will not help speed up construction of the long-delayed apartments, according to Mr. Ratner.

At a press conference inside the Barclays Center's trademark Geico Atrium this afternoon, an NPR sports reporter (rather than all the assembled metro hacks like us) was the only one to ask Mr. Ratner about the impact of the deal on the rest of Atlantic Yards, and what Mayor Bloomberg thought of the project's development, or lack thereof.

"This deal doesn't affect the housing, and I announced at our last press conference opening this place up that on December 18th we will have the groundbreaking for our first building, which is 50 percent affordable," is all Mr. Ratner would say.

The mayor then stepped up to the mic and let 'er rip. "Of course we want to get things done quicker, but given all of the angst that Bruce had to go through, the fact that the housing is a little behind schedule isn't the least bit surprising," Mayor Bloomberg said.

He then proceed to place the blame on everyone but Mr. Ratner, most notably with the locals who sued Forest City to prevent the seizure of their homes. "Those people that tried to stop the project or delay the project are the ones that really caused all of that," Mayor Bloomberg said. "The marketplace also wasn't terribly helpful."

A post on Norman Oder's Atlantic Yards Report reminds us, with this handy graphic, that at the outset of the project not only was the arena due to have opened three years ago but also six of the 13 apartment towers would also be finished. As recently as fall of 2010 Mr. Ratner was promising construction of the residential buildings to have commenced by some time last year. He is finally dead set on this year, but it seems as though he has arrived at that point of his own choosing, no one else's.

Mayor Bloomberg believes that is just fine. "There's a lot of good indicators that say that Bruce will be able to build and get it done reasonably expeditiously," he said. "Would it have been nice if it was done earlier, sure? But the real world is what it is."

After the press conference, reporters tried to ask Mr. Ratner if he had made a final decision on whether the first apartment building would be built modular or not. "We're not talking modular today," he responded curtly. Maybe that is because he still does not have financing for the tower, as Mr. Oder reported.

Welcome to the real world, indeed.

His hoopiness (Getty)

So Barclays's Bruce Ratner told Charles Bagli today. "We've kept every single promise we've ever made," he insists. So be it.  In typical fashion, the Times scribe cut the Brooklyn developer down to size without so much as uttering a nasty word against him, as he has done to so many big builders and outsized egos over the years.

We could count the ways in which Mr. Ratner has broken his promises over the years, on jobs, housing, subsidies, timetables, architects ... the list goes on and on, but we'll leave that up to Norman Oder. After all, Mr. Ratner qualifies his promises in the conditional, adding, "We’ve built the arena. They said we’d never build it. And I’m going to build the affordable housing." Fair enough.

Better still, let's let Mr. Bagli himself count the ways in which Mr. Ratner has snookered the city over the years. His writing is as understated as Mr. Ratner's work is bombastic. While the story contains almost no news, it so beautifully and articulately chronicles what transpired at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, it is a wonder the project was actually realized. And yet it also makes clear there was absolutely no other outcome possible. This is Bruce Ratner, after all.

To wit, one small revelation that encapsulates much of the story comes to light:

His willingness to change plans —abandoning an expensive Frank Gehry design and building a smaller railyard—solidified his reputation for promising anything to get a deal, only to renegotiate relentlessly for more favorable terms. In separate encounters in meetings over the Atlantic Yards project, Mr. Ratner loudly berated Rafael E. Cestero, then the housing commissioner, and Seth W. Pinsky, president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, after not getting his way.

These are ostensibly two of Mr. Ratner's allies on the project, and two of the toughest guys in city government. And there he stood. No wonder he is still standing after "the most difficult, bruising development project I’ve done, or could even imagine doing," as Mr. Ratner puts it to Mr. Bagli.

