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October 24, 2011
Neglected fences, not development or artwork, characterize the project's second phase
Atlantic Yards Watch
Bruce Ratner's prettying-up of approximately 7% of the fencing surrounding his giant blight creation isn't really cutting it.
"Works in Progress," Artbridge’s exhibition of 20 digital prints installed in segments along construction fencing circling the arena block, is located on Flatbush Avenue, Dean Street and 6th Avenue. It will be in place until April or May of next year.
...The effect of the exhibition is enhanced by the active construction of the Barclays Center rising behind as a backdrop. But its total running length is only 425 feet, and it is installed next to the first elements of project construction. The 22 acre project footprint has approximately 6,000 linear feet of fencing along its perimeter.
When the exhibition was announced to the public in June, AYW ran a story including a photograph (below, left) of a fence located on Atlantic Avenue at Vanderbilt. The photo to the right was taken October 8th.
In its report, Combating Graffiti: Reclaiming the Public Spaces of New York, NYPD asks that property owners immediately report graffiti to the police and upon completion of a police report remove it. The goal is to prevent the long term display of markings and discourage vandalism. "Experience has shown that prompt clean-up is an effective deterent to the re-occurrence of graffiti."
Formerly the area shown in the photos was a functioning BP gas station. The lot has now been excavated around a LIRR tunnel that runs beneath the fence. The area is the eastern-most part of Atlantic Yards and among the last areas scheduled to be developed. Until it is, the lot will remain an example of how, in some locations, Atlantic Yards has reversed development progress and introduced blight.
For the short-term, the area is a source of rodent, garbage and graffiti complaints.
Posted by eric at October 24, 2011 11:45 AM