Great Pics - Barclays Center rising

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/08/24/barclays_center_going_up_out_and_glassy.php

City seeks proposals for Brooklyn Waterfront Bubble

Crains excerpt -

The balloon-like structure will enclose recreational fields expected to open on Pier 5 of the Brooklyn Bridge Park late next year, making it a year-round destination.

The city announced late Tuesday that it is seeking proposals to build, operate and maintain a temporary structure enclosing the recreational fields on Pier 5, which are slated to open in the summer of next year.

The latest request for proposals follows one earlier this month seeking a developer to build a residential and hotel property at Pier 1 in the park. The 200 foot by 300 foot bubble-like structure is intended to promote use of Pier 5 during the winter months and should be open by December of next year, according to city.

“The concession structure on Pier 5 will enrich the park by encouraging year-long active recreation use at this world-class location,” said Regina Myer, president of Brooklyn Bridge Park, the entity responsible for planning, building and maintaining the 1.3-mile park, in a statement. “BBP hopes to give visitors a great new reason to visit and enjoy the park year-round through access to an indoor recreational facility.”

Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110824/REAL_ESTATE/110829963#ixzz1VwUnT9th

Coney Island message board hates the new Coney?

LOL. Interesting.......

http://www.coneyisland.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?num=1313952993

Zamperla sells Italy amusement park to focus on Coney

Crains excerpt -

Back in Italy, Alberto Zamperla, who oversees the fourth-generation family-run company, is counting on his Brooklyn investment. Zamperla generates $80 million in sales and makes about 200 rides annually for clients including Disney and Six Flags. Last year, he sold Zamperla's amusement park in northern Italy to focus on Coney Island.

Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110821/REAL_ESTATE/308219980#ixzz1VfNrDAGw

Crains - Zamperla's Coney success and plans

Excerpts-

When Valerio Ferrari speedily swirled down 10 stories on The Tickler roller coaster on a hot morning last week, he had more reason than most folks to be thrilled. After all, his firm's parent company built the wildly popular ride, and the firm he leads is two profitable years deep into developing 6.2 acres of city-owned land on the site of the old Coney Island amusement park.

Nonetheless, he still has his eyes on a bigger prize.

“There are much larger steps that need to be taken before we can claim Coney Island as a world-class tourist destination,” said Mr. Ferrari, president of Central Amusement International, the Boonton, N.J.-based subsidiary of the 150-year-old Italian ride manufacturer Zamperla Inc. “It's a big task.”

Central Amusement has already poured $25 million into building two new parks—Luna Park and Scream Zone—from the asphalt up. Now it plans to spend at least $5 million more to complete the redevelopment of the site it began leasing from the city last year.

By next summer, the company plans to have filled the final empty 60,000-square-foot lot with several new attractions—possibly more water rides and go-karts. CAI will also upgrade the historic Cyclone roller coaster and, more controversially, the shops and restaurants along a stretch of boardwalk.

Mr. Ferrari is also exploring ways to bring free Wi-Fi to the area and step up the marketing of Coney Island.

“If we can capture 5% of the 45 million tourists who come to New York, we can make a big difference,” he said, acknowledging he's not even close to that goal. But he is noticing a few more Europeans in the parks.

“It has been fabulous; they have exceeded our expectations,” said Nate Bliss, vice president of the city Economic Development Corp. and president of the Coney Island Development Corp. “Last year, visits to the beach and businesses broke all sorts of records, and despite the weather we are on pace to surpass that.”

Coney is natural fit

“Zamperla has done nicely in New York,” said Chip Cleary, president of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. “Coney is a natural extension for them.”

Not everyone is happy about that, certainly not the seven longtime boardwalk businesses—including 35-year-old Ruby's Bar and Grill and Cha Cha's—that will depart in November. Only one of the original businesses will return.

Mr. Ferrari said he is close to signing up replacements, which will spend as much as $6 million giving the boardwalk storefronts a much-needed face-lift and provide a wider selection of food options.

“It has been run-down for the past 40 years,” said Mr. Ferrari. “We're trying to develop a Coney Island for the thousands and millions, not hundreds.”

Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110821/REAL_ESTATE/308219980#ixzz1VfIXxfRr

Ratner meets with NHL officials

Excerpt -

CNBC's Darren Rovell reports Bruce Ratner and Brett Yormark met with officials of the National Hockey League Thursday. A Nets insider confirmed the meeting, which took place at the NHL offices in Manhattan, but declined to discuss details including whether an architect accompanied them. It's one more sign the Barclays Center is serious about luring the Islanders to Brooklyn.

