Remember the heady days of predictions that a Nets arena would open in Brooklyn in 2006? For a long time, the official word from the teams and Forest City Ratner has been that the project–which is still tangled in legal challenges and has recently been the subject of questions about security concerns–would open in 2009. The subject came up again yesterday after the Bergen Record noted the team would be playing in Jersey for the 2009-10 season. The story also ran widely via AP. Atlantic Yards Reports Norman Oder, who has been reporting on the slipping timetables, calls the round of stories “bizarre,” especially in light of previous coverage in the press and the real possibility that the schedule could easily slip past 2010 to, say, 2011. He writes:
We should take the current 2010 pledge with a grain of salt. Arena construction takes 24 months and can’t begin until the pending lawsuits are cleared. As I wrote, it’s possible they could be cleared by July 31, but under other scenarios, they will persist much longer.
Meanwhile, No Land Grab says the most recent attempt to “spin the story is already leaning towards fiction.”
4 responses so far ↓
1 Peregrine // Jan 4, 2008 at 9:58 am
Let’s see…
Now the people throwing up roadblocks are complaining it won’t be built soon enough?
Does word hypocrite come to mind?
If these idiots would take the buyouts, drop the useless lawsuits and get out of the way Brooklyn will finally be able to benefit from the Atlantic Yards project.
2 Anonymous // Jan 4, 2008 at 10:17 am
These selfish DDDB people need to drop their lawsuit ASAP so that the 8 + million other residence of New York City who cannot wait to have a beautiful new Ghery stadium in Brooklyn. Talk about bragging borough bragging rights once this thing is built!
3 Tom // Jan 4, 2008 at 4:50 pm
I want that arena open soon. It will be something that all of Brooklyn can be proud of.
The incredibly shrill tone of the anti-development crowd has embarrassed most of Brooklyn…and served to doom their retrograde cause. Shame on them.
Brooklyn wants this arena. Period.
4 SteveFtGreene // Jan 7, 2008 at 4:43 am
I think the issue here is accuracy, concerning both in media reporting and what this development is about.
Much of the media is unquestioningly accepting a 2009 or 2010 date for when an arena might be built, but if the available information is looked at critically, it doesn’t appear it could be built until at least 2011.
Likewise, the comments here that center on the arena and ignore the rest of this overly-dense, poorly planned development.
Thoughtful planning can result in something that could be a source of pride for Brooklyn, but so far the greedy needs of the developer have taken precedence.
I don’t see why anyone should be embarrassed by calls for different ideas for development. There is a process taking place for developing the Hudson Yards in Manhattan that involves looking at multiple plans, and I don’t see that anyone in embarrassed by that. Why doesn’t the Vanderbilt Yards in Brooklyn deserve as much consideration?