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July 17, 2011
Crain's article on arena calls documentary "latest insult," relies on ever-spinning Yormark as main source
Atlantic Yards Report
In Crain's New York Business today, Barclays Center takes shape at Atlantic Yards: Eight years after it was proposed, the arena is selling tickets. is full of holes, but at least makes a token effort to admit a contrary view.
"Latest insult"
The article begins:
Rising at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic avenues, the new home of the New Jersey Nets has survived lawsuits, neighborhood protests and a severe recession. The latest insult is called The Battle for Brooklyn, a documentary critical of the project that opened recently to favorable reviews.
Why exactly is the film, called Battle for Brooklyn (no "The") an "insult"? Couldn't it be a complicating factor in the heroic narrative preferred by Crain's and the New York Daily News?
Meeting preliminary goals
The article continues:
But eight years after developer Bruce Ratner proposed bringing the Nets to the borough as the anchor of the vast Atlantic Yards redevelopment, executives at the $1 billion Barclays Center have turned their attention to the next stage: making sure it turns a profit.
Despite competition from Madison Square Garden, which is being overhauled, and other arenas like the new Prudential Center in Newark, the Barclays Center is having no trouble meeting its preliminary goals, according to Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark.
Images of the recently completed designs for corporate suites and public areas have just gone on display in the center's midtown showroom as sales efforts ramp up in advance of a September 2012 opening. The 18,000-seat arena has sold close to half of its 100 corporate suites.
If they've sold close to half of the suites, let's say the number is 47.
That's 12 more than one year ago, when the total was 35--not bad, but hardly out of the woods.
But we don't know what those goals were, and how they've changed. After all, as of three years ago, there were supposed to be 130 suites, not 100.
Some people get tired of the Yormark half-truths, but if you click on the link below, you'll see that Norman Oder is is on the case to dissect each and every distortion.
Posted by steve at July 17, 2011 4:53 PM