Ratner
Bruce Ratner moved one step close to realizing his dream of bringing the Nets to Brooklyn yesterday when he signed an agreement with the City and State to build an arena and at least 4,500 apartments as part of a $2.5 billion project at the Atlantic Yards. Under the terms of the nonbinding agreement that has been under negotiation for nearly a year, Ratner would build a $435 million, glass-enclosed arena designed by Frank Gehry on the railyards at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. (We heard on NPR this morning that the City and State would both kick in $100 million.) The project would also include more than a dozen residential buildings for mixed-income residents on three blocks to the east. But the project isn’t a done deal: It must go through a lengthy environmental review, condemnation proceedings, approval by the state Public Authorities Control Board and possible lawsuits.
Deal is Signed for Nets Arena in Brooklyn [NY Times]


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  1. Please specify what modern sport arenas are you talking about. I don’t now a single one I would like to live around.
    Look at Madison Sq garden is truly disgusting area. Sports arenas are just too big and too active during events and not active enough in off time just a dead spots
    Perfect location for all sports arenas is NJ or somewhere far upstate or long island. Real fans will find the way there.
    Our tax money should be invested in Parks Museums Schools etc. They should not be use to finance someone oversize ugly developments.
    As a matter of fact I think that buildings taller than 6 stories should be banned from Brooklyn residential areas.
    Brooklyn don’t need Trump ghettos, even if there are design by F Gery
    I don’t think Brooklyn should compete with Manhattan; whole point of Brooklyn is that B-kiln is an antithesis of Manhattan.

  2. I think the stadium is a great idea and a great venture. It’s great for Brooklyn and It’s great for the city. The shortsightedness of the current residents complaints is a true shame. They seem to be getting paid quite handsomely for their properties so why complain? Because of traffic? Because of buildings? Am I wrong here or don’t we live in NEW YORK CITY? We, as a borough, have long endured the shadow of manhattan, now with the incredible real estate transactions and the gentrification of “rough” areas we’ve turned the borough around. In 10-15 years we’ll forget about all these protestors while we’re cheering for our Brooklyn NBA team. It’s about time professional sports came back here. Hopefully, this will HELP our tax situation by providing revenue. Instead of complaining about lack of funding for FDNY, NYPD and schools we can use this to barter for our boroughs needs. Bring a stadium – sure – but give us our firehouses back, more cops and more affordable housing. This stadium could be a great bargaining chip to get more for our borough. I could be wrong, no one truly knows, but just look at the areas surrounding most modern sports arenas, they are impressive and bring tremendous amounts of activity and positivity to the surrounding area. That’s my two cents, literally ’cause I am sure no one cares what I think…where are my power pellets?

  3. “We heard on NPR this morning that the City and State would both kick in $100 million.”

    Isn’t it interesting how much taxpayer (i.e., “public”) money is being given to subsidize a “private” venture (and a wildly unpopular private venture at that)?