I stopped by the Barclays Center last night in the middle of the fourth quarter, during the second game of the Brooklyn Nets' first-ever playoff series, in which the team, after winning handily in the first game, lost 90-82 to the tough Chicago Bulls.
Though the Nets had a chance to win--assuming some quick three-point shots--and came as close as four points with four minutes left, attendees were trickling out steadily from the middle of the quarter, some with kids on a school night, others wanting to get the jump on transportation.
Two sections of the stairs to the transit hub were roped off, in an effort to slow the crowd from going downstairs. Drivers surely wanted to avoid traffic jams. Other fans streamed out with a minute or two to go, obviously (and accurately) not expecting a miracle.
From the arena plaza, you can see part of the scoreboard, but you can't see the score unless you're standing right up against the doors.
Outside the arena
As noted on Atlantic Yards Watch and in the video below that I shot, limos line up on the north side of Atlantic Avenue in the lay-by lane to wait for pick-ups. That violates a clear "no standing" zone rule and, while it's surely helpful for the VIPs lucky enough to have their vehicle among the few waiting, it penalizes others who exit the building faster.
Fans orderly, but...
I watched the crowd exit from the back of the arena on Dean Street; they were fairly subdued, neither cheering boisterously (it was a loss, after all) nor talking loudly. (The loudest group I heard were a couple of guys shouting as they exited the Q train I was on several stops into Brooklyn.)
As they exited, attendees competed with valet parking vehicles exiting from the loading dock and the adjacent above-ground Pad.
I followed the group heading to Pacific Street and immediately encountered two fans (in Nets hats) relieving themselves against the wall of a warehouse building immediately east of Sixth Avenue. They proceeded to the Newswalk parking garage two doors down to pick up their vehicle.
Another noted that a "pile of 20 or 30 bags of garbage has been in the satellite uplink parking lot (at the northeast corner of Sixth Avenue and Dean Street] since at least Saturday." (See photo at right.) That's next to a residence.
So, there was a frenzy inside the Barclays Center Saturday night for the first Brooklyn Nets playoff game. What about outside? As reported on Atlantic Yards Watch, there were numerous cars and limos parking or idling illegally, as well as dubious use of the "Pad" outside the loading dock on Dean Street between Flatbush and Sixth avenues for idling and parking.
The total: 64 potential violations, 10 for idling, and 45 for illegal parking.
Notably not a single black limo was parked in the official location designated by the Department of Transportation for TLC parking on the south side of Atlantic Avenue from 6th Avenue to Carlton Avenue. ... The changes to black limo behavior were largely on the north side of Barclays Center. The lay-by lane on the south side of Atlantic Avenue was full from Fort Greene Place to 6th Avenue a few minutes before the end of the game. This makes sense because of the VIP exit nearby, and the many exits of the arena lining Atlantic Avenue. The north side of Atlantic Avenue from Fort Greene Place to South Portland Avenue, formerly filled with city employee cars and private cars, was largely filled with black limos and/or private cars with drivers this time around. And the dispatcher for the car service stand on Fort Greene Place stated that his cars were for both the mall and the arena.
Other had a placards saying "Federal Law Enforcement" or a Police Department restricted parking permit, both legal if on official business. But a private vehicle with "NYC PBA"(Police Benevolent Association) is not actually legal.
At a bus stop on Atlantic Avenue east of the arena, a limo was next to an idling bus; their drivers claimed they'd been told by cops to park there, despite an official area across the street.
What about the Pad? As explained in Equipment bus idles on Pad; valet parking for coaches and staff, a staff member acknowledged that a bus had been idling illegally for at least 40 minutes, and the rest of the cars outside were used for valet parking, for people such as coaches and supervisors.
Not everyone could fit.
As shown in the photo at right, a BMW with New Jersey plates was parked in satellite uplink parking lot across Sixth Avenue just north of Dean Street. Given that the car had been parked in the Pad, it apparently got nudged out by others with better timing and/or higher priority.
The Pad (see video here)--just east of the arena and separated from the Building 3 by a fence--was never announced or described as a parking area.
Then again, as once driver who works for an NBA player explained, most arenas have designated parking for players inside the facility, and that some 30 VIP vehicles (players, families of players, owners, staff) park inside the arena, entering through the loading dock and going downstairs. The spillover goes to the Pad--or, apparently, across the street.
At the monthly meeting last night of the 78th Precinct Council, there was talk about continued problems with parking--some but hardly all related to the Barclays Center--as well as the upcoming protest tonight outside the circus, and the arena’s continuing inability to manage trucks that idle in neighborhood streets.
A church's impact
One resident pointed to a line of unbroken double parked cars, on Dean Street east of Sixth Avenue and St. Marks Avenue east of Carlton Avenue.
Deputy Inspector Michael Ameri, the commanding officer, said it’s “safe to assume it was the church,” citing the Temple of Restoration at 515 Dean Street. “It's an ongoing problem. I've met with the church several times, we're trying to be good neighbors, trying to have a delicate balance.” Apparently such diplomacy doesn’t quite work, so he said he’d make another visit.
Robert Puca, a resident of the Newswalk building nearby, said he now was seeking street parking because his building’s garage raised its price in the wake of arena patrons. “The people who live here don't get the same break that they're getting,” he observed, citing the need sometimes to extract a car from a double-parked vehicle attending the church.
“I hear you loud and clear,” America said, noting that while the police department extended the church a courtesy, “every once and a while I have to bring them back to reality.”
Puca, noting that the north side of Pacific Street lost parking as part of railyard work, stated, “I don't know if there is a solution.” Along with the demand from neighbors and the church, of course, some fraction of arenagoers seek free parking on the streets.
What about the police?
Also, after expressing respect for the police, Puca pointed to ongoing problems caused by the police themselves--”the constant parking on the sidewalk... you have the vans literally backed up on the sidewalk” of Bergen Street near Sixth Avenue.
“It’s a fair point,” Ameri said. “I'm going to revisit the issue.”
Puca asked if police and fire personnel have assigned spots at the arena parking lot.
“We have 24 spots on [Block] 1129,” Ameri responded. “They're utilized, probably being underutilized... I'll have to get back on top of the guys, once in a while it needs to be brought to my attention.”
Peter Krashes of the Dean Street block association warned that the situation would worsen when residential buildings, and attendant pedestrians, are built around the arena block.
Truck Route warning?
Krahses noted that the “No Truck Route” sign that had been requested for the corner of Dean Street and Sixth Avenue has been delayed.
“I hate to pass the buck,” Ameri said, but “it's a DOT [Department of Transportation] issue.. but I would like to see it posted as well.”
Derek Lynch of Empire State Development, the state agency overseeing Atlantic Yards, said he’d try to push the issue.