The centerpiece of Mr. Ratner’s arena is, of course, the Brooklyn Nets, which will become the borough’s first major-league sports team since the Dodgers left after the 1957 baseball season. But the Barclays Center is more than just another state-of-the-art playground for great athletes. It’s also a world-class concert venue, as Jay-Z will demonstrate with a week of concerts to celebrate the opening, beginning Sept. 28. And it will play host to the work of local artists who will celebrate and commemorate the borough’s history and culture. Three commissioned works are in the final stages of installation, with more to come. 

The owner of the Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, said the arena could become a milestone in Brooklyn history—like the famous bridge that bears the borough’s name. That claim might sound outlandish, but remember that the arena is part of a larger, even-more ambitious plan to redevelop Downtown Brooklyn. When the entire Atlantic Yards project is done, Mr. Prokhorov’s boast could easily become reality.

The Barclays Center will get another burst of attention on Nov. 1, when the Nets play their first regular-season NBA game against the Knicks. But as the season wears on, attention will focus on the rest of Mr. Ratner’s vision. He plans to build a series of more than a dozen buildings on 22 acres surrounding the arena. Ground will soon be broken for a 32-story skyscraper that will be home to more than 350 apartments—and half of them will be reserved for tenants with low or moderate incomes.

The development will continue to create hundreds of construction jobs in the years to come, and when the project is complete, Downtown Brooklyn will have a new look and a new vibe. Will it rival the Brooklyn Bridge as a landmark, a symbol of the borough’s transformation? It may be too early to say, despite Mr. Prokhorov’s enthusiasm.

But there can be little doubt that Mr. Ratner, like Washington Roebling, has big ambitions, and the Barclays Center is just the beginning.

Will anyone be rapping about "blue and white, blue and white, blue and white" any time soon? (Kit Dillon)

A Barclays Center cake! Yum. (Kit Dillon)

Welcome to the grand opening of the Barlcays Center—through the Calvin Klein VIP entrance, past the American Express box office and into the Geico atrium—the sometimes home of the Brooklyn Nets. Because in truth, this is the bank's home and everybody else are its guests. Today it is the press corps' turn, and we have been welcomed in the grandest of style. Fresh orange juice, hot quiche and chocolate-covered strawberries abound, though none of the twee Brooklyn food that will soon be sold at the very Brooklyn concession stands.

As one reporter mentioned to another, “Remember the good ol’ days?” Would that be when Brooklyn had a team or when journalists could afford their own meals, or even a few sweet years ago, when this was still a hole in the ground, neighbor fought neighbor and the banks were booming?

Barclays and its backers are certainly aiming for a fond nostalgia at the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic. Once, stadiums were built around the sports teams they housed—the Celtics and The Garden, the Mets and Shea Stadium—and in a sense Barclays Center has been built around the Nets too. Inasmuch as the VIP entrance and lounge is built in and around the Nets locker room entrance and their goldfish bowl of a practice court, for all those without tickets to gaze in. The Nets are the spectacle here, but they take a backseat to the stadium's namesake.

The point is only reinforced by the Nets' unusually austere, and reportedly Jay-Z-selected, team colors, black and white. It’s a design choice that seems only to  highlight the piercing electric blue of Barclays bank. A blue that is absolutely everywhere. A point that The Observer pointed out to SHoP partner Chris Sharples during a tour of the arena his firm helped design. He seemed to agree. “They certainly got their money's worth,” the architect said of the bank. With $400 million invested over the next 20 years, one would certainly hope so.

On the grandstand, all the expected VIPs took their turns thanking one another for their own amazing achievement. The seventh-richest man in Russia, Nets owner and playboy Mikhail Prokhorov, was there, of course, to thank Jay-Z, who was not. Mayor Bloomberg came to thank New York and asked, as monotone as the building he was standing in, “Is Brooklyn in the house?” After some polite applause, he answered, almost to himself, “I thought so." He proceed to echo comments he made just the day before on the High Line, the justification for every project today: "Great cities change, and great cities grow, and that's always been true of New York."

