Following the groundbreaking for the first residential tower at its Atlantic Yards project, community organizations expressed outrage over Forest City Ratner Companies’ (FCRC) intention to use New York City Housing Development Corporation bonds to subsidize apartments too small for working families, and too expensive for the majority of Brooklynites. .

The plans for B2, as the first residential building is known, include 363 apartments, approximately half of which are described as “affordable.” However, of the “affordable” apartments, only 35 are two-bedroom units suitable for families, and only 9 of those are intended to be affordable to families earning the median income for Brooklyn which is just over $43,000 for a family of four. More than half of the two-bedroom “affordable” apartments are intended to be marketed to families earning more than $100,000 annually.

BROOKLYN, NY—On the day of the opening of Barclays Center, a coalition of community organizations today joined in a protest of Atlantic Yards’ failure to deliver on the promises of local jobs and affordable housing used to win approval for the $5 billion project, and called on Governor Andrew Cuomo and the State of New York to present a new plan for the site that prioritizes public benefits over the development of luxury housing.

BROOKLYN, August 29, 2012: Today, the Board of the New York State Liquor Authority voted to impose a 1:00 AM cut off of liquor sales at the Barclays Center arena. Forest City Ratner Companies and Levy Premium Foodservice had applied for a license with a request to be allowed to serve liquor until 2:00 AM. In stipulating the earlier cut off, SLA Chairman Denis Rosen acknowledged concerns from local residents that late night drinking at the arena would negatively impact quality of life in the mostly residential neighborhoods surrounding Barclays Center, and that the potential of the arena being used for private events could result in more late night drinking than has been described by Barclays Center. The decision by the SLA gives the Barclays Center applicants the ability to request a later cut off time in the future after experience with arena patron drinking has been established. Chairman Rosen made clear that such a future application by Barclays Center should be accompanied by community support.