The circus
Krashes reported multiple incidents in which trucks delivering materials for the circus were parking in the Dean Street bus stop or no standing zones. “Every truck today was idling,” he said, “ I know it's a nonemergency response and hate to distract you from your business, but it would be much appreciated if the arena did the job they were supposed to do.”
“Please, call 311 so it's brought to my attention,” Ameri responded. “I encourage you to help me put pressure on the Barclays Center at the next [Atlantic Yards] Quality of Life meeting... Their loading dock manager has been told about managing these trucks.” (The next meeting should be in late April.)
Though reports on Facebook suggested that there would be as many as 400 protesters outside the circus opening tonight, Ameri said such numbers are likely overblown, predicting between 25 and 100 people, but “we always prepare for the worst.” Protesters will be staged on Flatbush across from the arena, in front of Modell's and the Brooklyn Bear's Garden.
As to Krashes’s question about whether pre- or post-event times are the worst for sidewalk congestion, Ameri pointed out--as seems obvious--that people arrive at the arena intermittently but there’s a “mass exodus” afterward. “Sidewalks are definitely more congested upon the conclusion of an event.”
Public urination
Pauline Blake, president of the Precinct Council, asked about people coming from arena using side streets for public urination.
“I monitor 311, I don't see too many urination complaints,” said Ameri, noting that Pacific Street west of the arena have been tamped down due to the presence of an officer. There have been “some issues” outside the Newswalk parking garage, he allowed.
Blake reported an incident on Bergen Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues.
“I haven't seen much of an uptake,” Ameri said, noting that the main issue “really is parking.”
I reported 6/15/11 on a forum regarding Atlantic Yards traffic, at a time when the arena was in the midst of construction.
One question hadn't quite been answered: Where would black cars (limousines) for the high-rollers wait?
Forest City Ratner transportation consultant Sam Schwartz said no space has been dedicated. "'No standing' zones will be enforced," he said. "We may decide there is an innocuous location nearby."
The lack of certainty led several people in the audience to express skepticism. They were right.
Schwartz is a private consultant, not a public servant, and he had no reason to presume how the police would deploy their resources. As it has happened, those zones have not been enforced steadily or sufficiently.
The "innocuous locations" have become residential streets.
Yes, there's since been an "innocuous location" established--free space along Atlantic Avenue--but most black cars don't use it, and it likely would be insufficient if they tried.
It was a flaw in the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Schwartz developed, as Gib Veconi of Atlantic Yards Watch wrote last December. It's a flaw still unresolved.
Just in time for the Atlantic Yards Quality of Life Committee meeting tomorrow night (Borough Hall, 6:30 pm) come a couple of Atlantic Yards Watch reports from Barclays Center neighbors regarding last night's Nets game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
One resident reported 20 illegal parking issues found in a ten-minute walk, all below Flatbush Avenue:
This is a multiple incident report, fueled in part by a 45 minute drive around looking for a parking spot (forgot it was the Lakers game). Would have been easier if I could have parked illegally, Thought is not lost on me that a limo might allow me to park for a few hours without worry.... Instead of thinking ill thoughts about FCR, decided to do a ten minute survey within a 3 block area instead of cooking dinner for my family.
70 5th Ave: 2 cars parked in no parking zone , 1 limousine 1 sedan 429 Bergen: 2 cars parked in bus stop. 41 5th Avenue: Mercedes idling in bus stop 39 5 Avenue: limousine license T 619 O 37 C parked at hydrant 446C Dean: 2 cars parked in no standing zone 5th Ave between Dean and Flatbush: An astonishing 3 cars parked in the traffic lane marked no standing anytime. Requested that TEA on corner, 5 feet away, kindly ask them to move. He said, "Oh, they're just waiting to pick up people at the arena." Clearly no message received by this guy, but was one given? He did ask and they did move. 3 traffic agents on corner of Flatbush and Dean opposite from stretch limo at hydrant parked and idling at hydrant T 201196 C . 230 Flatbush: limo license t6 03680 C parked and idling at hydrant in the bus stop 2 cars parked in bus stop at Flatbush (North side) and Bergen 76 6th Avenue: 2 cars parked in No Parking zone by Woodland Restaurant 65 St. Mark's Avenue: 2 cars parked near hydrant at top of Saint Marks Avenue 65 St. Mark's Avenue: limo idling in front of garage License T 497847 C Ten minute walk -- 20 illegal parking issues.
Literally the entire right travel lane of Flatbush from 6th Ave headed to Dean Street was occupied with double parked/idling limos and black cars. This reduced Flatbush Ave to 1 lane in that direction, with predicable effect. (Congestion, honking, etc). There were also black cars in the bus stop in from of Atrium/Vinnies. I did notice that one had a ticket. It was a busy game night and of there were multiple similar violations on Bergen, 5th Ave, and other streets, with the usual idling and double parking, as well as blocking of bus stops ans fire hydrants.
These reports address blocks mainly south of the arena; numerous blocks in other directions were not canvassed.
On Tuesday, 1/29/13, the police official overseeing the Barclays Center, Deputy Inspector Michael Ameri of the 78th Precinct, said the main outstanding complaint regarding arena operations, was the plethora of illegally parked black cars and limousines.
Driver sleeping in car while parked in crosswalk; north side of Atlantic Avenue near South Oxford Street
(That challenge, he was too diplomatic to mention, was not addressed in pre-opening planning, since those who devised the Transportation Demand Management plan apparently neglected to check to see if cops would be able to pursue enforcement.)
The next night, when the Miami Heat came to play the Brooklyn Nets, a team of Atlantic Yards Watch volunteers tried to quantify the problem, doing a one-time survey of streets between 8:30-10:30 pm.
There were 77 apparent parking and/or idling violations (65/12), compared to an earlier survey on 12/5/12, when there were 83 apparent violations (64/19). There was more enforcement this week, as volunteers counted ten tickets, all but one in fire hydrants or bus stops, versus just one in December.
And while there were ten vehicles parked in the designated staging area for TLC vehicles on the south side of Atlantic Avenue between Sixth and Carlton avenues, it was underused, and three of the vehicles were committing violations.
Two failures
Anecdotal evidence from one limo driver, who works for an NBA player, suggested two failures. One is the failure to provide sufficient spaces within the arena to accommodate such cars, which is common among NBA arenas. The other is a failure to inform limo drivers of the designated staging area.
Across from arena
Unloading in the travel lane across from arena
The report suggests hazards across from the arena:
In one area, the north side of Atlantic Avenue between South Portland Avenue and Fort Greene Place, illegal private parking and a surfeit of city agency parking facilitated by DOT-issued placards is forcing patrons of the shopping mall and the arena to use a travel lane to load and unload. This is clearly less safe than unloading near the curb. During our survey 9 cars with some form of placard parked in this area at the same time a line of 7 to 9 cars continually lined up to load and unload in the adjacent travel lane
There are changes planned for Pacific Street between Sixth and Carlton avenues perpendicular to the Atlantic Yards arena block, and they involve less parking, different traffic, and railyard work.
