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Should Teens Be Banned from Barclays Center Plaza?
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 4, 2010
Modified Oct 4, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 4, 2010
Modified Oct 4, 2010
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Teenagers: We can all agree they ruin everything, especially public places, but is there anything we can do to stop them? Not really, unless you're a powerful developer like Bruce Ratner and the politicians in your pocket give you private property through eminent domain. Last week Forest City Ratner released some renderings showing how they're turning some of the land grabbed in downtown Brooklyn into a public plaza. And when it opens in 201???, everybody's welcome to enjoy the plaza's "environmentally conscious landscaping" and "intimate seating areas"—everyone, that is, except teenagers congregating in groups of four or more.
At Ratner's Atlantic Terminal and Atlantic Center malls, groups of four of more people under age 21 who are not with parents are required to split up. At a public meeting to discuss the plaza plans, Forest City Ratner Executive Vice President MaryAnne Gilmartin said she expects the same policy to be enforced at the plaza outside the Barclays Center. She said the rules are "fairly typical and consistent with mall properties across the country" and "it is our expectation to put policies forward to create a safe and comfortable environment for people to utilize that space—whether that's a mall or an open-space plaza."
This should be welcome news for NY Post columnist Steve Cuozzo, who last week predicted that the plaza will be "more conducive to hosting a Crips-Bloods scrimmage than the intended upscaling of the neighborhood." But City Councilwoman Letitia James is outraged, and tells the Post, "How can you call it a 'public plaza' if it's not open to the entire public?" Because Ratner's malls are located in areas with high concentrations of black and Hispanic shoppers, she's asking the city's Human Rights Commission to investigate whether the policy violates civil-rights laws.
What do you think? Should adolescents be allowed to peaceably assemble in public, or should we keep them isolated from each other until they reach adulthood and give up on life?
Tagged
Atlantic Yards
barclays center
Bruce Ratner
teens
youths
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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