Residents Protest As Barclays Center Opens
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The new Barclays Center and the Atlantic Yards project it's part of have drawn protesters every step of the way and it was no different Friday as the arena officially opened.
Demonstrators held signs saying "this is not affordable housing" at a rally near the arena.
They say developers broke their promises to the community, including more jobs for the area that never materialized.
"They promised jobs at union scale," said one resident. "They promised thousands of jobs. I believe they promised 10,000 jobs. None of those jobs happened."
"What was promised wasn't just an arena with luxury suites," said Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn. "It was 2,250 units of affordable housing and 10,000 permanent jobs. We don't have a single unit of housing under construction and this arena has created 105 full-time jobs instead of 10,000."
The project was delayed several times by lawsuits over eminent domain.
Opponents say private land should never have been seized for the project and they say they'll keep protesting.