The first clue came in a report (below) from consultant STV, which works for Empire State Development, the state agency overseeing Atlantic Yards.
The report said that the Department of Transportation was considering eliminating street parking on Pacific while Forest City continues to upgrade the Long Island Rail Road's Vanderbilt Yard.
That plan apparently has been modified.
Changes coming next week
A neighborhood resident forwarded me an excerpt from a preview of two-week Atlantic Yards Construction Alert scheduled to be released on Monday.
Pacific Street, which now has cramped two-way traffic, especially on event nights, will go back to westbound one-way traffic, thus making it easier to stage construction vehicles for the B2 tower on Pacific Street east of Vanderbilt Avenue, a demapped street adjacent to the arena parking lot.
For perhaps two years, all parking on north side of Pacific will be eliminated until construction is completed. This should cut down on the number of black cars and limos idling on the street. Still, Pacific Street will remain attractive to anyone seeking parking, including construction workers.
All trees on the north side will be removed for construction, but replanted when construction is finished. Construction is not expected to go overnight.
Police overseeing the Barclays Center say things have gone smoothly overall, but some neighborhood complaints still surfaced last night at the monthly meeting of the 78th Precinct Community Council, held at the precinct, located at Bergen Street and Sixth Avenue a block from the arena..
Richard Goldstein, president of the Carlton Avenue Association, said a neighbor had reported that limos and black cars are illegally parked at hydrants regularly on “game nights”--presumably event nights--but not getting ticketed. (The law says there should be 15 foot radius from the center of the hydrant in each direction.)
Deputy Inspector Michael Ameri directed Goldstein to speak to the sergeant assigned to the arena and said complainants should call 311.
Desmond Atkins of Community Board 8 reported consistent complaints about such hired vehicles idling on streets east of the arena.
Community Council President Pauline Blake responded that the such vehicle complaints are the predominant ones emanating from the arena and, pointing to areas south of the arena, said “your community is not the only one impacted... we're trying to see what solutions can be worked out.”
Alfred Chiodo, an aide to Council Member Letitia James, said he’d heard that the limos are not taking advantage of designated free parking on Atlantic Avenue.
Ameri said that “we implemented a strategy... we’re working with TLC [Taxi and Limousine Commission], we’re working with Barclays.” (There’s no automatic summons, however, if the car is occupied.)
Quality of Life Committee meeting
Ameri said the strategy would be re-evaluated at the next Atlantic Yards Quality of Life committee meeting.
The next committee meeting will be held on Thursday, February at 6:30pm at Brooklyn Borough Hall. The meeting is open to the public for observation but participation is limited to invited representatives from community groups.
Overall smooth ride
"Overall, we haven't, in my opinion, had any major interference, major gridlock... crime has been minimal,” Ameri said, with “minimal” complaints regarding such things as vending, noise, and public urination. (There were several urination complaints early on. Ameri made no public mention of regular open scalping outside and occasional rampant pot smoking inside.)
The few crimes at the Barclays Center have been limited to property thefts, such as cell phones stolen from the employee locker room, Ameri said. Cops have also seen minor issues like disorderly conduct and ticket scalping, he said, and police responded to a crowd of rowdy Justin Bieber fans in November.
The “biggest issue is black cars,” Ameri said, suggesting it “maybe wasn't anticipated as much” by city and state agencies. (Actually, the Transportation Demand Management plan assigned enforcement to the police, without checking to see whether that would be a priority.)
Ameri said the precinct, with expanded boundaries and got new officers when it assumed policing of the arena and nearby malls, is up some 25% officers. He said from ten to 30 officers are typically assigned to arena events--there were many more on opening weekend, I’d say--dependent on the size and nature of the crowd.
Blake responded to what she interpreted as suspicious that the arena may be drawing away officers from patrolling the community. “I don't think that's happening because we are too smart” to let that happen, she said, observing that Ameri will make sure to keep a balance. Ameri said that, when there’s no event, ”we have more officers than we ever had.”
Based on anecdotal reports submitted to Atlantic Yards Watch, it looks like calls to 311 regarding arena-area conditions like illegal parking can prompt police action, but direct complaints to the cops are a stretch.
For example, the 12/30/12 Coldplay concert prompted several complaints about illegal parking and idling, leading to a report citing "Immediate police action!
I was amazed to get emails saying all my reports were closed and that action had been taken, which led me to run around the block and see proof -- which I did, in the form of either empty spots or cars with tickets (in most cases). THis all happened within a 20 minute period. 311 works!
The same poster, however, observed similar conditions regarding the Coldplay/Jay-Z concert last night and recounted:
A quick run by the block between New Year's Eve procedures found two uninterested patrolmen and a slew of illegal parkers:
446C Dean: two cars parked or idling in the No Standing zone 41 5th Avenue bus stop and hydrant at 39: white van parked at hydrant, 3 limos in bus stop. One is a white stretch Lincoln, NY lic T625342C 53 5th Avenue: black Mazda parked at hydrant
68-70 5th Avenue (at St. Mark's): two sedans parked in No Parking Zone
Alerted two patrolmen who shrugged and asked why that should bother me.
Happy New Year!
Note: This was not a patrol -- only a quick walk home. Not reported to 311 as unable to do so in a timely manner.
Location: St. Marks Place b/w 4th & 5th Ave When: December 23, 2012 - 2:30pm Nothing new here....cars parked illegally in all the usual spots along 5th Ave. Private cars (some of which are residents trying to park) idling on side streets waiting for spots to open up....all combining to create the usual 2 hour pre and post-event horn-blaring show. It occurs to me that this problem could be largely solved by implementing resident permit parking like other cities have successfully done (Boston near Fenway park is good example).
Rampant honking. Idling on the sidewalk. Using the sidewalk for U-turns. Even a driver taking a leak on the sidewalk (at about 14:50 of the video).
That was all part of the scene Tuesday, Dec. 11, outside the Newswalk parking garage at 700 Pacific Street, just east of the Barclays Center, host of the Nets-Knicks game.
City officials, who acknowledge problems with the parking garage--potential overcrowding, and price inconsistency--apparently haven't stepped up enough.
A bus in the TV lot
Is the ESPN bus in the satellite uplink parking lot idling illegally, as the first video below suggests, or, more likely just using its generator--because the arena failed to hook it up--as noted on Atlantic Yards Watch?
The Community Liaison reached out to let me know he did not receive any messages last night. I left my message on his work phone. The number he would like me to use in the future is 347-834-3957. He also receives emails on an ongoing basis during the night. AYW incident reports are forwarded automatically and instantaneously as they are filed to the email of the Community Liaison, (plus many of those in oversight), so ironically I would have had better results last night filing an incident report on this website. The bus was onsite from roughly 3 in the afternoon and because it did not appear to fit well into the lot, its front end stuck out the gate. That made it unmissable not just for those like myself walking by, but presumably also for the people who work at the arena. That condition must have existed for at least 8 1/2 hours. The generator was certainly running for the duration of the event, if not more. The community liaison informed me he is looking into the matter.
