Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Barclays Will Have Little Parking For Cars, Lots For Bikes
By
Garth Johnston
Published May 23, 2012
Modified May 23, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published May 23, 2012
Modified May 23, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
We already knew that the Barclays Center over at the Atlantic Yards was going to have half the parking it originally promised, but yesterday officials came together to try and explain why that is actually a good thing. And also to talk bike parking, animal marches and the not-surprising death of the dream of "Netrocards."
As you might remember, when the 19,000-seat arena was first proposed, officials were mulling the idea of giving free Metrocards to attendees as a way to ease traffic. Yesterday former Koch traffic commissioner Sam "Gridlock Sam" Schwartz, who is working on the arena's traffic plan, explained that, "We find that the people who were driving to the arena, what they were facing was a $30 charge for parking versus a $2.50 MetroCard. Giving them the free MetroCard was not the incentive." Schwartz went on to say that the arena's plan was to "scare drivers away from the arena. I will be advising people on opening day, don’t even think about driving to the Jay-Z concert."
Still, they will have some parking. Beyond the 1,100 nearby parking spaces (about half of which will be allotted for attendees) there will also be 612 spaces at garages accessible from shuttles, and there are another 20 garages within half-a-mile of the arena. Oh, and also? Barclays will boast 400 bicycle parking spaces, as well as 86 CitiBike docks! Nice.
And that's not all. Schwartz makes the legitimate point that the arena is really easily accessible by mass transit (see the nearby 2, 3, 4, 5, B, C, D, G, N, Q and R trains). And notes that the MTA is going to be adding "gap trains" for after games and big events to get people out. Not that some locals are happy about this at all: "If you live in Canarsie or Marine Park, you’re never going to take the train," Councilman Stephen Levin said at yesterday's meeting. "Much of Brooklyn and most of Queens and Staten Island are not accessible by train."
We're kind of with Schwartz on this though. Considering how hard parking in Brooklyn already is, we have a strong feeling after some initial serious traffic problems drivers are going to very quickly figure out they want to leave their cars home when heading in.
Meanwhile, Daily Intel notes our favorite tidbit out of the meeting: "They will indeed be walking animals to the arena in the middle of the night when the circus comes, like they do at the Garden." Yes! Only thing that could be better is if they promised to march Justin Bieber through the streets of Brooklyn on the way to his Barclays performance, too.
Tagged
Atlantic Yards
barclays center
bicycles
brooklyn
cars
parking
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Judge temporarily halts overnight construction at NYC’s Chinatown jail
The order comes after Chinatown residents sued the city over noise, health concerns and years of planned after-hours construction.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 26, 2026 at 7:08 p.m. ET
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Police search for man in Central Park sexual assault
By
Charles Lane
Rockefeller Center's 2026 Christmas tree is a 76-foot spruce from Upstate New York
By
Giulia Heyward
‘A killer cop lives here’: Brooklyn arrests raise questions about limits of free speech
By
Ben Feuerherd
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .