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May 29, 2012
Elected officials, community groups propose Neighborhood Protection Plan: new policies, oversight, and funding commitments aimed to mitigate impact of arena on residential neighborhoods
Atlantic Yards Report
At a press conference this morning, City Council Members Stephen Levin and Letitia James, along with state Senator Velmanette Montgomery, announced the Barclays Center Neighborhood Protection Plan (NPP), a set of initiatives "aimed at mitigating safety and quality of life impacts expected to result from locating the Brooklyn arena within residential neighborhoods."
The plan, which addresses not only transportation issues left out of last week's Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan but also police, signage, sanitation, and more, is also backed by Council Member Brad Lander and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries.
It was put together by the three community organizations behind the Atlantic Yards Watch initiative: the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, the Park Slope Civic Council, and the Boerum Hill Association.
As noted in the press release, the NPP addresses not only policies to be instituted (and paid for) by the Barclays Center operators, but also efforts at regulation and enforcement by state and city agencies. Several examples--paying for street cleanup, for a police hotline, and for traffic enforcement agents--are drawn from experiences around Wrigley Field in Chicago, where the Cubs support various community initiatives.
Related coverage...
Park Slope Patch, Civic Groups Ask Barclays to Do More to Prevent Driving to Games
To protect residents from the onslaught of traffic, sanitation, parking and other issues expected when the Barclays Center opens in the fall, area civic leaders released a “Neighborhood Protection Plan," that calls for dozens of measures that include everything from residential parking permits to a garbage cans for every corner within a half-mile of the arena.
...The plan’s creators called the plan an “olive branch” to open the door with Barclays officials for open and honest discussion.
“We’re looking forward to having a good neighbor and someone who wants to be part of the community. That requires dialogue,” said Boerum Hill Association president Howard Kolins.
Posted by eric at May 29, 2012 10:40 PM