The NHL also confirmed the meeting but like the Nets didn't provide details.

http://www.netsdaily.com/2011/8/18/2371754/ratner-yormark-meet-nhl-officials

Brooklyn’s First Fairfield Inn & Suites Opens in Gowanus

Brooklyn Eagle Excerpt -

Compiled by Linda Collins
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

GOWANUS — The newest hotel in Gowanus has opened at 181 Third Ave. near Douglass Street and business is good, officials say.

The new 12-story, 133-room hotel is the Fairfield Inn & Suites Marriott Brooklyn, a project of both Marriott International and the Troutbrook Co., a development firm based in Manhattan.

Marc Freud, a principal at Troutbrook, described it as a “hip boutique hotel” with “a unique contemporary design to complement the historic neighborhood and cultural distinctiveness of Brooklyn.”

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=5&id=45488

Gateway Center 2 - Brochure

Rumor has it that Walmart and JC Penney will be anchoring. Brochure makes it look like it will be as large as Gateway Center 1. Tremendous potential. Scheduled opening Fall 2013

http://realestate.marketfronts.com/MarketFronts/images/PropertyFlyer_GatewayCenterPhseII_BrooklynNY-5-6-2011_AltAerial.pdf

Downtown Brooklyn Retail Explosion

WSJ excerpt -

H&M, Aldo, Aeropostale, Filene's Basement and Shake Shack are all in the process of opening their first Brooklyn locations on Fulton Street. Gap, which closed a previous Fulton Street location, will also return.

"Downtown Brooklyn is going through a period of renaissance as it relates to retail growth," said Joe Chan, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.

Brooklyn remains sparsely populated with shops compared with the densely populated glass boxes and upscale boutiques in Manhattan. Manhattan has about 52 square feet of retail per person, while Brooklyn has a mere 11 square feet, according to Robert Greenstone, chairman of Greenstone Realty Corp. The average for the country as a whole is 36 square feet per capita.

But until recently, the city has been occupying some of the best retail in the area, with offices commandeering the prime first couple of floors of 345 Adams St. and 210 Joralemon St. Government agreed to move its offices to higher floors, freeing more than 70,000 square feet for retail use in the two buildings.

At 345 Adams St., across from the forthcoming Shake Shack, Muss Development Co. won the right to redevelop the retail. It's in the process of gutting the interiors and has signed leases so far with Panera Bread and Morton's Steakhouse, which is already open.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903520204576482261912076254.html

Ratner on Downtown Brooklyn

ESPN excerpt -

Ratner, an Ohio native who first worked for the city after coming to New York 44 years ago, said he was always "fascinated" by Brooklyn and used to pitch businesses to relocate or remain there.

"I used to sell Brooklyn in 1986 by saying downtown Brooklyn is the best downtown in America," Ratner said. "And companies would look at me and I'd say here's why: best transportation system, beautiful parks, has more college students than Cambridge, Mass; restaurants and diversity and brownstones, and people live in the downtown. I always thought it had tremendous opportunity for almost anything."

And it will have a large presence in the arena, with the facade being set just this week allowing for open views of Atlantic Avenue. Pictures of the court in the Barclays Center brochure show "Brooklyn Nets" lining both baselines -- even though they will eventually need league approval to adopt that as their name.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nba&id=6817827

Support growing for Brooklyn Walmart

NY1 excerpt -

Support is growing among New Yorkers for a Walmart in the five boroughs.

An exclusive NY1/Marist College poll finds 64 percent of adults in the city support the idea of Walmart coming to the city, while 31 percent would oppose it.

Five percent remain undecided.

When asked if the big-box store would make their neighborhood a better place to live, residents were mostly split.

Thirty percent said it would improve their neighborhood; 25 percent said a Walmart would make it worse; and nearly half said it would make no difference at all.

However, a super majority of New Yorkers said they would purchase goods from the store.

Nearly three quarters said they would be very likely or likely to shop, while around a fourth surveyed said not very likely or not likely at all.

http://manhattan.ny1.com/content/news_beats/politics/144899/ny1-exclusive--new-yorkers-warming-up-to-walmart--poll-finds

Brooklyn Paper - Diceman Cometh to Coney

Brooklyn Paper excerpt

GK: Last thing — are you excited about the homecoming show?

ADC: Absolutely. No matter where I go, the Brooklyn in me has always kept me grounded. Even with things going on now, “Entourage,” a movie, another album, the tour, through it all, I stay grounded. People are real in Brooklyn. Sure, you got a—oles everywhere, but Brooklyn has the greatest people in the world.”