The use of a generator is not acceptable in the uplink lot. [Below is video filmed at 8:35 PM.]
The Rolling Stones played the Barclays Center last night (New York Times review, fan profiles).
I wanted to see how this crowd--one-time arena event-goers, unlike many in the Nets crowd--would navigate streets and sidewalks, especially given the truncated access at Dean Street and Flatbush Avenue caused by scaffolding and barriers set up for construction of the B2 modular tower.
Short answer: there's still significant room for improvement, notably in terms of signage and staff directing people from the Dean Street entrance and then managing traffic and pedestrian flow at the congested, contested corner of Dean and Flatbush.
I saw a bunch of cops, including Deputy Inspector Michael Ameri of the 78th Precinct, but, at least at Dean and Flatbush, no civilian pedestrian safety managers hired by the arena to help manage crowds.
Also, while numerous black cars and limousines did take advantage of controversial free parking along the south side of Atlantic Avenue east of Sixth Avenue, I also saw other such vehicles double-parking and idling along the north side of Atlantic and also on South Portland Avenue north of Atlantic.
I didn't go below Atlantic Avenue, but reports on Atlantic Yards Watch noted numerous vehicles double-parking and idling along streets in Park Slope (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)--including in front of bus stops and hydrants--as well as some enforcement by police.
Video: illegal parking/idling on Atlantic Avenue outside arena Some of the vehicles may indeed have had permission to be there--police, media--but I doubt all had permission. This was filmed around 10:15 pm.
Video: free parking on south side of Atlantic
As shown in the video, I counted 25 vehicles between Sixth and Carlton, but only 16 between Carlton and Vanderbilt, though not all were black cars and limos. A good number of limos were double-parked on the north side of Atlantic Avenue, pointed back toward the arena, making it easier to pick up concert-goers. This was filmed around 10:15 pm.
Video: parking/idling on South Portland Avenue north of Atlantic Avenue
There were few if any Barclays Center staffers outside, so several event-goers asked the cops for directions. The narrowed, five-foot pedestrian passageway slowed the crowd but did not cause major problems. This was filmed around 11 pm.
Video: the crowd at Dean Street and Flatbush Avenue
Congestion became more of a problem when the crowd reached Flatbush Avenue and encountered another group of people exiting from another exit very close to the corner of Dean and Flatbush. People waited for limos and cross the street.
When I first got there, which was well after the crowd left the concert, there was nobody managing traffic and pedestrian flow, police were around and soon sent a uniformed traffic safety agent.
"They're a little light on the pedestrian managers here," I say at one point, to an unseen person, who happened to be Chris Hrones of the Department of Transportation, who I presume can offer feedback to arena operators. This was filmed after 11 pm.
Video: outside the subway entrance
Note slow going into the subway entrance--not quite gridlock, but slow, steady progress. The down escalator, as well as one set of stairs, was cut off, to avoid getting the platforms below overloaded. This was filmed well after 11 pm.
There will be much to talk about at the next meeting of the Atlantic Yards Quality of Life Committee meeting tomorrow, held 6:30-8 pm at the 78th Precinct, Sixth Avenue and Bergen Street. (The meeting is open to the public, but only representatives of invited groups can participate.)
One big issue: the continued presence of black cars and limos on the streets near the Barclays Center, seeking free parking and not even availing themselves of free parking farther away.
Nets vs. Knicks
The 11/26/12 marquee matchup between the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks didn't just draw a sellout crowd, it prompted numerous high-rollers to take limos and black cars that idled in the streets around the Barclays Center.
According to incident reports filed on Atlantic Yards Watch, in some cases police response was effective and swift, but in others it wasn't.
6 limos parked in bus stop at 231 Flatbush, 10 double parked along side those and rest of block on the north side of Flatbush Ave between Dean and Bergen for a total of 16 illegally parked cars. TEA across the street was notified but moved to another location. He did not speak English so it was not clear what he was doing. ...311 operator said that this is automatically labeled as an URGENT QOL complaint.
The 311 response: "The Police Department responded to the complaint and took action to fix the condition." How quickly was unclear.
Entire lane of four double parked limos Dean between Flatbush and 5th Ave. ...All limos were blocking traffic which got backed up as cars struggled to go around them. All were idling. 311 operator says to list location as "Landmark" - Barclays Center. Also note that two cars were parked in NO STANDING Zone at 446 Dean; one was an idling limo. 311 operator said it did not come up as priority or urgent despite this being the same location as the previous complaint. He said, "Nobody here seems to now how this "priority" thing works."
The 311 response: "The Police Department responded to the complaint and took action to fix the condition." How quickly was unclear.
A long line of limos and cars were parked along the West side of 5th Avenue between Dean and Bergen at 9:40PM, blocking a hydrant and the entire bus stop at 42 5th Avenue and vicinity. As I was videotaping them a small police vehicle came up with his flasher on and all of them moved quickly away. I congratulated and thanked the officer. I did not file a 311 complaint as the cars had moved. A bus came right into the stop as the officer left. And an SUV pulled in right behind the bus and parked, idling, in the bus stop...... But props to the police for having a car on parking patrol.
Multiple (at least 6) "black cars" and stretch limos on the block of Bergen St. between 5th ave and Flatbush. The bus stop at both ends of the block were blocked for a time, as of now only 1 is. Multiple vehicles parked in "no parking" zone at North/East end of block (in front of hardware store). For a time there were 2 such vehicles parked/idling in the (new?) turn lane just before 5th Avenue. Multiple cars are from the "elite" company. 311 report was filed. I got a call back from the 78th pct within minutes. The caller said he would send a car out. I have not seen one yet (20 minutes). Caller also suggested that perhaps some of the vehicles had permits "from the arena." I questioned what sort of permit would allow such a thing and that is when he said a car would be sent.
The 311 response: "The Police Department responded to the complaint and took action to fix the condition."
Note that this is a five-minute walk from the 78th Precinct headquarters
Free parking ignored
As posted on Atlantic Yards Watch, regarding the evening of Dec. 2, limos and black cars were given “free parking” along the south side of Atlantic Avenue from Sixth to Vanderbilt avenues, but they haven't taken advantage of it.
Well, at least not the car in the photo at right that parked outside a hydrant on Pacific Street. (Oddly enough, that was the day of a Disney on Ice show, with a relatively low expected attendance.)
Below, the view on Atlantic, with the temporary sign (also above left) that allots parking only to TLC vehicles.
