DRIVE-THRU
creating a sustainable and
self-contained world in Brooklyn.
March 25-March 30
(construct)Clearing (2021)
and Sanctuary (2021): Tanika
I. Williams’ (construct)Clearing
is meditation on quiet
care, intention, intergenerational
movement and labor.
The fi lm seeks to understand
how we wear and repeat family
patterns of silence and separation.
Sanctuary illustrates
the aftermath of African-Caribbean
COURIER L 28 IFE, MARCH 4–10, 2022
mothers leaving their
daughters to immigrate to the
United States, combining academic
research, autobiographical
expression, and archival
interviews.
March 31-April 5
Flatbushtopia (2017),
Bridge Street (2015), At the
Same Moment (2013), Words
of Wisdom (2016): This series
of shorts by Ezra Wube offer
snapshots of life across New
York. These stop-motion animations,
often developed
with community input and
participation, depict scenes
in Flatbush, DUMBO, Jamaica,
and on the subway.
April 6-April 13
Choir (2020) and Friday
(2019): Aisha Amin’s fi lm Choir
explores the world within one
of New York’s most competitive
youth choirs, while Friday
is a portrait of the community
within a historically
black Brooklyn mosque as it
fi ghts gentrifi cation.
Take a stroll through Ashland
Plaza any evening to
take in the fi lms, and keep an
eye on the Downtown Brooklyn
Partnership’s website for
more live performances.
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
Nets CEO John Abbamondi
still sees the team as new to
the area even after 10 years
in Brooklyn, and an even longer
presence in the greater
New York Metropolitan area.
And he’s been happy with the
growth of the organization’s
imprint in the market in his
short time with the Nets, especially
as fans reemerge as
the world attempts to get back
to normal following the darkest
times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021-22 season marked
the fi rst time since before the
pandemic that the NBA has
hosted a full season with no
attendance restrictions at
Barclays Center. The Nets
have averaged 17,153 or 96.7%
capacity through 30 games
this season at Barclays Center.
“It’s been fantastic. We’ve
set fi ve attendance records
this season,” Abbamondi told
amNewYork and The Brooklyn
Game on Tuesday at an
event to open a new food pantry
in Ocean Hill Brownsville
neighborhood of Brooklyn.
“Five different times where
we broke our all-time attendance
record in Brooklyn. We
are now fourth in the NBA in
ticket revenue. Our business
is doing really well. Our people
want to go out, restaurants
are crowded and our games
are packed.
“We’re hoping once we get
all our players back healthy
and playing, we think we’re
going to have an exciting
stretch run into the playoffs.”
The Nets have surpassed
18,000 fans in attendance on
fi ve occasions this season,
with the largest tally coming
on Jan. 25 when they hosted
the Los Angeles Lakers at the
Barclays Center. It should be
noted that the NBA counts
attendance as tickets distributed
rather than tickets sold
or gate count.
Brooklyn should see a
spike on Thursday when
Kevin Durant is expected to
make his long-awaited return
to the fl oor following an MCL
sprain in mid-January. The
game will also feature the
Eastern Conference-leading
Miami Heat.
Even as the Nets, along
with the rest of the NBA, were
decimated by COVID attendance
numbers at the Barclays
held steady. The smallest
crowd during that stretch
came on Jan. 9 when they announced
attendance at 15,606.
As for the inroads the team
has made in the local market,
Abbamondi indicated that the
fanbase was growing.
“In many ways we’re still
a young franchise,” he said.
“We’ve been in Brooklyn for
10 years, been in the region
longer, but Brooklyn 10 years.
Our fanbase is growing and
I think you see it here with
these kids. These are our future
fans who are hopefully
going to be cheering on the
Nets for many years to come.”
BY SUSAN DE VRIES
The Prospect Park Alliance
is inviting community
members to learn about the vision
for restoring 26 acres of
Brooklyn’s backyard and provide
some feedback at an upcoming
virtual workshop.
Restoration of the Vale,
located in Prospect Park’s
northeast corner, has been in
the works for years and community
workshops in 2017 and
2018 were part of the design
process.
The project was allocated
$40 million in city funding at
the end of 2021, kicking off the
restoration work.
Hester Street and Grain
Collective are partnering
with the Alliance to present
the conceptual plans at the upcoming
workshop and listen
to community feedback as the
project moves into the design
phase.
The free online workshop
takes place on Tuesday,
March 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Registration is required and
full details can be found at
www.prospectpark.org/newsevents
Caption
Good game!
An opportunity to give feedback on
designs for corner of Prospect Park
Nets CEO: Attendance at Barclays
has been ‘fantastic’ this season
BROOKLYN
Lifting the Vale
The Vale of Cashmere. Photo by Wikimedia Commons/Rhododendrites
Continued from page 27
Brooklynites can catch a glimpse of eight fi lms by Brooklyn-based artists
at ‘Drive-Thru.’ Cameron Blaylock for Downtown Brooklyn Partnership
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