Privyet, neighbor!
Russian billionaire playboy Mikhail Prokhorov will take full control of Barclays Center and the Nets after buying out Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner’s stake in both for $1.7 billion, and nearby residents say they hope the new landlord will respond to their gripes about noise, trash, and traffic more quickly than the previous administration.
“I’ve seen a lot and I’ve lived through a lot and quite frankly some of the issues that are going on now I don’t think need to be necessary,” said Regina Cahill, who lives 400 feet from Barclays on Flatbush Avenue and claims the neighborhood is now plagued by rowdy fans who she has seen urinating on sidewalks.
Prokhorov says he will uphold the so-called “community benefits agreement” Ratner’s operation signed when it began working on the sprawling Prospect Heights mega-development and arena — which pledges to work with local groups to create community events, host regular meetings to talk through issues with residents, and give away some free game tickets, amongst other provisions.
“We remain fully committed to community programs that were created as part of the arena,” said Prokhorov, whose group Onexim Sports and Entertainment bought a 45-percent stake in the arena in 2009.
A spokesman for Ratner’s Forest City Enterprises said the agreement is legally binding and should carry over to the new landlord without a hitch.
“The transition will be so seamless you won’t even know it’s a transition,” said Joe DePlasco.
But some locals say they want to see a difference — they say the massive sports and entertainment complex isn’t doing enough to address the problems it has wrought on the surrounding area since arriving three years ago.
“Past agreements regarding arena operations have proven to be unsuccessful in maximizing the visitor experience without encroaching on area residents,” said a letter locals sent to the state before the deal closed, demanding it vet the sale and beef up the agreement to ensure more security guards, trash cans, parking enforcement, and an open log of residents’ complaints and how they are being addressed.
Local pols — including Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo (D–Fort Greene), state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery (D–Fort Greene), and Assembly members Walter Mosley (D–Fort Greene), Jo Anne Simon (D–Cobble Hill), and James Brennan (D–Park Slope) — made similar demands ahead of the sale.
But now the deal is done, Cahill said she just hopes Onexim is open to meeting with neighbors and making those changes of its own volition.
“The goal moving ahead is to have a dialogue to discuss all of these issues and find out what is a reasonable solution so life can sort of return to a point where everything isn’t getting disrupted,” she said.
Forest City will continue developing the rest of the 16-tower project formerly known as Atlantic Yards — and now called Pacific Park — alongside its Chinese government-owned majority partner Greenland.