The Neil Young concert Dec. 3
Reports on Atlantic Yards Watch suggested that the police were stepping up somewhat at the Neil Young concert Monday, 12/3/12.
One report of a limo parked and idling on Fifth Avenue between St. Marks and Bergen at a hydrant prompted an eventual police response, though the vehicle was gone:
Told 311 operator of idling but did NOT report it to DEP. Takes too long. This 311 report took 12 minutes. ...In what must be frustrating for the police, a 311 complaint was addressed with great efficiency but to no result. Kudos to the 78 for trying.
Another resident reported a car parked in front of a hydrant on Bergen Street just west of Fifth Avenue.
Two cars were reported parked in front of the garage for Park Slope Ambulance on Bergen between Fifth and Flatbush avenues: "Note that three cmplaints to 311 took 23 minutes."
A report of a limo idling in the middle of the bus stop on Flatbush Avenue at Bergen Street: "Driver ws incredulous when I informed him of options for parking. Said he would not move."
A stretch limo parked on Fifth Avenue at a hydrant:
Stretch limo parked for at least half an hour at hydrant, idling. Note that [arena Community Relations Manager] Terence Kelly and I approached driver and TK explained parking options vs police action. Driver said, "I'm not moving." Noted that 311 complaint, filed at 10:14, was listed as closed and handled at 10:36. Props to the 78!
Atlantic Avenue
"The Police Department responded to the complaint and took action to fix the condition."
The Nets-Thunder game Dec. 4
The north side of Atlantic Avenue between Fort Greene Place and South Portland Avenue, according to Atlantic Yards Watch, at 6:45 pm yesterday had:
13 illegally parked cars in a "no parking from 7 am to midnight" area. The remaining spaces were largely taken up by drivers waiting in their cars while idling.
In the arena operations presentation this was the area that was supposed to used for pick up and drop off. Not anymore. Now the area the arena patrons get out of their cars is the travel lane next to it. This is a parking and standing area.
Cars want to stop here because it is right across from the arena, and so many of them are driving westbound on Atlantic during most events. In fact to the eye more are driving westbound than eastbound, which may be why the lay by-lane on the across the street is not used as much.
Atlantic Avenue
Also reported: five cars, most limos, parked or idling in the bus stop on Flatbush Avenue at Bergen Street.
A BMW parked in front of a hydrant at Flatbush and Sixth Avenue, near Woodland restaurant. Three cars (two of them limos), two idling, in No Standing zone on Dean Street between Fifth and Flatbush avenues, "creating a road hazard (blocking traffic that needs the space to turn)."
A school bus in a bus stop, two cars in a No Parking zone, and a car idling in the crosswalk on Fifth Avenue a few blocks below the arena.
The chaos around the Justin Bieber concert two nights ago--fans gathering outside the Barclays Center in the afternoon and chasing a bus down Dean Street in the evening--was an "anomaly," declared the commanding officer of the 78th Precinct, who promised that police would have a better plan in place to tamp down on boisterous fans.
(Video by Peter Krashes, via Atlantic Yards Watch)
However, Deputy Inspector Michael Ameri (recently promoted from Captain) acknowledged that there's still no solution to the problem of black cars and limos, which plague streets around the arena when there are special events (less so for Nets games).
While an "experiment" is planned to give them a place, the problem derives from an inherent tension in the Transportation Demand Management plan prepared by arena consultant Sam Schwartz and accepted by Empire State Development, the state agency overseeing the arena.
That plan states that the solution is "enforcement," but they apparently didn't consult with the NYPD, which is reluctant to devote resources to that effort and thinks education is the solution.
“Make them go to the parking lots or give them huge fines,” one resident suggested at the meeting last night of the 78th Precinct Community Council, in what might be seen as a common-sense solution but one not promoted either by the police or arena management.
Meanwhile, neither the police nor an arena spokesman responded clearly to a question asking for a comparison between the numbers of personnel devoted to arena events when it opened and the numbers now.
Regarding the loading dock on Dean Street, “we’ve been working with our internal security and arena operations... to educate a lot of security to make sure a lot of protocols that have been are acted on every single day for every single delivery,” he said.
Aiming to coordinate with the staging area at Navy Yard so trucks are not idling on Dean Street, he said, “we've been rather successful, I’ve got to say, in terms of slowly getting better,” though he acknowledged “there's certainly room for improvement.”
Or not
Kelly got an immediate response from Peter Krashes of the Dean Street Block Association, who pointed out that, on the previous night after the Justin Bieber concert, two trucks had queued outside the arena on residential Dean Street, with one idling for half an hour, “so problems continue.”
“Unfortunately, there was a lapse in communications,” Kelly responded, adding that “I'd object to a half-hour” characterization. “It was something we certainly want to improve on.”
Indeed, after the meeting, I walked over to Dean Street with Krashes and we saw a delivery truck idling for about ten minutes, first on the curb, then outside the loading dock, sticking out over the sidewalk.
Also, parked in a “No Standing” zone was a bus, which, before the Brooklyn Nets game ended, turned on its engine and, a minute or two later, accommodated a dozen well-dressed people, who had to walk out into the street to enter the bus from the right side.
Kelly noted that the arena has hired a new director of security after the previous one left, which should help improve protocols.
Limo parking problems
One resident asked if drivers are being aware of parking availability, given that some drivers on residential streets apparently don’t know of the options.
Kelly said the operator of the surface lot has placed larger signs on Atlantic and Vanderbilt avenues, and “there's been more active use of the parking lot.” (Indeed, it was nearly full for the Bieber concert.) Still, he noted, the arena is stressing public transportation.
Regarding black car parking, he said, “if anyone wants to pay for parking on the site itself, they're more than welcome to... We're working with Inspector Ameri and DOT [Department of Transportation] and TLC [Taxi and Limousine Commission]. We're in talks about offering whatever we can to educate drivers about staying off side streets and residential streets.”
Precinct Council President Pauline Blake said she saw such cars parked “all over” Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Flatbush avenues. “Tthe issue still exists,” she said, “as far as these cars not adhering to any rules or regulations.”
NYPD perspective
“Black cars are a problem,” Ameri acknowledged, saying it’s a bigger issue for one-time events, such as the Barbra Streisand and Bieber shows, less so for Nets games. “Those are the events we really have to work on go get a place to stage these black cars,” he said, adding “we're looking to stage the black cars offsite.”
One resident asked a natural question: why can’t the limos simply go to the surface parking lot.
“Black cars aren't going to pay for parking,” Ameri responded. (Wouldn’t they do so if the alternative were paying a fine?)
Gib Veconi of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council raised an issue already floated on Atlantic Yards Watch: “we've been told by Empire State Development Corporation and from DOT [Department of Transportation], via our local City Council person, that there's a plan being implemented to have black cars stage between Sixth and Vanderbilt.”
Ameri acknowledged “we are experimenting” with doing that.
