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March 5, 2012
Arena a Net gain for cops
NY Post
by Rebecca Harshbarger and Rich Calder
It was a jump ball, and the 78th Precinct won it.
NYPD brass are set to tap Brooklyn’s 78th Precinct to maintain order at the NBA Nets’ new home — the Barclays Center — when it opens in September, bypassing the 88th Precinct, whose current boundaries actually include the Prospect Heights-based arena, The Post has learned.
Supporters say the move makes sense logistically because of the arena’s proximity to the 78th’s station house. But foes are crying foul.
The plum designation, confirmed by NYPD sources, ends a behind-the-scenes lobbying battle between both precincts for the arena gig.
The move is expected to increase staffing at the 78th Precinct, which predominately covers affluent Park Slope, and create potential mega-overtime for the cops there to cope with arena traffic and patrons.
NYPD sources and Park Slope community leaders say the decision makes sense.
The under-construction, 18,000-seat arena at Atlantic and Flatbush avenues technically falls within the 88th Precinct, but it’s a half-mile from the precinct’s station house in Fort Greene — yet just a block away from the 78th Precinct.
Related coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, Post: 78th Precinct chosen to oversee arena; it's closest, though technically includes only part of site
The Post quotes NYPD and community leaders as endorsing the plan, given the proximity of the 78th station house, at Bergen Street and Sixth Avenue one block south of the arena.
There is a logic there, but, as the graphic (from Blight Study attached to the Atlantic Yards General Project Plan) indicates, the arena site--west of Sixth Avenue and between Dean Street and Atlantic Avenue, is not solely in the 88th Precinct, but rather shared with the 78th.
Posted by eric at March 5, 2012 9:57 AM