Green roof taking shape at Barclays Center ... and it's visible from the street

In the original Frank Gehry plan for Barclays Center, the two-acre roof was to be a park, with a running track for residents of the adjacent residential towers. That got lost as the economy collapsed in 2008 and Bruce Ratner cut costs.

Now, the back-up plan is underway.  The roof will still be green, but it won't be accessible and there will be no running track.  Still, this week saw the first signs of what the greener arena will look like. On Tuesday, the first of 34,000 two feet by two feet boxes of sedum were placed atop a new steel deck a few feet above the original roof. The job should be completed by this summer.

Although the primary beneficiaries of the change will be the residents of the towers, the flowering mixture will also be visible from the street, if at a distance. The boxes of sedum will be installed in four mixes that allow for year round vegetation, with colorful flowers blooming amid the green in summer months.

The sedum will also cut down on noise emanating from inside the arena and help with water retention.

• Barclays Center Green Roof - Field Condition