But it was Charles Ratner, the chairman of Cleveland's own Forest City Enterprises  and cousin of the man behind the Barclays Center, Bruce Ratner, who thanked Barclays most openly for being so steadfast a partner even in these difficult economic times. "Can't say enough about Barclays bank," he crowed. One can only imagine that it is easier to remain steadfast in troubling economic times when you're helping to manipulate international interest rates.

Singlehandedly bringing hope back to Brooklyn, Bruce Ratner declared, "Championships will be won here!" He does know which team he bought, right?

Outside the arena, the people looked in. Some of them wearing oversize masks of Mayor Bloomberg and Marty Markowitz's faces, others handing out leaflets asking where the union jobs they were promised were. There were two men trying to draw attention to the traffic nightmare that is predicted when stadium events and rush hour converge on Atlantic Avenue. Not a few of these protesters used to call this plot of land home.

Inside, with the press, the great men and rich men, a long ribbon was cut and two loud bangs sounded out. Trails of long paper streamers shot into the air around Geico Atrium. They were blue and white. Not to color of the Brooklyn Nets, but of Barclays bank.

Too big to gulp.

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.

“As the newest sports and entertainment venue in Brooklyn, Barclays Center is thrilled to work with the Mayor and the city to help achieve the mayor's public health goals,” Mr. Ratner said in a statement put out by the mayor's office. “New York City has set a standard for the country and the world when it comes to public health and we are very proud to be the first to adopt the standards for sugary beverages in our new venue.”

So far the biggest drinking controversy at the arena has been over how late it would be serving alcohol until (a state panel settled on 1 a.m., an hour earlier than the arena wanted but hours after neighbors had prayed for). The size of alcoholic beverages will not be impacted, which is really all most sports fans care about, though there have been rumors that is where the mayor will turn his attention to next.

"I raise a 16 ounce cup and toast Barclays for joining us today and implementing this plan 6 months ahead of schedule," Mayor Bloomberg said. "This is a game-changing vote and the new Barclays Center is on the winning side.”

Still, what of the poor Justin Bieber fans who will have to shell out repeatedly to slake their thirst during the pop stars upcoming concerts?

Step right up, kids. (NY Post)

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:

When Barclays is christened this fall as home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, Ratner will have pulled off the seemingly impossible. Almost single-handedly, he’ll have brought the Borough of Kings, long neglected and overshadowed by Manhattan, back to buzzworthy health.

“A young person can go to Brooklyn to see hometown [rapper] Jay-Z. A family who lives in the projects will walk here or take the bus. This is the soul of Brooklyn.’’

The buzz is back! But not without alienating the poor, project-dwelling locals. How about those $30 tickets for all! Without this, there would be nothing but needles littering the borough's beloved brownstones.

When I toured this site in 2004, it was a disgrace. It was scarred with toxic rail yards that had squatted on this spot, like a disease, for decades. Then I spied a pile of hypodermic needles.

It was long past time to breathe air back into Brooklyn. Or shut the lights and get the hell out.

Brooklyn 2.0: We'll leave the lights on for you.

Some things are free! (Courtesy Dumbo Books of Brooklyn)

Ever think "Where's my wallet?" when walking around the Atlantic Terminal or Atlantic Center malls?

It's probably missing. The shopping centers have become the "singular crime epicenter in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill's 88th Precinct," The New York Times reports.

At least 26 reported crimes have happened in the center since the beginning of the year, The Times noted:

• 14 purses and wallets stolen

• Four reported — and countless unreported — incidents of shoplifting

• Two victims losing $1,200 in an iPad scam

• Two fights

• Three muggings or attempted muggings

• One theft of a bicycle

The brazen thieves are even going after the center's employees. Rebecca Godfrey, a worker in the Altantic Terminal,  has been a two-time victim: three months ago someone snatched a purse containing valuables and $1,250 and last month someone grabbed her iPhone. "I saw it two seconds too late. They do it right in front of your face," she told The Times.

