Amazingly, traffic appeared to be relatively calm Friday night during the Barclays Center’s big debut and first event, the Jay-Z concert. So far, the biggest problems congestion-wise appear to be the bus and staging area for police on Pacific Street and crowds hanging out in front of the building. The giant donut-shaped video screen now lit up on the interior of the building can be seen from the street and is unattractive and potentially distracting to drivers, according to one of our informants who were checking on the arena throughout the weekend. About 100 people showed up for the permitted march Saturday afternoon, which wound by several controversial development sites downtown (such as 402-406 Albee Square) before ending up at the Barclays Center. Council Member Letitia James spoke about the need for housing and jobs. Slogans on signs included “Our tax dollars line their pockets, stop subsidizing luxury development” and “10,000 Jobs? Nope. Affordable housing? Nope. Luxury suites & parking lots? Yes!” The Rude Mechanical Orchestra struck up a refrain of “Hey, Jay-Z, where’d the housing go?” to the tune of Beyonce’s and Jay-Z’s hit “Crazy in Love.” Click through for links and Friday night photos.

Barclays Center Opening Is Met With Protests [NY Times]
Jay-Z Concert Highlights Barclays’ Coming out Party [NY Post]
Long Hard Road to Opening of Barclays Center [NY Post]
Lasers on Top of Barclays Center Target War Monument [NY Post]
Barclays Center a Boon for Local Businesses [NY Daily News]
Arena Opens and Brooklyn Takes a Look [WSJ]
On Opening Night, Barclays Becomes Jay-Z’s House [WSJ]
Why Brooklyn’s New Arena Will Rock [Crain’s]
Jay-Z Becomes Face of Brooklyn Nets [USA Today]
Much Transit Use, Little Paid Parking [AYR]
Pacific Street Becomes Staging Area for Buses [AYR]

 


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. i was in the area friday and last night and really did not notice any congestion or spillover onto the side streets. i even saw a few parking spots and the surface lot on dean between carlton and vanderbilt was almost empty.

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