Barclays Center becomes iconic without becoming chaotic

Over the past few days, the New York Times and NPR have run stories that put to rest many of the fears revved up by critics of the Nets move to Brooklyn. The arena has indeed become an icon without the chaos predicted.

Writes the Times Joe Berger...

"No, the apocalyptic predictions of crime, chaos and an entire way of life suddenly and irreversibly ruined have not come to pass."

The biggest problem, after five months of operations and more than one million guests, has been a Justin Bieber concert.

Scores of devoted Bieber fans, echoing those who mobbed Frank Sinatra in the 1940s and the Beatles in the 1960s, chased a bus down Dean Street because they thought the 18-year-old pop singer was inside, their high-pitched screams shattering the nighttime quiet of a sedate residential block.

The criticisms now are not about crime (there's been very little) or traffic (10,000 fans are taking the subways and the LIRR on game nights) but noise pollution from the building and idling limos, particularly at concerts. Both seem like fixable problems.

As NPR noted, "The construction of Barclays certainly caused disruptions, but the most dire predictions by the arena's opponents haven't all been realized."

• Chaos and Crime Predicted With Barclays Center Have Not Materialized - Joe Berger - New York Times
• Inside Brooklyn's New Barclays Center (Audio) - Mike Pesca - NPR
• The drunken hordes that never came - Louis Crawford - New York Post