AY neighbors brace for sports bar influx

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. Among the new joints on tap: Machavelle Sports Bar and Lounge opened last week on Pacific Street near Flatbush Avenue, while Players Gastropub and Sports Bar is planning to move in next door. Another planned restaurant and bar, Prime 6, has already had to scale back its plans for late-night service thanks to public outcry, while Henry Weinstein, a former outspoken opponent of the Barclays Center project, is now planning a massive party space across the street from the arena. [NYDN]