In East Rutherford, a sense of loss and impending nostalgia

The Nets new practice facility, described as a $50 million state-of-the-art amenity, is moving apace. It's expected to be done for the 2015-16 season. Last month, Irina Pavlova tweeted out a winter view of Lower Manhattan from the 9th floor construction zone on Brooklyn's 39th Street.

Nice winter view from the Nets' future practice facility pic.twitter.com/bXflYCQoga

— Irina Pavlova (@ipavlova) March 2, 2015

But a dozen miles away, across two rivers, in East Rutherford, NJ, a sense of loss and impending nostalgia is setting in along Murray Hill Parkway and environs. The Nets have practiced there since 1998. They've already moved business operations to Bruce Ratner's MetroTech in Brooklyn, and sometime this summer, they'll be packing up basketball operations, leaving a number of restaurants, bars and businesses less busy ... and less cool.

Andrew Keh writes in the Times about the cleaners who stitched names on Nets uniforms, an Italian restaurant where GM's took new players to lunch and a late-night eatery where coaches nibble at meat dishes while reviewing game video.

As Emanuel Logothetis, whose father, James, owns Candlewyck Diner, a 24-hour restaurant that is a five-minute drive from the Nets’ current practice complex, tells Keh, "It's the end of an era. "It was our team, from our town, but they have to finish the move eventually."

• . Three Years After Bolting for Brooklyn, Nets Keep One Foot in New Jersey - Andrew Keh - New York Times