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February 7, 2012
A Sneak Peek Inside Barclays Center: [VIDEO]
A tour of the future home of the Brooklyn Nets yields some surprising elements—both large and small
Bed-Stuy Patch
by Paul Leonard
A tour Friday of the still very active construction site revealed not just the biggest elements of the basketball arena and events center, but also smaller, yet vitally important, details as well.
That list includes ground floor retail with street access to Flatbush Avenue, the first "green roof" proposed for an MTA subway entrance and Ipe wood benches lining the plaza of Barclays Center.
And then there is the colossal: 18,000 seats for basketball games in a "tight bowl" configuration meant to provide a sense of being on top of the action—even in the highest and cheapest rows.
...But for area motorists, what is perhaps most notable at the enormous construction site is what is not here—namely, a surplus of parking spaces.
With almost 20,000 capacity for events at the arena, Chiarelli confirmed only 1,100 spaces planned for the block bounded by Pacific and Dean streets and Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues.
That has some residents and elected officials concerned about a flood of cars taking up valuable street parking space in the blocks around Barclays Center.
NoLandGrab: Actually, residents and electeds are concerned that an 1,100-space parking lot is too BIG, and will draw too much traffic to a quiet residential neighborhood.
Posted by eric at February 7, 2012 8:19 AM