Since the September opening of Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the “apocalyptic predictions of crime, chaos and an entire way of life suddenly and irreversibly ruined have not come to pass,” according to Joseph Berger of the N.Y. TIMES. In spite of "years of vitriolic opposition from many residents,” the 19,000-seat arena has "enjoyed a remarkably smooth debut.” Most basketball fans and concertgoers visiting the arena "come and leave quickly by one of the 11 subway lines that stop at Barclays or by the Long Island Rail Road.” The Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported that in the three months after the arena opened, the four subway stations in the area had 6,400 more riders "on average after Nets games and concerts than on nonevent days.” Residents said that the traffic “flows as smoothly -- or as sluggishly -- as ever, with extra traffic agents posted to prevent gridlock.” A surge in crime that “some had anticipated has also not materialized.” The number of crimes has “turned out to be negligible, possibly because of a heavy police presence augmented by Barclays security guards.” While there have been “complaints of public urination, the posting of guards on streets along which fans stream to their parked cars seems to have curbed that somewhat.” The “continuing complaints" from area residents have “shifted from warnings of existential threats to gripes about everyday irritants” (N.Y. TIMES, 2/20).
