Barclays plc

Here's another example of the odd array of critics brought together in opposition to the impending Atlantic Yards project:

The anti-big-development critics who made hay over the naming rights of the planned Barclays Center because of that bank's historical ties to slavery are now joined by the state Libertarian Party, which is urging a boycott of Barclays to protest the use of "corporate sports welfare and eminent domain abuse."

-- Azi Paybarah

• Flip of the Week: Courteney and David Cox Arquette bought their house in 2001 for $10 million, and have now put it on the market for $33,500,000. Apparently, Californians will pay anything for four bedrooms that belonged to two semi-stars. [WSJ]
• Prospect Park will have a new $25 million skating rink in three years. (By then, Prospect will officially have become the new Central Park--but with better-dressed ice skaters.) [Gowanus Lounge]
• After reading this morning's Times profile, Gothamist realizes that despite all his "horribly nondescript" architecture, New Yorkers should heartfully thank Costas Kondylis [above] for making sure Trump hasn't built a 90-story gold building in Manhattan. (He's opted for bronze instead.) [Goth]
• After paying a pretty penny for naming rights to Gehry's Atlantic Yards stadium, Barclays defends itself against the accusation (printed by Brooklyn Paper among others) that the company had been built on slavery "blood money." How does the B.P. editor respond? No retraction! [Brooklyn Paper]
• Can the winner of the Super Bowl be predicted via non-football statistics? Maybe. But the real question is: Can real estate be predicted via non-realty statistics? (Nope.) [Matrix]
- Max Abelson
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At the prompting of one outspoken reader, here's a little more about the latest debate going on with the Atlantic Yards Project.

Years ago, Barclays Bank in England was involved in the slave trade and did business with South Africa during apartheid. Today, they've got the naming rights for the stadium that's part of the massive Atlantic Yards Project in Brooklyn.  read more »

Critics have seized on this as more evidence that Bruce Ratner's project is at odds with needs and sensitivities of the local community. Here's a statement sent over to me by Daniel Goldstein of the opposition group Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn:

Richard Lipsky, whom we have noted is a paid consultant to Forest City Ratner, pumps up the warm and fuzzy part of the Nets arena naming deal : a $2.5 million "Nets-Barclays Sports Alliance." Compared to the nearly $400 million that the Nets are getting for the arena naming rights, this is the stuff that comes out of chickens, but it does show how broad and extensive Forest City's efforts have been to gain support for the Atlantic Yards project. -Matthew Schuerman

Blogger Norman Oder figures that the sale of the naming rights for the Nets' new home in Brooklyn will cover about half of the bond payments for the arena.

Or, rather, the "nearly $400 million" from Barclays Bank would cover that much of the construction cost if the developer, Forest City Ratner, had not been offered, by the state and the city, an even better way to pay off the bonds: the diversion of property taxes and rent.

- Matthew Schuerman

Jennifer Thurston and Carl Neuhaus

Met: August 2003  read more »

Engaged: March 3, 2006

An S.U.V. rolled up to an Upper East Side townhouse, two groggy teens squinting as they emerged.  read more »