Understand the context of Brooklyn’s most controversial development project, with Norman Oder, the journalist behind the Atlantic Yards Report and veteran New York City tour guide. The walk begins at the edge of Downtown Brooklyn, where one of the borough’s tallest buildings has been converted to luxury condos, dips into revitalized Fort Greene, and looks at decades of urban redevelopment before traversing the Atlantic Yards footprint itself in Prospect Heights.

The Barclays Center arena is going up, but the rest of the project remains in question. Thus, the tour provides an opportunity to discuss the challenge of fitting an arena into an area that bridges low-rise Brooklyn and edge of Downtown Brooklyn, and the plans for space adjacent to the arena. Beyond that, the tour will traverse the 22-acre site beyond the arena block, looking at, among other things, a planned superblock, historic preservation and conversion in the area, and plans for indefinite interim surface parking.

The history of Atlantic Yards also will be discussed, including the initial designs by Frank Gehry, the legal challenges, and promises of jobs/affordable housing.

For questions, please email AtlanticYardsReport@hotmail.com.