The Arena and Atlantic Avenue

March 4th, 2005

Last summer, I reported on the history of urban development on Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue. I wrote the story for my master’s project, the major assignment in the Columbia journalism program. Download the PDF file (103K)

Today’s announcement is a major turning point for the Atlantic Avenue community, good or bad. If this really happens, it’s up to state and local government, neighborhood activists, business leaders and residents to negotiate the best possible vision for our neighborhood.

That’s me to the right, standing at the intersection of Atlantic and Third avenues, about a block and a half from where the Atlantic Yards development would be built.

A few of the storefronts at the top of the intersection (the ones below the majestic Williamsburgh Savings Bank tower) are part of a stretch of nine buildings called Atlantic Gardens. They are unremarkable, typical Brooklyn structures: built in the late 1800s or early 1900s, with a storefront on the ground level and apartments above.

By the mid-1970s, these buildings were abandoned. Damage from misuse and abuse rendered the building uninhabitable. “It looked like Dresden after the war,” said one of the men who eventually rehabilitated the buildings into an attractive apartment complex. He and his partner were able to fix up the buildings because they received a loan, which was unusual for the area; they received infrastructure assistance from the electric and gas companies; and people were brave enough to move into their apartments and shops, including an Arab-American business community that thrives lives and works on this block today.

Everyone had a stake in the success of the building. The utility companies wanted customers who paid their bills on time. So did the bank. The residents moved into brand new apartments and a business district emerged. Ultimately, the block became much safer. And the two men who re-habbed the buildings sold the buildings last fall for a handsome profit, though it took them about 20 years longer to sell than they had planned.

Atlantic Yards holds tremendous potential for Brooklyn, particularly in the real estate it will contribute to the New York market. But can the basketball arena and the office towers really have a postive impact? Does everyone have a stake in the success of this project?