Veconi asked about the role of arena traffic consultant Sam Schwartz. “We hear that you're not encouraging people to drive,” he said. “I do not understanding how giving over public space on Atlantic Avenue is a discouragement for people to drive. I'd like to see Sam Schwartz explain... because it's clearly a miss in the TDM.”
Kelly said Schwartz is “certainly in these conversations, yes.”
How, asked Veconi, would the parked cars pick up passengers.
“The goal is just to leave them on Atlantic,” Ameri said, and have patrons walk to the cars. Or they could make a U-turn on Atlantic Avenue at Vanderbilt.
A simple solution?
One resident asked why the black car issue wasn't anticipated and why the arena can’t provide parking space for black cars.
Kelly said that, with only two months on the job, he couldn’t speak to why it wasn't addressed, but said he’d “do everything in my power” to find common-sense solutions.
“It was included,” piped up Newswalk resident Wayne Bailey. “It was enforcement.” Indeed, it was; apparently the police were not consulted.
The plan to offer space on Atlantic, suggested Veconi, is just giving limo drivers free parking.
Bieber-related tumult on Dean Street It was funny, but not so funny. Dean Street resident Tracy Collins pointed out that, after the Justin Bieber concert, the “tour bus came down Dean Street, followed by hundreds of screaming teen girls.”
Ameri raised his eyebrows; several people laughed. “It was funny, but kind of dangerous,” Collins observed.
“Live and learn,” Ameri said, acknowledging that, while the police had handled other high-profile events at the arena smoothly, this was different.
In hindsight, he said, the police could’ve planned differently, either having the bus go a different route, or have pens set up to limit fan activity. “I had teenagers running in front of a large tour bus,” he said. “Thank God nobody got hurt. I apologize for the quality of life that it impacted on Dean Street. So next time Justin Bieber comes into town, I'll have a better plan. I was confident in my Jay-Z plan.”
Fewer police and security personnel?
Krashes suggested the problem was related to “a significant reduction in numbers of police and Barclays security.” For example, on the previous night, a T-shirt seller was planted on Dean Street.
Regarding the reduction of police and security personnel, he asked for a comparison between the numbers for the Justin Bieber concert and the Jay-Z concert.
Ameri didn’t quite answer: “Well, I had plenty of officers there last night... it was just the way we handled it, when it came to the crowd. I didn't expect all those teenagers at the Dean Street end of it at 2 o'clock in the afternoon... or thousands of them, hanging around afterward... Last night was an anomaly.”
Kelly responded, “Regardless of the contract with Securitas [the former security company], there’s been no reduction in numbers.” He said the arena would try to better anticipate “situations like this.”
ESD take
Derek Lynch, ESD's Community Relations Manager, said "we take these issues very seriously," including limo parking, vibrations from concerts, and flashing lights from the oculus.
"We haven't solved all your problems, but we're definitely moving in the right direction," he said.
And while we "appreciate their service," he said of Atlantic Yards Watch, he encouraged people to reach out directly to ESD.
Tailgating
Bailey said residents of his building wanted clarification on whether tailgating is allowed, as several noticed people attending the last college basketball event to be tailgating at Dean Street and Carlton Avenue.
"There's no policy, there's zero tolerance," Ameri said. One officer said six or seven summonses were issued for drinking in public."
Changes on Carlton
Several residents pointed to an impact from the opening of the arena, the reopening of the Carlton Avenue Bridge, and congestion on Flatbush Avenue: Carlton Avenue has become a shortcut, including for dollar vans, and many drivers ignore both speed limits and stop signs at St. Marks Avenue and Prospect Place.
“I'm going to dedicate some resources to that location,” Ameri responded.
Related is gridlock at St. Marks and Flatbush during rush hours, making it difficult to cross the street using the crosswalks.
The proliferation of bars
Noting the proliferation of bars in the area, Blake observed, "We will accept the bars we have on Fifth Avenue compared to the bars we had 20 years ago."
Still, she suggested that the State Liquor Authority has enabled a "serious problem," given the proliferation of liquor licenses along Flatbush, Fifth, Seventh, and St. Marks Avenues.
"We have to realize that it is here," she said of the arena and its spillover effects. "We have to fight hard to make sure they maintain quality of life that we can live with."
Urination near arena
Referring to reports that arena-goers had been urinating nearby on the street, notably on Pacific Street between Flatbush and Fourth avenues, Kelly said an arena security guard and a police officer had been patrolling one hour before events through one hour after events.
Also, Modell's has been asked to do more washing of its site; the store is planning to install more lights, a project that was delayed because of the storm.
Who pays?
As the meeting closed down, one resident asked an innocent question: "Are we paying for these [increased] police, or is the Barclays Center paying extra money?"
She didn't get an official answer, but the mutters from the better-informed crowd were clear: "We pay." (Another resident muttered that ESD's Lynch should answer.)
Indeed, the issue came up last June, as I reported. Community Board 2 Chair John Dew asked, “In this particular instance, is there an opportunity to bill back to Forest City Ratner?”
“The answer is no,” replied FCR’s Ashley Cotton at the time. Just as with new housing being built on Flatbush Avenue, said Cotton, a former city official, “the city has to adjust... The arena is not alone in adding new work to the city.”
Overall crime down
Overall crime in the precinct is down, Ameri said last night, though there’s have been “some issues” in the last month with robberies and grand larcenies. The increase is not related to the arena, given that most reports are toward the southwest portion of the precinct in the South Slope.
He acknowledged, however, that the precinct “inherited” some non-violent crime from the Atlantic Center and Atlantic Terminal malls, now within the boundaries.
Next meeting
While representatives of several city agencies were expected to attend the Precinct Council meeting as scheduled for Oct. 30, the Sandy-related delay meant they couldn’t return last night.
Because the October meeting was delayed, there will be no Precinct Council meeting in November. The December meeting is typically skipped, so the next meeting will be 1/29/12, the last Tuesday of the month.
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.
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 proposal. Idling of limos in unauthorized locations in Prospect Heights, Park Slope and Fort Greene has been a major concern for residents since the arena's opening. AYW incident reports filed include 945, 947, 969, 970, 971, 972, 973, 989, 991, 997, and 998. 311 closed reports for many of these incidents noting "police action was not necessary," or "no evidence of violation." Idling of limos has also been documented by Atlantic Yards Report.
However, as AYW points out, "[t]he issue of unauthorized limo parking appears to have been unanticipated by the Transportation Demand Management Plan (TDM) prepared by Forest City Ratner Companies to address traffic congestion and pedestrian safety following the Barclays Center opening...
Further, the proposed "solution" of staging limos on Atlantic Avenue in effect allocates additional public space for the benefit of Barclays Center without public review."
For the fifth of eight Jay-Z concerts, held last night at the Barclays Center, residents on neighboring blocks again reported that sound and vibration penetrated their residences.
