Bi-Weekly Digest: An Advisory Meeting Awaits
What might we learn about an "engagement" process? Also, project consultants make bank, the Tsais' BSE Global forges ahead, and "Atlantic Yards down the memory hole."
This digest offers a way to keep up with my Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report blog and my other coverage in this newsletter and elsewhere.
A meeting of the (purportedly) advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation, or AY CDC, has been rescheduled for Aug. 6. It might supply some clues about the project’s future, such as the emergence of a new “permitted developer”—expected to be a joint venture led by Cirrus Real Estate Partners.
Also, the AY CDC Directors should learn about a public engagement process steered by Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project.
Still, it will be challenging to counter public skepticism about the project, given ESD’s decision to suspend $2,000/month penalties for each of the 876 affordable housing units not delivered by May 31.
Stay tuned. The meeting will be webcast, and taped, which is how I’ll watch it.
From this newsletter: a BMT split
For the proposed Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) development, all of 122 acres in Red Hook and the Columbia Street Waterfront area, Atlantic Yards seems a cautionary tale.
So it was unusual to see a split among leaders of BrooklynSpeaks, the main coalition left to respond to Atlantic Yards, regarding the BMT plan.
As I wrote July 24, Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon and Fifth Avenue Committee Executive Director Michelle de la Uz drew different lessons from Atlantic Yards, with Simon saying it reinforces skepticism and de la Uz suggesting the BMT plan would avoid AY pitfalls.
I’m remain skeptical, as well. After the essays from Simon, de la Uz and others in the Brooklyn Eagle, a task force vote was postponed, for the fifth time, because there were not enough “yes” votes. (Both Simon and de la Uz are task force members.)
From this newsletter: media critique
July 27: Is Atlantic Yards "Next to" the Arena? Was the Project Delayed Because of Gentrification Fears. For the New York Times, it's "Atlantic Yards down the memory hole." Stale photo, too.
Why bother with such a critique? Because the New York Times, though it barely acknowledges Atlantic Yards today, still can help steer public discourse. The Times should get it right.
From Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report
July 23: Does the Pacific Park Conservancy, which governs Atlantic Yards open space, have Directors from "civic groups active in park matters," as required?
Unlikely. Even a little more “civic” presence might make the conservancy less opaque.
July 25: As part of BSE Global's plan for "generational fandom" for Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty, school hoops clinics have distributed 32,000 t-shirts this past year, while a STEM curriculum has engaged 1,000+ students. It’s smart marketing.
July 26: Art, social justice, and promotional statements; a softball interview with BSE Global's Clara Wu Tsai about the portraits of New York Liberty players, the neon “belong” signage, and more.
July 26: Tomorrow, Brooklyn Steel Pan Féte, first of two summer concerts on the arena's Ticketmaster Plaza, sponsored by the Social Justice Fund. The definition of social justice can be pretty broad.
July 28: Who else made bank on Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park? By now, the law firms and consultants have earned $63.4 million of the developers' funds. I will argue some money should support a public response.
July 29: Cirrus-LCOR alliance, backed by construction unions and aiming for Atlantic Yards, gets momentum. It’s awarded rights by New York City to develop the former Flushing Airport site in Queens.
July 30: Flashback to 2020: was Nets CEO David Levy's abrupt departure related to his implicit criticism of Joe Tsai's China apologia? It sure looks like a factor, despite denials.
July 31: Atlantic Yards CDC advisory meeting rescheduled for Aug. 6 in Brooklyn. Same Agenda as before. Will any news regarding new developers and an “engagement” process emerge?
Aug. 1: Barclays Center releases August 2025 event calendar: 12 ticketed events, plus one free event. Four events have amplified sound on the plaza.