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Since 1978 • (718) 260–2500 • Brooklyn, NY • ©2019 14 pages • Vol.Serving Brownstone Brooklyn, Sunset Park, Williamsburg & Greenpoint 42, No. 34 • August 23–29, 2019
TAKING A SHOT
Billionaire buys Nets, Barclays Center in huge sale
Bre Kelly
Parking war rages on
City reinstates some parking,
vows to remove it elsewhere
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11-year-old Border Terrier mix Theo was reunited with his
owner Bre Kelly on the evening of Aug. 21, after two thieves
stole him outside the Green Corner Fish and Farmers Market
on Flushing Avenue in Williamsburg two days prior.
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Williamsburg ball player Paul Travisano doesn’t use the recently-renovated court, claiming its new paint
job is too slippery.
Looney Tunes-themed mural creates hazard on court
Dognapped pooch
back with owner
VOTE
NOW!
By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
It’s dethpicable!
A new “Space Jam” mural painted
atop a Williamsburg basketball court
to promote an upcoming sequel to the
classic 1996 animated sports flick has
completely ruined the blacktop, according
to local ballers.
The court at Rodney Park North reopened
with the Looney Tunes-themed
makeover on Aug. 1 , but the massive
painted images of Bugs Bunny, Daffy
Duck, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, Lola
Bunny, and Taz have created a slipping
hazard for players, who say they’d
rather not play at all than risk injury.
“I don’t even want to shoot on it because
when you’re jumping and coming
down, you could actually slip,” said
Paul Travisano, a nearby resident and
frequent visitor to the court. “Whatever
paint they use is very slippery
even on a dry day. You can really injure
your ankle.”
Critics flocked to social media to vent
their anger online over the new mural,
blasting media company Get Animated
for pulling such a daffy stunt.
“This court is too slick to play on
because of the type of paint used. People
will get injured — please fix it!”
wrote Amy Hunt on the market outfit’s
Instagram page.
Warner Bros. partnered with the
city’s Park Department to renovate
the court through a program called the
Creative Courts initiative , which entitles
organizations to paint a mural on
“dated” sports courts for up to a year,
according to a spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, a rep for Warner Bros.
claimed that the blacktop has been temporarily
closed while the studio works
with the Parks Department to apply
a coarse coat of silica sand to ensure
proper footing there — but this reporter
found the court wide open Wednesday
afternoon, and had no trouble sliding
on the admittedly damp surface “Risky
Business” style for several feet.
Locals also griped that the makeover
screwed up the court’s three-point
line, which is now set up NBA style
with straight lines instead of semi circles,
making it unsuitable for a neigh-
By Aidan Graham
Brooklyn Paper
A billionaire entrepreneur has agreed
to purchase a controlling stake in Barclays
Center and the Brooklyn Nets for
a record-breaking $2.35 billion, according
to the Associated Press .
Joseph Tsai, the co-founder of the Chinese
e-commerce giant Alibaba, finalized
the deal to acquire the arena and the remaining
51 percent of the NBA team for
the enormous lump sum on Aug. 16. The
sale now makes Tsai — who had previously
owned 49 percent of the team —
the sole investor in both entities.
Tsai will pay $1.35 billion for the remainder
of the Nets, after purchasing
his minority stake in 2018 for $1 billion.
The two purchases combine to value the
Nets at $2.35 billion — the highest sale
price ever for an American professional
sports franchise, the AP reports.
The businessman, who boasts an estimated
net worth of just under $10 billion
, will also acquire the 19,000-seat
arena in a separate transaction for almost
$1 billion, according to the AP.
Tsai put out on statement on Aug. 16
confirming the sale, but not the purchase
price, saying he hopes to continue Barclays
Center’s status as a hub for entertainment
in Brooklyn.
“We are committed to maintaining
Barclays Center’s iconic status by bringing
together culture, community, and entertainment
for our fans and everyone in
New York,” said the businessman.
The deal provides a massive windfall
for outgoing Nets owner Mikhail
Prokhorov, who first purchased 80 percent
of the then-New Jersey Nets, and
45 percent of the development project
that would later become Barclays Center
for $223 million in 2010. After the team
moved across the Hudson River and took
roots in Brooklyn, Prokhorov purchased
the remainder of both the team and the
arena in 2015 for almost $400 million
— bringing Prokhorov’s total purchase
to nearly $623 million, according to a
Photo by Paul Martinka
Business mogul Joseph Tsai has agreed to purchase a controlling stake
of the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center in a deal that values the
team at $1.35 billion and the arena at nearly $1 billion.
Yahoo report at the time.
Barclays’ billion-dollar price tag follows
the arena’s controversial development,
which was plagued with numerous
delays and several lawsuits.
In 2005, the state agreed to sell Atlantic
Yards — the land on which the
arena would later be built — to developer
Bruce Ratner for $100 million, despite
internally valuing the land at $214
million.
To complete the sale of the land, the
state threatened locals with eminent domain
— allowing development gurus
to commandeer Brooklynites’ private
property to make way for the massive
development — leading to fierce protests
on either side.
The arena was eventually completed
in 2011, paving the way for Prokhorov
and his development partners’ enormous
pay day.
Sadly for fans, Prokhorov’s financial
success was not mirrored by the franchise’s
success on the court.
Shortly after taking the reins of the
Nets, Prokhorov pushed through one of
the worst trades in NBA history, acquiring
three aging players from the Boston
Celtics by giving away four first-round
draft picks — which Boston would later
use to build one of the most dominant
teams in the league.