Andrew Dice Clay at MCU Park [1904 Surf Ave. at W. 17th Street in Coney Island, (718) 507-8499], Oct. 1, 8 pm. For info, visit www.diceinbrooklyn.com.

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/34/32/24_diceinterview_2011_8_12_bk.html

Coney Year Round and Barclays Center both on track for 2012

You gotta hand it to Bloomberg and Marty. Through these rough economic times they are on track to deliver both of the most important projects Brooklyn has seen in decades. It really took public and private development coming together. And they are both happening next year. Pretty amazing. A lot of people thought both wouldn't happen.

Panera Bread coming to Kings Plaza

Panera Bread - Coming Soon!
	General Hours: Monday-Friday 10:00 am - 9:30 pm, Saturday 10:00 am - 10:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
	Location: 166
	Website: No website address available
	Category: Food - Restaurants
http://www.kingsplazaonline.com/storedetails.aspx?storeid=96

NY Aviators change name to Brooklyn Aviators!

Press release -

Aviators Change Name to Brooklyn

Brooklyn, NY - The Brooklyn Aviators, proud members of the Federal Hockey League, revealed their new 2011-12 season logo and team name to read Brooklyn instead of New York.

“New York can mean different things to certain people. There is Upstate, Long Island, Westchester, the City, Hudson Valley, Rockland, the list goes on,” said Team Executive, Carmine Vetrano. “But when you hear Brooklyn, it rings in a true identity to where you are from, and we couldn’t be happier to be called Brooklyn.”

The Aviators, who played last season under the New York name, felt that it was appropriate to make the changes to market the club’s hometown of Brooklyn.

“Changes, including logo design, may seem like a throwaway decision, but it’s one you have to live with and stand by,” said Gregg Williams, Director of Marketing. “Our marketing team went through a tiring process trying to figure out what design would be indicative of the Brooklyn area and help us market the team.”

Keeping with the aviation influence, Brooklyn decided to keep the “wings” look that they showcased last season, but instead of the New York text wrapping around the inner circle, the team changed it to Brooklyn.

Brooklyn also decided to stay with their primary colors of black, white, silver and red to resemble the Aviators Sports and Event Center, the club’s home arena.

“When it comes down to it, we felt that Brooklyn makes us stand out a bit more. We have about seven pro teams with New York in front of it,” explained Vetrano. “We couldn’t be happier to be now known even more as Brooklyn’s pro hockey team.”

The Brooklyn Aviators, the 2010-11 FHL Regular Season Champions, get set to embark on the 2011-12 campaign in late October. Make sure to also follow all the latest news on the club’s Facebook page and Twitter handle, @AviatorsHockey.

For more information about the Brooklyn Aviators, call 718-758-7580, or email prohockey@aviatorsports.com

http://www.newyorkaviators.com/view/brooklynaviators/a-s-news/news_29544

Marty wants the Islanders in Brooklyn

NY Post excerpt -

After Nassau County voters rejected a referendum to build a new arena for the Islanders, the Barclays Center being built in Brooklyn has emerged as a possible new home for the hockey team when its lease at Nassau Coliseum expires in 2015.

For years, Barclays Center officials claimed the arena would be too small for pro hockey.

But, earlier this week, they confirmed the arena would actually be fitted with an NHL-regulation rink when it opens in September 2012.

And the NHL says it doesn’t have a minimum-seating requirement for arenas that its teams play in.

Barclays Center officials skated around questions about interest in the Islanders, but arena CEO Brett Yormark said "we hope to explore hockey opportunities in the future."

The arena holds 18,000 seats for basketball, and sources said it could hold about 14,500 seats for hockey.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz says the team “belongs in Brooklyn.”

“We've got lots of hockey fans, and since we're technically still on Long Island, they can call themselves the 'Brooklyn Islanders,’” he said.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/klyn_has_an_ice_shot_at_grabbing_NNT0brIHeSFnMfKMZEwj6K#ixzz1UAifbIht

Marty talks Boardwalk business

Epoch Times excerpt

Businesses that aren't going to remain on the boardwalk can move to nearby commercial spaces, such as Surf Avenue. “They have a right to look for another space,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “Maybe their business can be successful there, so no one's chasing them out.”

“They [CAI] have a right to make retail decisions that fit in with the overview of their amusement space,” added Markowitz. “If they feel that some of the businesses don't mesh in with what they see as a successful business for residents of Coney, Brighton Beach, and all of Brooklyn beyond, that's their right. They're rolling the dice in terms of profit and loss.”

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/united-states/coney-islands-rich-history-and-uncertain-future-59886.html