Also, while use of the surface parking lot was again slight (and an eyewitness reported no use of bicycle parking), numerous livery cabs and limos continued to idle or park illegally on area blocks.
(The photos were contributed by a Fort Greene resident.)
According to incident reports filed on Atlantic Yards Watch (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6):
"Over 1 block away! I can hear & feel the noise!"
"thumping bass sound coming into our apt. at 11pm"
"Barclays concert noise; WHEN WILL IT END?"
"Once again, the bass rumbling from the concert is clearly audible in my apartment a block away. even with the windows closed."
South Portland Avenue above Atlantic Avenue
Another resident called 311 but got nowhere:
The arena bass is once again audible, causing a rumble that can be heard and felt inside of our apartment. If the operators took the open night to try and implement a fix, it didn't work. Filed a report with 311 on Monday, and unsurprisingly the follow up said "The Police Department responded to the complaint and determined that police action was not necessary."
Every night the police have erected enormous flood lights on Flatbush (also on Atlantic) to enhance pedestrian safety. However, these lights are so bright as to irritate my eyes. They are tremendously intrusive even from 3 blocks away (6th Avenue and Flatbush, for starters). THey are an enormous blight on the neighborhood.
Cars vs. pedestrians
As I've written, traffic agents are waving Flatbush Avenue traffic through red lights to ensure traffic flow. According to this incident report, they're not always taking pedestrians in mind:
South Portland Avenue above Atlantic Avenue
As I was crossing Flatbush at the 5th Avenue cross walk, with the light, a traffic agent decided to wave traffic through but did not look to see that I and others were already halfway across. I had to leap back to avoid being hit, as the cars were both accelerating and moving fast.
I waited in the middle the avenue for the traffic to stop and felt lucky that it did.
I spoke with a patrolman on 5th Avenue who shrugged and joked about fine - tuning the traffic management rather than agreeing to tell the traffic agent to look both ways before unleashing a torrent of traffic against pedestrians lawfully and correctly crossing the very wide avenue.
The impact of the Barclays Center--so far--has been less than feared on many of the blocks immediately nearby, though no one expected to hear and feel the bass in their homes. (I'm still waiting for some official word on that. What happened to promised "transparency and sharing details as we go"?)
Fewer people are flooding residential streets, as fewer cars are looking to park, though there has been a significant increase in idling livery vehicles or, as noted in the brief video below shot at a bus stop on Bergen Street west of Carlton Avenue, vehicles violating parking regulations.
That may change as weather gets colder, older/family crowds wish to drive, and the prices at parking lots adjust to the market.
It's also open to question whether it's sustainable for the city and arena operators to provide the enormous amount of police, traffic officers, and pedestrian managers to make sure everything works--including waving traffic through red lights and closing Atlantic Avenue (which was never planned or disclosed).
After the show
Post-event fans have not flooded neighborhood streets in Prospect Heights, and to the extent they have done so elsewhere--such as going north through Fort Greene to subway stops and more, they've been reasonably quiet, as I and others have observed.
After the show Monday, 10/1/12, on row-house Fort Greene Place between Hanson Place and Lafayette Avenue, I saw regular foot traffic on the way to the G train, but people were going home, not partying, and most were quiet. The loudest person was the t-shirt seller on Fort Greene Place just north of Hanson--surely annoying to those in the residences nearby.
The video below begins just past 11 pm, and tracks foot traffic across Atlantic Avenue, which begins before traffic is stopped. Then I follow people up to Fort Greene and back. There's intermittent honking.
The impact on main streets
The main impact has been on larger Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, and the Modell's store near that intersection, which blares music loud enough to be heard blocks away, has generated complaints.
An incident on Flatbush
There has been an increase of fans on Flatbush Avenue after events and at least one ugly incident, as reported to me by a Prospect Heights resident: at 12:50 am, Sunday, Sept. 30, at Flatbush and Dean Street, she saw six men:
coming toward me, beer bottles in hand. One guy, who seemed fairly looped, walked into Flatbush Ave & started yelling. Then he came back onto the crack-riddled sidewalk, jumped in front of me, thrust his beer bottle at my face & yelled "Do you like the NETS?" I smiled & said "No, not really." Whereupon he grabbed me at the back of my neck & shoved me around. That was when one of his pals pulled him away.
Cops are investigating.
Tight squeeze for limos
As shown in the video below, black cars/limos don't have enough spaces to wait for their clients, so they fill a traffic lane on Atlantic Avenue. The video below was shot about five minutes before the concert let out 10/1/12. After the video was shot, cops began to wave some of vehicles down the block.
The impact on neighborhoods
The question is what's next. There are several major pieces of property on and near Flatbush Avenue that have changed hands or are expected to do so, and those spaces surely will become arena-related outposts. Hence concerns like the ones expressed below.
North Park Slope, where I live, is now literally in the shadows of the Slug (as some of us call it). And now, we will be overrun almost every night by cars searching for parking, by drunk fans spilling out of the center late at night, and, eventually, by large-scale commercial development to give them a place to eat and drink.
But let's take a moment to remember what's here now, on October 02, 2012, right before it disappears.
North Slope and Prospect Heights are multi-ethnic, multi-class neighborhoods.... All this will soon be gone. No neighborhood can withstand an onslaught of a Barclays Center and all it brings with it. Already many businesses have been forced out by increased rents, and we know what they will be replaced by: the same chain-restaurants and sports bars, the same monotonous culture (if that's the right word) of expensive skyboxes for some and cheap thrills for the rest.
A trip to the subway
The video below was shot at about 11:30 pm, about 25-30 minutes after the Jay-Z show let out, so after the main surge. The trip through the plaza and to the subway was pretty simple, and trains arrived shortly on both sides of the Q track.
The main problem, it seems: a lot of people don't have MetroCards, so the lines are long at the machines and at the service booths.
“So, how did we get here?” an “almost giddy” Mr. Ratner asked at the Barclays ribbon-cutting.
Good question. The answer is that it’s all too typical of how we live now, a game of bait-and-switch that is slowly reducing New York to the level of any other American city, while simultaneously robbing the people who live here.
Finding a Brooklyn brew at this Brooklyn stadium, whose concessions are run by the Chicago-based Levy Restaurants, is more complicated.
I’ll forgive such Second City influences because much of the grub is good enough. With Greenpoint tacos and Smith Street brats, Barclays Center is a respectable, if not necessarily memorable, tribute to Kings County’s diverse food scene.
Still, there’s something distinctly unsettling when the stadium outpost of Cafe Habana, a fine Carroll Gardens restaurant, offers only Bud, Bud Light or Coors Light. ($7.50- $9.50).
..Barclays isn’t quite the ambassador for New York food as is Citi Field or Madison Square Garden. But it gets the job done.
