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The next Atlantic Yards Quality of Life meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 10 at 6:00PM. The meeting will take place at the Shirley Chisholm Office Building, 55 Hanson Place, in the first floor conference room.

Representatives of Forest City Ratner Companies will present an overview of the upcoming construction activities surrounding the project. Please plan to arrive promptly in order to provide time for presentations and questions and answers from the community members. If you have any questions please contact Nicole Jordan at atlanticyards@esd.ny.gov.

In the spring of 2012, the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, a sponsor of Atlantic Yards Watch, commissioned a review of Atlantic Yards’ compliance with its stated environmental commitments, which was conducted by  Sandstone Environmental Associates of Metuchen, NJ. In addition to reviewing hundreds of incident reports submitted to AYW by community members during arena construction, Sandstone analyzed internal reports produced by Empire State Development Corporation’s (ESDC) environmental monitor, Henningson, Durham & Richardson Architecture and Engineering, P.C. (HDR). Sandstone’s final report documented significant issues of noncompliance with Atlantic Yards’ environmental commitments on the part of Forest City Ratner Companies and its contractors during arena construction, and made recommendations for improvements to be introduced in future phases of construction.

The Sandstone report received little acknowledgement by ESDC when it was published in July 2012. However, the report’s findings and recommendations were incorporated into the BrooklynSpeaks coalition’s response to the Draft Scope of Work for the Atlantic Yards Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in March 2013, and were also referenced in the group’s comments on the Draft SEIS (DSEIS) submitted in May 2014.

A review of the Final SEIS (FSEIS), released in June 2014, shows that ESDC and FCRC have adopted modifications of the Atlantic Yards construction mitigation and monitoring programs for future construction at the site. Although some of the changes appeared in the DSEIS, significant additions were made between the DSEIS and the FSEIS. Here is an outline of changes to the project’s monitoring protocols that parallel recommendations made by Sandstone and comments from community organizations.

On August 25, the MTV Video Music Awards and its red carpet landed with a wallop in the neighborhood around Barclays Center.  The video to the right shows some of the volume and scale of the red carpet event, which was staged next to homes at the Dean Street and 6th Avenue intersection.  At the end of the video, Miley Cyrus steps from her limo, giving a preview of her later performance on stage.  The crowds lining the street are comprised largely of young people brought in by MTV, not residents from the block.

While other events have spilled out of the arena onto public sidewalks and streets, the VMAs were the first to receive permission from the City to close streets and sidewalks in the neighborhoods nearby.    The entire setting -  from its crowds to the facades of the townhouses nearby - were carefully stage-managed for the camera and attending media.  The experience for local residents went far beyond the red carpet walk seen on t.v. It included: five consecutive nights of after hours outdoors construction work, filming footage prior to the event, live performances with amplified sound, a projection screen with lights, six back-up generators, and a shipped-in cast apparently numbering between one and two thousand people.  

On Thursday, June 13, the Empire State Development Corporation will host a presentation by Forest City Ratner Companies and Sam Schwartz Engineering entitled, "Effectiveness of the Barclays Center Transportation Demand Management Plan." The meeting will be held at The Brooklyn Hospital Center's Third Floor Auditorium, located at 121 Dekalb Avenue, from 6:00PM to 8:00PM. Representatives from FCRC and SSE will answer questions from the audience. Here are some open issues we hope to hear discussed.