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Today the MTA board is expected to approve a deal to sell the naming rights to the sprawling subway terminal at Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street in downtown Brooklyn to Barclays, the London-based bank that has also bought naming rights to the embattled Nets arena project, which might one day actually exist nearby. It's been five years since the MTA first welcomed proposals from corporations interested in buying station naming rights, and on Monday the authority quietly revealed that Barclays was the first taker, for $4 million, to be paid in yearly installments of $200,000 a year for 20 years, according to the Times.
When Barclays agreed to buy the naming rights for the Nets arena, the bank's slave trade history caused a bit of a stir and even a lawsuit. In reporting the news, Times reporter Michael Grynbaum sounds surprisingly confident that there "will, however, soon be a Barclays Center, the sports arena planned as the focal point of the Atlantic Yards project." Developer Bruce Ratner is hustling to break ground on the controversial project by the end of this year, the station name change is scheduled for the opening of the arena, timed for 2012.
The exact punctuation of the new station name is still T.B.D., but hyphens or slashes are likely to be used. Speaking to the Times yesterday, appropriately-named MTA board member John H. Banks III sought to preemptively defuse criticism of the sale, explaining, "It’s not like Taco Bell saying it wants Grand Army Plaza or something like that." But when asked if the MTA would oppose such a deal, he replied, "A year and a half ago? Yeah. Tomorrow? No." Perhaps speaking for all straphangers, commuter Nick Desio declared, "They can call it anything they want, as long as my train’s on time."
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$4 million? That's it?
Hahah. That building will only house a semi-pro basketball team. "Ladies and genlteman please welcome your home team the Brooklyn Tropics!"
Ok, I got that from the movie "semi-pro" but it totally fits. hahah.
NYC can be had so cheaply?
MTA probably spends $200k per year on Post-it Notes alone.
So the conductors will say "Barclays" and then the streets? And I agree—$200K/year doesn't seem like enough, but I guess with the recession...
Only 4 million for one of the busiest stations in the system and the fact that every single map in every station will now say BARCLAYS on it? The MTA is such a fucking joke it's insane.
Or will they be called the brooklyn tellers?
and wow and changing the name of a 100 year old station. boourns.
It's embarrassing that we have a London Bank's name on a Brooklyn subway station. How is $200,000 per year going to make a tiny dent in the MTA's financial problems? Or is it lining some MTA executive's pockets?
Is the money designated for that particular station or will it just get lost in MTA's general fund?
The structure of the payment is ridiculous. $200K ain't going to amount to much 20 years from now. The MTA should have insisted on getting the $4 million up front. Invested properly (yes, I know that is crazy talk when it comes to the MTA) that would give them an inflation adjusted $200K for perpetuity.
"New signage would be paid for by Forest City Ratner."
Ratner will be paying for the no-doubt hundreds of hours of labor costs the MTA will accrue in changing Atlantic-Pacific signage? Anyone who's followed the developer's dealings with the MTA over the past 5 years should know that this is almost certainly fiction.
MTA Bailout Ratner, we bailed out MTA and they bailed out Ratner, Bloomberg's buddy
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/atlantic-yards-developer-is-allowed-to-defer-payments/
Further detail in the article indicated that the name change won't happen until the arena is built. So this is really no different than Mets/Willets Point, except that the corporate sponsor actually paid for it.
I was thinking it would be effective immediately or soon, meaning there'd be a stop called Barclays for no reason.
This is a: Manhattan Bound, A Train.
The next stop is: Arby's Big Beef n' Cheddar Chambers Street Station.
Stand clear of the closing doors, please.
Ha!
Taco Bell Think Outside The Bun World Trade Center
Prospect Ave. Nick Is For Kids
42 St. Port Authority Bus Terminal Hanes Wait 'Til We Get Our Hanes On You
Avenue J/Sketchers Real Boys Wear Sketchers
Christopher St. Focus On The Family
86 St. Alka Seltzer Time Relieves Gas Pains
Myrtle Ave. Pitchfork TV Sonic Youth
81 St. - The Museum Of Natural History The Happiest Place On Earth Disneyland World
Whitehall St./Learn to Spell, Jen Chung
Lorimer St. New Luke Wilson
Broadway/Lafayette/Wal-Max
68 St. Hunter College Dog the Bounty Hunter
Bedford Ave./The Simpsons Movie
8th St. NYU Xe
Times Square - 42nd St. Young Slurpers
Willets Point Shea Stadium The New York Yankees "The Mets Are Assholes"
Chambers St./24/Lost
47-50 St. Rockefeller Center Maybelline/Maybe She's Born With It... Also Ikea
14th St. Union Square Free Pack Of Camels For Your E-Mail Address
This is Bedford Avenue. This is a Canarsie-bound L train, brought to you by American Apparel.
Eh, too easy.
hahaha too funny!
Seems to me that the much bigger story is the re-configured deal between FCR and the MTA. This new deal seems to benefit only FCR to the tune of at least $100 million, and leaves the MTA with a smaller capacity permanent rail yard than they already have (hobbling future expansion, next to a new arena and 16 skyscrapers, assuming any of it is built), and less money up front for the air rights from Ratner, and 22 years to pay off the balance, etc, etc. I thought the MTA was in desperate need of money?
The Barclays naming rights deal is the tip of the iceberg in the path of the USS Brooklyn...
Hey folks, lets not forget that Barclays got TARP funds through Citi, so our TARP funds are not only paying for the Barclays naming rights but also for any money they are giving Bruce Ratner for arena naming rights!! It's all just so beautiful!!
The MTA is the joke of the universe and so is the baloney that Mayor Mike and the city is serving brooklyn.
Was it Barclays involved in the slave trade?