Click image to watch the video
Bruce Ratner, chairman and CEO of Forest City Ratner, appeared on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop” (see video
on the jump) to discuss the New York real estate market and, of course, his
Atlantic Yards project. The developer said that if the economy tanks
again, and experiences a double dip the city would not come out as
cleanly as it did the first time around. The widespread layoffs being
announced by banks combined with existing budget woes would strain the
city. However, because the city’s economy is more diversified than it
was even five years ago, he still believes it would fare better than
most other markets. [more]

Islanders star John Tavares and a rendering of the Barclays Center

Despite previous reports that the redesigned Barclays Center would be too small to house a professional hockey team, stadium officials are reversing course — just as the New York Islanders appear closer to skating away from Nassau County, Brooklyn Paper reported.

The forthcoming home for the Nets basketball team had originally intended to be built for hockey, too — as are most basketball stadiums in the country — but because of financing difficulties that limited the size of the structure, Forest City Ratner officials indicated that it would be too small to house a professional hockey team in April. Instead, the arena would host a handful of collegiate hockey games.

But now Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormack said he would be open to “explore hockey opportunities.” [more]

Concrete workers that abandoned some construction sites in the wake of their expired labor contract were ordered to return to their jobs Tuesday night. Crain’s reported that an arbitrator ruled that concrete laborers at West 57th Street, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Tower 2 of the World Trade Center were in violation of a no-strike provision in labor agreements at those sites.

The Cement and Concrete Workers District Council plans to appeal the ruling, Crain’s said, as it will argue that the no-strike agreement is not applicable since the contract expired in June. But by Wednesday workers at all four sites were back on the job. A similar hearing is scheduled today for walkouts at the new Weill Cornell Medical College on East 69th Street. [more]

Interior renderings of the Barclays Center (credit: SHoP Architects)

While basketball fans will be greeted by some of the best site lines of any American arena, from the looks of interior renderings of the forthcoming Barclays Center released yesterday by Nets officials, those who aren’t keen on the game will enjoy some impressive sites of their own, the New York Post reported.

The arena, set to open at the Atlantic Yards in September 2012, will feature a grand atrium, wide concourses with views of a practice court and several unique lounges and bars. [more]

Panels of the steel facade are set to be installed on the Barclays Arena in Atlantic Yards tomorrow, according to the New York Times, but while the arena moves closer to its September 2012 opening, the other 16 buildings at the site are still marred in controversy. In fact, no plans for any of those buildings have been finalized.
Last week, a State Supreme Court judge ruled that the project was subject to another environmental review, as the construction timeline for the second phase of the project was extended to 25 years. And the first phase is short of financing. [more]

Despite criticisms and delays, executives at Bruce Ratner’s Barclays Center in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn have turned their attentions to ensuring that the arena makes a sufficient profit and, despite competition from Madison Square Garden and the Prudential Center in Newark, it’s having no problems meeting preliminary goals, according to CEO Brett Yormark.
According to Crains, the $1 billion stadium already has 163 events booked for its first year, including 44 Nets games, tennis and boxing events, the Ringling Bros. circus and “Disney on Ice.” In addition, sales of the 4,400 premium season ticketshave “exceeded” expectations, Yormark said.
“Both in tickets sales and dollars, Brooklyn is voting yes,” he said, noting that 41 percent of the all-access tickets have gone to residents and businesses in the area. [more]

With the fans, come the revelers. As area surrounding Atlantic Yards prepares for the influx of Nets ticket holders expected when the Barclays Center arena opens next fall, its residents also bracing for the arrival of several new sports bars that are popping up in anticipation of crowds of thirsty game-goers. Residents, many of whom were none too happy about the Barclays Center project to begin with, are no less amused by this latest development. “We don’t want the area around the arena to turn into the area around Madison Square Garden,” neighbor and attorney Harry Lipman told the Daily News. [more]

The nearly football field-size property across the street from the under-construction Barclays Center in Brooklyn may soon become a large party space, and the chief beneficiary is one of the early opponents of the project, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The property, on Pacific Street just across Flatbush Avenue from the Barclays Center, is being marketed online as “perfect for ‘Dave and Busters’ type” entertainment (although Dave and Busters appears off the list) by owner Henry Weinstein, a former foe of the $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards development. [more]

1. Harry Macklowe plans glass structure for Park Avenue skyscraper
[WSJ]
2. New Barclays Center renderings revealed
[No Land Grab]
3. Condos at 305 West 16th Street to hit the market ASAP
[Curbed]
4. Donald Trump falls as quickly as he rose in public polls
[Gawker]
5. Realistic and unrealistic New York movie and TV apartments
[Gothamist]
6. New non-profit lease at 253 West 35th Street
[NYO]
7. Disney-sponsored playground to open at 103rd Street and Park Avenue next week
[Harlem + Bespoke]

Bruce Ratner is kicking Atlantic Yards construction into overdrive for the next three months, ahead of the Barclays Center’s planned Sept. 28, 2012 opening date. According to the Brooklyn Paper, the Empire State Development Corporation, which is overseeing the development, released a new schedule that has workers on the job between 6 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. — beginning one hour earlier and ending one hour later than in their previous schedule — and also working on Saturdays. The Saturday work will go on between 7 am and 5:30 p.m. beginning this weekend. [more]