The commanding officer of the precinct said that he has to constantly reminds shoppers: "Close your pocketbook, keep it close to your person, don't leave the purse in the shopping cart."

Apparently, the outlaw culture has developed to such heightened levels that some thieves are even dressing as Best Buy employees selling discounted iPads. Once the cash is handed over, the pseudo-employee ditches and the customer is left with an empty box.

Although, c'mon guys, consumers typically pay for things at a cash register.

mewing@observer.com

The Lexus he rode in on.

In a navy suit with a merino v-neck sweater over a dress shirt with no tie and an open collar, he was also underdresed for the sunny but windy chill swirling across the $1 billion Barclays Center that his firm Forest City Ratner is well into building at the Atlantic Yards site in Brooklyn.

“I thought it was going to be 50 degrees,” Mr. Ratner said, immediately noticing the cold.

So much at the site hasn’t gone according to plan. Mr. Ratner has waded through years of lawsuits launched by landowners who were eventually booted from buildings on the yards via emminent domain, community groups and others that oppose the 22-acre development. If that wasn’t enough, the project, one of the largest developments in city, has had to weather a deep recession and its lingering aftereffects, which have put a damper on demand and pricing for the 16 residential buildings slated for the site.

Mr. Ratner managed to break ground on the basketball arena - which will be home to the Brooklyn Nets - in 2010, just before tax free bonds the state had permitted him to issue in order to finance the arena’s construction at below-market interest rates were due to expire. The timeline for other components of the project, including the construction of three residential towers that will hug the arena, is less clear.
“I think we’ll break ground sometime this year,” was all Mr. Ratner would say, referring to the first residential building that is slated to rise at the site, a tower on the corner of Dean and Flatbush whose base will cantilever over a rear entrance to the 14,000 seat Barlcays Center. The first building will be something of a barometer, Mr. Ratner suggested. The offerings in the other two buildings, he said, be they studios, one bedrooms, or larger apartments, will be based off the market’s reception of the spaces that Forest City Ratner will offer in the first tower.

Mr. Ratner bristled when asked to make further reaching projections of progress on the Atlantic Yards site. Standing inside the arena and gazing into its nearly finished bowl of seats, The Commercial Observer’s gaze couldn’t help but trail farther, through a large entryway being used by construction vehicles. Beyond was the rest of the site, a stretch of train tracks and dirt recessed below grade that runs east for several blocks between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street.

“We’re here to talk about the arena,” Mr. Ratner snapped when asked when those portions of the development would begin.

One could forgive Mr. Ratner’s edginess given the opposition he has faced. Sensing that he had perhaps recoiled a little too fiercely, his demeanor quickly loosened.

“You have to understand, my words have been twisted around in the past,” Mr. Ratner said.

“And then all of a sudden I’m getting sued,” he added, seeming to refer to a recent suit by a group of workers who claim they were promised union jobs by Forest City Ratner for enrolling in a training program, but subsequently weren’t offered employment.
Mr. Ratner said that the company had studied 16 arenas around the country, specifically Bankers Life Fieldhouse, formerly Conseco Fieldhouse, the home of the Indiana Pacers. The problem with most arenas, such as Madison Square Garden, according to Mr. Ratner is their elevation, which forces the flow of patrons all in one direction and creates congestion.

The court at the Barclays Center is below grade, so when fans enter from ground level, depending on where they sit, they will be split between heading either up or down to their seats.

“We broke up the flow of traffic,” Mr. Ratner said. “At a place like MSG, you have everybody heading up at the start of the game and then down at the end. It creates a jam and it’s confusing. You’re forced to kind of follow the crowd just to know where you’re going.”

Mr. Ratner also pointed out that games will be partially visible from the plaza in front of the arena.

“It’s going to be the only court in the league where you can literally watch the game from the street outside,” Mr. Ratner said, pointing out the arena’s embrace of the surrounding community.

Staff Writer Daniel Geiger can be reached at Dgeiger@Observer.com