public plaza with environmentally-friendly landscaping and a green roofed entrance to the subway?
surrounded by exhaust from cars... lovely!
cough cough cough.... sureSHoP altered the design to make the entrance more accessible and useful for the surrounding community and even designed it so it could be used as a farmer's market or event plaza.
The Plaza in front of the Barclays Center for Atlantic Yards is located at the busy intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, and it will serve as the main entrance to the arena. When designing the plaza, SHoP’s main focus was on creating a smooth, flowing area centered around transit and pedestrian traffic. The roof of the subway entrance will feature Sedum plantings that will compliment several other planters spread throughout the plaza. Seating around the plaza and planters will be made from Ipe wood.In addition to the green roof subway entrance, the updated plaza will feature a large covered area at the entrance of the arena with a giant oculus (read: hole in the roof), which will include a state-of-the-art display screen that can be programmed for games, events and other activities on the plaza.
I thought they were designing it for the Jolly Green Giant to light his farts on fire
Currently, there is a lot of debate and contention regarding Atlantic Yards and the Barclays Center, and a small green roof and transit-oriented design don’t do a whole lot to reduce the footprint of the massive development. Is it a peace offering or a necessity to make the space work? In other news, that affordable housing the developers promised is supposedly not gonna happen.
+ Barclays Center
+ SHoP Architects
Via Gothamist
via inhabitat.com
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz could be headed to China to help developer Bruce Ratner trade green cards for cash for his Atlantic Yards project, our Erin Durkin reports:
Markowitz is waiting for the OK from the city Conflicts of Interest Board to accompany Ratner’s delegation on the trip, which kicks off Oct. 11.
The New York City Regional Center invited Markowitz on the trip and would pick up the tab, his spokeswoman said.
It’s part of the EB-5 visa program, which offers up green cards to foreigners who invest $500,000 in a project that creates or saves at least 10 jobs.
The federal government sets aside 3000 a year for such deep-pocketed investors.
Ratner is looking to lure 498 Chinese investors for a total of $250 million in financing for the new Nets arena and 16 tower project. The money could go to pay off land loans or build the new railyard that Ratner has to put up for the Long Island Rail Road.
Markowitz spokeswoman Laura Sinagra said: "Part of his role is to encourage investment in Brooklyn, and this program is designed to bring investors to the table for projects that create jobs. As the person who came up with the original idea of bringing major league sports back to Brooklyn and one of the biggest supporters of Atlantic Yards, he obviously believes this project is worthy of investment, and is seeking guidance from the Conflicts of Interest Board on the possibility of accompanying the group.”The trip was first reported by prolific Atlantic Yards blogger Norman Oder, who has questioned whether raking in Chinese cash for the project, already under construction, should really count as creating or saving jobs.
via nydailynews.com
Daniel Goldstein to tell you why this sucks:
Today the developer unveiled designs for an outdoor "public plaza” where the tower and atrium structure were promised, and told reporters at a press conference that his firm has no plans to build 15 of the 16 towers he promised to build, which would include nearly all of the "affordable” housing Ratner used to sell his plans to Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Paterson and a long list of other politicians.
"Ratner's not-so-pretty drawings of a barricaded, exhaust-enveloped plaza—including the absurd rendered fantasy of a traffic-less Atlantic and Flatbush intersection—is not the Atlantic Yards news of the day. The news of day, which is not surprising but is very troubling, is that Bruce Ratner admitted that he has no plans whatsoever to build the affordable housing he promised or the office tower he promised. It is crystal clear that Atlantic Yards is nothing but a scam, a money-losing arena, surrounded by massive parking lots, in the middle of a housing and unemployment crisis,” said Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn co-founder Daniel Goldstein.
via gothamist.com
I can't see any reason why any organization would want to hold an event here...much less outdoors trapped between the exhaust of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. Rarely have I seen a less impressive design and a worse use of Eminent Domain. It is also alarming what measure government is claiming creates jobs or removes urban blight. I see little cohesion with any community whatsoever.