Note that reviewer Ryan Sutton did not evaluate the desserts, including Junior's Cheesecakes and Blue Marble Ice Cream, which likely would have improved the arena's grade. (Quality control is surely easier.) Perhaps Borough President Marty Markowitz is already complaining.
But the Nets also have been doing some digging into the past. Team officials have been reaching out to former members of the Brooklyn Dodgers to invite them to the Nets' season opener against the Knicks on Nov. 1 at Barclays Center.
Ralph Branca, who pitched for the Dodgers over 11 seasons, winning 21 games for the team in 1947, said he recently received a phone call from Barry Baum, the Nets' senior vice president of communications.
Branca said Baum told him the team would send a car service to chauffeur him to the game from his home in Westchester County. Baum declined to comment.
It doesn't look like they'll get the iconic but reclusive Sandy Koufax to show, however.
On the second night of Barclays Center operations, there were again no major traffic jams, thanks to the use of transit by arena-goers, a massive police presence, again little use of the surface parking lot, and copious pedestrian managers.
Also, it's likely that event-goers recognized that they need not converge on the arena by 8 pm, given that headliner Jay-Z wouldn't start for an hour.
(On opening night, the delay was about 90 minutes.) This was the second of eight sold-out concerts.
As shown in the photo above left, and in videos below, there were still long lines well after the official starting time of 8 pm.
The lag likely was also caused by the security precautions, including use of metal detectors, but given the pleasant weather, people were generally calm.
Unlike on the first night, there was no major pre-event blockage of the Atlantic Avenue sidewalk, given no red carpet for celebrities and attendant paparazzi.
Idling, Atlantic Avenue, 10:51 pm
A block party and area idling
For the second night, however, Atlantic Avenue was turned into a post-event block party, as concert-goers streamed into the street, given that the main Atlantic Avenue entrance is not coordinated with any crosswalk.
This was managed somewhat better by the police, who stopped traffic for about 12 minutes, as shown in a video below, though they still seemed frustrated.
S. Portland above Atlantic, 10:50 pm
Given the arena's tight fit, encroaching on several residential neighborhoods, residents nearby reported several episodes of limos and other vehicles idling improperly and blocking crosswalks.
For example, as reported on Atlantic Yards Watch, a white stretch limo parked in front of an apartment building at Sixth and St. Marks avenues in Park Slope, blocking the the crosswalk.
The driver, according to the report, said he wished there had been a limo parking lot as with the more suburban Meadowlands; his clients would pay.
Will police step up?
These issues are quite frustrating for neighbors but are, at least by the benchmark of pre-event worries, likely deemed by officials as secondary.
Post-event accident, Vanderbilt/St. Marks
Still, if police can manage to avoid traffic chaos, surely they could step up--as they have apparently not yet done fully--to deal with quality of life and health issues such as illegal idling, honking horns, and noisy (and drinking) pedestrians.
One resident said at least five SUVs and limos were parked on Dean Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues, mostly in front of a church, where's there's no parking, and others impeding the bus stop.
Police let it all slide, the resident reported.
Parking and biking
The generally young crowd profile for the Jay-Z concert likely was a good way to begin the series of Barclays Center events, since they'd be more likely to use transit--even, apparently, on a weekend evening like last night.
Post-event beer (it seems) in a cup
Older crowds, such as for Barbra Streisand, and families, such as attending family shows and Nets games, may be less likely to use transit--though we'll see how promotion works.
It's likely we'll see much more use of the surface parking lot, between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues and Dean and Pacific Streets. Last night it was perhaps 20 percent full; event capacity is 541 spaces.
There was significant use last night of the nearest parking lot, at the Newswalk building on Pacific Street east of the arena block.
I'd be interested to learn reports of the other parking lots. The shuttles to the remote parking lots, at least when I spotted them, didn't look too busy.
Surface parking lot, 8 pm
There were a handful of bikes parked at the bike racks at the southeast corner of the arena block: Dean Street and Sixth Avenue.
Atlantic Avenue: "This is not a street fair"
After the event, police seemed somewhat more prepared for pedestrians crossing Atlantic Avenue, stopping traffic going east and westbound for about 12 minutes after they streamed into the street.
They also gave up on the metal barriers aimed to block people from crossing over the median. The shutdown on Atlantic Avenue did not appear to cause major traffic problems, given the late hour, but it surely can't be managed post-event on a weekend afternoon.
Starting at about 11:05 pm, the 17-minute video below shows people going into the street at about three minutes in. At about 12 minutes, a police official on a bullhorn tries a bit fruitlessly to urge people to cross. "This is not a street fair," he declares. Shortly before the 15-minute mark, traffic starts flowing.
Videos describing events, in chronological order
FUREE held a march, ending the arena plaza, with red-jacketed arena staff gathered to form a cordial security cordon.
A look at the police posted at the plaza before the event, watching the protest.
The police and fire staging area on Pacific Street, just east of the center of the arena, including vehicles on the sidewalk.
At the parking lot officially requested for TV vans at the northeast corner of Dean Street and Sixth Avenue, there are other vehicles parked there. Then a FDNY truck exits from its Dean Street firehouse and has a rather narrow turn.
At the Dean Street entrance just after the concert's official start, a large but not unruly crowd gathered. People were walking there from the plaza.
At the subway station, at 8:15 pm, the flow was light, but there was a plethora of police and MTA staffers.
On Dean Street, between Sixth and Flatbush avenues, there are several vehicles, most official, in the No Standing area.
On line outside Dean Street entrance, 8:50 pm.
At about 11:30, police gathered at the subway entrance, and a crowd of what seemed to be subway newbies massed at the vending machines and token booth to buy MetroCards and (presumably) get directions. But the overall crowd was not overwhelming at this point.
Busy but not crazy at Flatbush Avenue and Pacific Street, at about 11:40 pm.
At Atantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue, outside Modell's
Two previous episodes
Also, as reported on Atlantic Yards Watch regarding the first concert, at 372 Bergen Street (between Fourth and Fifth Avenues) and across the street as well:
Two limousines idling while waiting for their clients to return from the Jay-Z concert. One was a Cadlillac sedan (License No: 5) and one a Cadillac Escalade. I asked a nearby officer on patrol if he could do something, but he said he did not "deal with stuff like that -- its more of a traffic thing."
Another reported regarding a bus idling on St. Marks Avenue between Flatbush and Carlton at about 9:30pm:
I called 911, not 311. The bus eventually moved on, after several neighbors came out to complain to him. It was an enormous concert bus with a trailer on the back, idling on a residential block. The driver was belligerent when we asked him to move. Only after several people called the police did he move.
I followed the group heading to Pacific Street and immediately encountered two fans (in Nets hats) relieving themselves against the wall of a warehouse building immediately east of Sixth Avenue. They proceeded to the Newswalk parking garage two doors down to pick up their vehicle.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