Since moving to Brooklyn in 2012,
the team has combined for a 242-332
record, winning just one playoff series
in 2014.
During their tenure in the borough,
the team has featured one of the league’s
worst fan attendance — placing in the
bottom-five for home-game attendance
every year.
Fans hope the new ownership — along
with the recent free-agent signings of
all-stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving
— will help turn the franchise into a title
contender.
The sale of the team, and the arena,
requires approval of the NBA Board of
Governors to be finalized — which the
Nets expect will happen by the end of
September.
W’burg calls a foul
Photo by Kevin Duggan
By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
A Bedford-Stuyvesant woman
was reunited with her pooch
Wednesday after two thieves
stole him from outside a Williamsburg
grocery store Monday
evening.
An anonymous caller contacted
21-year-old student Bre Kelly and
told her they had seen her 11-yearold
border-terrier mix Theo and
they arranged a meet-up to hand
him over nearby at 6 p.m.
“A really nice stranger came
out carrying him in a bag, and
he had his head sticking out,”
Kelly said.
Kelly will not pursue charges
of any kind and is just glad that
Theo’s back and well — albeit a
big shaken.
“I have no intention of pushing
this any further. I’m obviously
very happy that this is over,” she
said. “He seems a little bit stunned
but overall OK.”
Kelly brought Theo for a
three-block stroll from her Bedford
Stuyvesant apartment to the
Green Corner Fish and Farmers
Market at Humboldt Street on
Aug. 19 and tied him up outside
— she returned 15 minutes later
to find he’d vanished, with only
his leash left behind.
Owners at the store gave Kelly
access to their security feed, which
shows one man roughly handling
the dog — dragging the 25-pound
canine by the collar, before grabbing
him — while an accomplice
keeps a lookout.
Kelly was stunned by the random
act of cruelty.
“I was frankly baffled,” she
said. “I really didn’t think that
was something that’s possible that
someone would steal a dog.”
Kelly got Theo from a Manhattan
shelter when she was 10
years old and her furry pal has
been at her side ever since.
“I’ve had him through a divorce
and six moves — and all through
college,” she said.
The furball suffers numerous
health conditions, including arthritis,
pancreatitis, liver issues,
gingivitis, and tumors on his legs
and stomach.
“Pretty much anything wrong
he’s got it,” she said. “This isn’t
a puppy.” The dog is also hard of
hearing and has separation anxiety
— Theo once developed a
belly rash after Kelly was forced
to travel for a week, she said.
But none of that has made Kelly
love Theo any less, she said.
“It’s work to take care of him
but it’s a big part of my life,”
Kelly said.
By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
What a load off!
The city quietly removed signs
forbidding parking on residential
blocks in Clinton Hill and
Prospect Heights on Wednesday
in response to intense community
backlash — but officials
vowed to continue their push to
remove parking spots throughout
the borough, according to a
spokeswoman for the Department
of Transportation.
“We are adjusting some program
locations based on community
feedback,” said Lolita
Avila. “The program will remain
in Brooklyn and citywide.”
The city eliminated parking
spots on Clinton Hill’s Greene
Avenue and Prospect Heights’s
Bergen Street last month to make
way for new residential loading
zones as part of a citywide pilot
program, but workers showed up
Aug. 14 to remove the short-lived
no-parking signs after locals threw
a fit, saying the city failed to provide
ample notice of the new loading
zones, which many residents
didn’t want in the first place.
“It was almost like a sneak attack,”
said Ralph, a Greene Avenue
resident, who declined to share
his last name. “They could not
have thought that this would go
by unnoticed.”
One lifelong Greene Street resident
even threatened to move out
of her gorgeous brownstone if the
city didn’t roll back the parking
change.
“I said to my husband, ‘we got
to get the hell out of here,’” said
Linda Vital. “I feel much better
now, believe you me.”
But just because the transit
agency’s scheme kicked up too
much dust on Greene Avenue and
Bergen Street doesn’t mean officials
won’t seek to impose their
residential loading zones on other
neighborhoods, according to Alvila,
who noted that a third test
location for the loading zone program
on Greenpoint’s Manhattan
Avenue will remain in place.
Officials are now deciding
where to relocate the abandoned
Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights
loading zones, according to Aliva,
who promised the agency would
focus more on public outreach in
the future.
“We are still figuring out the
locations,” she said. “Also, yes,
there will be signs and flyers about
the program.”
However, the spokeswoman
would not comment on whether
the agency would ax future loading
zones in response to criticism.
Former District Leader Renee
Photo by Kevin Duggan
The city’s Department of
Transportation took down
the signage for its residential
loading zones on Greene
Avenue in Clinton Hill after
backlash from locals.
Collymore — who helped Clinton
Hill residents organize in response
to the parking debacle — was triumphant
after city transit officials
threw in the towel and removed the
Greene Avenue no-parking signs,
saying other neighborhoods should
follow their lead in opposing future
loading-zone schemes.
“They have to get out there and
stand guard over their neighborhoods,”
said Collymore. “It would
behoove them to take a stand and
fight like never before. It can be
done.”
But one resident said the whole
hubbub was distracting the agency
from doing what it’s supposed to
do — making the city a safer place
to live.
“DOT is not some malignant
force that’s trying to hurt things,
they’re just trying to make it so that
streets are safer,” said Sam, who
only provided his first name.
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