Sunday, May 13, 2012
Is a 2 a.m. last call too late for the 18,000-seat arena?
At what time should the Barclays Center stop serving alcohol? Last week, Community Board 6 voted to recommend an absolute cut-off time for all alcohol sales at 2 a.m. during all events at the arena. However the recommendation, which will go to the New York State Liquor Authority, came with two conditions that follow the policy already in place for the 40 NBA games: However, BrooklynSpeaks, a coalition of civic organizations surrounding the arena, has a petition that requests all alcoholic beverage sales be cut off at 10 p.m. at the absolute latest in all areas of the arena, reflecting area residents fear of drunk pedestrians and drivers flooding the streets after the 180 non-NBA events expected next year. In addition, there are four clubs…
Hockey fans, it's time to show your loyalty
It's not exactly a subway series, but the looming face-off between the NY Rangers and the NJ Devils in the NHL Eastern Conference finals could be just as polarizing for local hockey fans. For 20 years, the rivalry has swung from one side's advantage to the other. The 1994 conference finals was a seven-game war of attrition — with games one, two and seven stretching into double overtime — before New York emerged victorious. Eventually though the Devils seemed to get the Rangers' number, and between 1997 to 2001 New Jersey dominated during the regular season in a four-year, 23-game unbeaten streak. Now both organizations have their sites locked on the 2012 Eastern Conference finals. Which side of the Hudson has what it takes this year? Tell …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The group is calling for a 10 p.m. cutoff time for all alcohol sales at the arena during all events.
Last call! Get your last beer! In the latest development regarding Levy Restaurants' liquor license application, which will be the Barclays Center’s food and liquor vendor, BrooklynSpeaks created a petition that requests all alcoholic beverage sales be cut off at 10 p.m. at the absolute latest in all areas of the arena. "Barclays Center has applied for a license that would allow it to keep serving alcohol up to the 4 a.m. state limit in an 18,000-seat arena," the petition reads on BrooklynSpeaks' website. "Sure, the NBA has a policy that requires liquor sales to end after the third quarter. But basketball only accounts for 40 of the expected 220 events to be held at the arena each year. And Barclays’ application isn’t even limited to …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Forest City Ratner to slash parking at arena from 1,100 to just under 550 spots. But will that help or hurt area residents?
Last week the head of the Empire State Development Corporation announced that the state had halved the number of required parking spaces at the Barclay’s Center surface lot from 1,100 to just under 550. The move allows developer Forest City Ratner to throw out its plan for the loud and slow “stack-parking," which uses hydraulic lifts to load as many as four cars on vertical structures, which critics say will slow traffic to a crawl when the 18,000-seat arena opens in the fall. Neighborhood activists have been pushing for reduced parking spaces for some time, arguing that fewer parking spaces mean fewer people will drive to the arena. However others argue that fewer spots will only lead to more cars competing for street parking. In related …
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
The spot hopes to unite borough residents behind Brooklyn's only current sports team – does it work?
The new Brooklyn Nets have debuted their first commercial, hot on the heels of the unveiling of their brand new logo, designed by co-owner Jay-Z. The spot starts out with a narrator saying, “Brooklyn, you’re a vision,” over a montage of vintage videos of the borough, shouting out the “underdogs” and “the folks on the stoop,” with shots of smiling Brooklynites of all backgrounds. It’s almost thirty seconds in before the commercial shows the Nets on the court – a mix of former players and stars of today. The narrator says, “We’re grateful for the chance… to call this place home,” over renderings of what the Barclays Center will look like when it opens its doors in September. So what do you think of the new spot? Does it capture the essence …
Monday, April 30, 2012
Created by co-owner Jay Z, designs for basketball team unveiled on Monday.
The borough's first professional ball club in more than 50 years is now officially a brand. The Brooklyn Nets unveiled two new team logos at Modell's Sporting Goods on Flatbush Avenue on Monday. "The Brooklyn Nets logos are another step we’ve made to usher the organization into a new era," said hip-hop artist and team co-owner Jay Z, who created the designs. "Along with our move to Brooklyn and a state-of-the-art arena, the new colors and logos are examples of our commitment to update and refine all aspects of the team." With the new logos, Jay-Z emerged as a triple-threat for the Brooklyn Nets organization—serving as co-owner, soon-to-be Barclays Center headliner and now, it seems, lead designer. According to the Nets, the new logos …
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
If asbestos is found, and cleanup stretches into the fall hockey season, the team may be forced to find a new home – and Barclays Center would be the easiest choice.
Could the Islanders come to the Barclays Center after all? A state investigation into allegations that the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum – home of the New York Islanders’ – has an asbestos problem, could bring the hockey team to the brand new Barclays Center if the problem isn’t resolved by the start of next season, says Brooklyn Daily. The state Department of Labor launched an investigation into the arena on March 30, after the Daily says that more than 75 workers alleged the asbestos problem. If a cleanup of the Coliseum continues through the start of hockey season in the fall, or if county officials shut the arena down, the Daily says that the Barclays Center would be an “easy option,” and one that would still fulfill the National…
Monday, April 9, 2012
Hearing to be held in Prospect Heights on Tuesday.
Brewskies at Barclays? That's precisely the question residents prepared to debate at a joint hearing Tuesday evening regarding Barclays Center's liquor license application to be held by Community Boards 2 and 6. And while it's likely that the future home of the Nets basketball organization will gain approval to serve alcohol at the arena, longtime critics of the project planned to call for more disclosure from developer Forest City Ratner at the meeting, according to The Local New York Times blog. "It’s premature for them to get community board support for a liquor license when they haven’t even made public any plans for security or crowd control of 18,000 people," Prospect Heights resident Gib Viconi told The Local. Barclays Center …
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
A number of prestigious sports events and concerts are choosing the Barclays Center over Madison Square Garden – will it last?
The Daily News Golden Gloves, arguably the nation’s biggest amateur boxing tournament, is coming to the Barclays Center in April 2013, finally leaving its home at Madison Square Garden after decades of fights. “The Golden Gloves will be the lynchpin of our grass-roots boxing program at Barclays Center,” Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said, in a statement. “There's a rich heritage of boxing in Brooklyn and we are thrilled to make the sport a major part of our new arena.” The Golden Gloves tournament, which will celebrate 86 years when it comes to Brooklyn, will begin with elimination bouts held throughout the New York metropolitan area in January. The Brooklyn Paper questioned Monday whether the brand-new Barclays will begin to draw more…
Monday, April 2, 2012
Catch Kansas vs. Kentucky as this year's Big Dance makes its final bow tonight.
Prepared to do battle for control over the remote tonight? Try a strategic retreat instead at Mo's Fort Greene for the 2012 NCAA Men’s Championship game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Blue Devils of Kentucky. The Lafayette Avenue bar will be offering Happy Hour 2-for-1 drink specials until 7 p.m., with Mo's new appetizer menu available until midnight. DJ Run P will be spinning (presumably during commercial breaks). And there's no cover, guys and gals. Mo's is located at 80 Lafayette Ave. Tip off for big game is 9:23 p.m. on CBS and CBSSports.com.
Not Bruce Ratner
7:41 am on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
And a lot more "super-bars" planned or opening along Flatbush, this is just the start of the problem. Hate to say I told you so, but... How are all all those great jobs and affordable housing working out for you???? more ›