Did you ever believe there would be a venue that would outdo Madison Square Garden?
Step out of the subway on Atlantic Avenue in the Prospect Heights area of Brooklyn, look up, and see one of the biggest and most beautiful pieces of art that New York City has to offer. The newly built Barclays Center in the heart of Brooklyn truly revolutionized the entertainment business in New York City.
Not only is the Barclays Center an exceptional display of architecture, but is a venue where artists dream of preforming and fans dream of attending. Remember Madison Square Garden? The Greatest Entertainment Venue of all time? The Barclays center is stealing the spotlight, and outdoing all of its competition. In fact, after only one year in business ticket sales at the Barclays Center are the highest among venues in all of the United States (Nydailynews.com). So what does this mean for Brooklyn? Could it be the next Manhattan? Maybe.
The Barclays center single handedly changed the economic market of Brooklyn. It has received an award from the Chamber of Commerce for economic development in the annual “Building Brooklyn” awards (ibrooklyn.com). It has produced jobs for over two thousand people and local business in the area are booming, including the BAM, and the Brooklyn Museum. Its impact on the art world in its surrounding area is immense. Local mom and pop shops in the area have not seen better days since the construction of the masterpiece. The Barclays Center is featuring more than 55 Brooklyn based food vendors to bring economic stability to its community. The building of this metropolis impacts the local community in an amazingly positive way and it just may be the best thing that has happened to the area in years.
Many had anticipated much violence and crime due to the masses of people that would be attracted to the Barclays center. Not only is the area safe, the neighborhood is flourishing. There are more cops on every street corner during events making sure everything runs safely and smoothly, bringing the argument of increased crime to an immediate halt. The neighborhood expected chaos, but the biggest form of “chaos” faced thus far was a bunch of crazed teenage Justin Bieber fans running after his thought to be tour bus. However, the town has become much for lively. The noise levels are high, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Due to the increase in human traffic, local residents are keeping quiet because their businesses are flourishing. They have come to accept this tradeoff and do not have much to complain about anymore. In fact, many are proud of what their neighborhood has become and are embracing it. (Nytimes.com)
The real estate in the area is booming as well. The demand for living space in the borough is extremely high and consequently a huge project is underway to erect 15 state of the art apartment buildings in Atlantic Yards that would cost about 4 to 5 billion dollars (bloomberg.com). On March 18th, 2013, the Municipal Art Society recognized The Barclays Center as a “Neighborhood Catalyst” (ny.curbed.com). Properties in the area are selling at a premium, and many new stores and restaurants are popping up all over the surrounding are area. Many predicted that retailers, residents, and restaurant owners would gravitate towards prospect heights with the building of the Barclays center, and surely were correct. For example, In Park Slope many new bars, clubs, and restaurants have opened and have found great success. My first cousin had her engagement this past Sunday night at The Bahche, on 7th street and 3rd ave, in Gowanus, which opened in September. I spoke to the owner of the venue, Ersin Vurgun, and he claimed “business has been great since its inception”. A new art studio called Brooklyn Art Space also opened around the corner (dnainfo.com). Additionally, down the street from the Bahche, The Bell House recently hosted Bill De Blasio’s victory party. Brooklyn has truly become an economic powerhouse, and has the potential to official steal Manhattan’s thunder in the near future.
Brooklyn is the new center for arts and entertainment. With an amazing Basketball team, and music starts preforming week after week, the Barclays Center is the place to be. Mikhail Prokhorov is spending an estimated 183 million dollars on the Nets roster this season including luxury tax. However the money is not his concern, he wants to bring fans and all types of people into the stadium, and certainly is accomplishing his goals. With the move to Brooklyn, the Nets gross value increased by 48 percent to 530 million. Additionally, top artists from every genre have preformed or will preform at the Barclays Center. For example, iconic artists such as Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Sir Paul McCartney, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Drake, The Rolling Stones, Selena Gomez, Swedish House Mafia, and Barbara Streisand have all preformed at the venue just to name a few. As a result, the buzz about Brooklyn by both residents and non-residents has been immense. It has become a place where many people dream to be.
Brooklyn is taking part in a new wave of arts and entertainment in New York City, and is now home to one of the most progressive art communities. It is also the home to many new beautiful places for all types of people, whether they like good eats, hip hangout spots, or beautiful entertainment venues. The culture in Brooklyn continues to get better and better. Brooklyn has become a spot where all people can enjoy thanks to impactful places like the Barclays Center. Brooklyn is the future. The amazing aura of Brooklyn will make it the best and most sought after borough in New York City.
Bibliography
Sheftell, Jason. “Barclays Center among Brooklyn’s Newest Architectural Standouts Honored by Chamber of Commerce.” NY Daily News. NYDailyNews.com, 20 May 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Furman, Phyllis. “Barclays Center at 1 Year: A ‘true Brooklyn Success Story’ .” NY Daily News. NYDailyNews.com, 22 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Carmiel, Oshrat. “Forest City Sells Atlantic Yards Stake to Speed Building.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
Berger, Joseph. “Neighbors Predicted Chaos. Now They’re Just Irked.” New York Times. Nytimes.com 19 February 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013
Dailey, Jessica. “Charting the Changes Happening Around The Barclays Center.” Curbed NY. Ny.curbed.com, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Beck, Howard “For Nets’ Prokhorov, $183 Million Is No Object.” New York Times. Nytimes.com 18 July 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013
Wood, Graham. “Brooklyn Nabes Expect Real Estate Boom with Barclays Center.”RealDirect. Realdirect.com, 1 Feb. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Albrecht, Leslie. “Gowanus Ironworks Turns Warehouse Into Mediterranean Cafe.”DNAinfo.com. DNAinfo.com, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
