Editor’s note: This is the first of (hopefully many!) examinations of various public spaces in New York City. This series will focus on current ownership, programming, and maintenance of public spaces, as well as examining possibilities for future improvements.
Introduction to Atlantic Terminal Outdoor Plaza
The Plaza on an average day.
What is it? An unnamed street-level triangular plaza atop Atlantic Terminal, bordered on its three sides by Atlantic Terminal Mall, Atlantic Center, and the Barclays Center.
Who runs it? Real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield on behalf of Madison Realty.
Why we’re writing about it: It’s an under-utilized public space on one of Brooklyn’s busiest corners.
It’s quite possible that there is a busier intersection in Brooklyn than the Atlantic Avenue-Flatbush Avenue intersection, but if there is, we don’t know it. For one, it is the cornerstone of several Brooklyn neighborhoods–Fort Greene expands outwards from its northeast corner, Prospect Heights from its southeast corner, Park Slope from its southwest corner, and Boerum Hill/Downtown Brooklyn from its northwest corner.
Secondly, it sits atop one of the busiest rail terminals in New York, the LIRR Atlantic Terminal station, which features connections to 2, 3, 4, 5, B, D, N, Q, R, and W subway trains, as well as being the terminus for the Atlantic Branch of the Long Island Railroad.
Standing at street level from the southeast corner of this intersection, one can look across Atlantic Avenue and see the 3-story Atlantic Terminal Mall across the street; next to this mall but connected by a 2nd-story footbridge to the east, across Fort Greene Place, sits Atlantic Center, a second 3-story mall. Behind you, on the southeast corner of the intersection, sits the steel-clad Barclays Center, now flanked on its three “back” sides by condominiums.
On the west side of Flatbush Avenue, to the southwest, sits a currently (as of 2023) shuttered one-story Modell’s Sporting Goods store and a currently open P.C. Richards electronics store, while, to the northwest, another small triangle housing the lone one-story Flemish-style Times Control House, a small kiosk or “headhouse” designed by master architects Heinz & LaFarge in 1908. Beyond the kiosk, Boerum Hill, with its four-story rows of brownstones and shops, begins to stretch out.
The two streets themselves, Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, are two of Brooklyn’s busiest, as the 10.3-mile Atlantic Avenue runs west to New York Bay and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and east across Brooklyn and into Queens, where it ends at the Jamaica Long Island Railroad Terminal, while the 9.9-mile Flatbush Avenue heads northwest and connects to the Manhattan Bridge and eventually Canal Street on the Manhattan side of the East River, as well as southeast through many Brooklyn neighborhoods, eventually winding up connecting to the Marine Parkway Bridge and the Rockaways.
The Plaza is at the center of enormous activity but contributes nothing to the neighborhood.
That’s a lot going on all in one place, even for New York City. And one would think that such a junction would somehow be demarcated, if not beloved, by, well…something. Yes, the 40-story Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower rises majestically behind Atlantic Terminal, and yes, the Barclays Center, with its curved cor-ten steel cladding, swooping lines, and green roof provide a modern architectural counterpoint to the Byzantine/Romanesque style of the Savings Bank Tower. But these two architectural standouts are unfortunately counterbalanced with the utter banality of the Atlantic Terminal Mall, the Atlantic Center Mall, and the one-story Modell’s and P.C. Richard’s stores.
Of course, this site was originally demarcated by the two-story Flatbush Avenue station, now demolished. This station originally took up the footprint of both the current Atlantic Terminal Mall as well as its outdoor plaza; over the decades, it fell into greater and greater disrepair as more and more of its original architectural highlights (such as its glass roof) were covered over or left to crumble into dust. Consequently, the final decision was to demolish and build a new station (if any of this sounds familiar, we’re assuming it’s because you know the story of the original Penn Station in Manhattan).
And, just like the demolished Penn Station, the new “solution” to creating a modernized, user-friendly hub was to keep all the tracks and terminals buried so far below ground that almost no natural light could get through, and cover over everything with tons of concrete and utterly charmless architecture.
Ironically, however, some outdoor space was actually reclaimed in the building of the new Atlantic Terminal; thus, the creation of the triangular outdoor plaza we have today.
Current Conditions as of 2023
The current triangular space sits a few steps above grade right in front of one of Atlantic Mall’s entrances. There is a bank of trees, bordered by a two-foot high polished stone wall, that separates the main plaza from Atlantic Avenue. People can and do sit on this wall, facing outward south to Atlantic Avenue, as well as sit on the half-dozen benches on the plaza side of the tree bank; the trees do provide sunlight to bench-sitters in the afternoon. A small unmanned information kiosk also sits in the plaza.
As for the three-story high wall of the Atlantic Terminal Mall itself, there are some awnings jutting out from the first-floor businesses, a small awning above the entrance to the terminal and identifying it as such, and logo-specific signage above the entrance to the terminal for (as of 2023) Best Buy, Guitar Center, Applebee’s, and DSW, while Target’s logo is below the terminal awning. Other shops have logos or signage on either side of the terminal entrance. At no point does the entrance to the terminal tell pedestrians anything about their being a major transit hub underneath it–there is no LIRR or MTA signage whatsoever on this side of the building.
The plaza is generally well-maintained and kept free of garbage or other detritus; the Fort Greene Place side of the plaza is very busy 7 days a week with many cars dropping off and picking up passengers who have large shopping carts from either the Target or the Stop n’ Shop across the street at Atlantic Station Mall. Finally, there is a large row of Citibikes that sit between the sidewalk and Atlantic Avenue itself.
As for events, an October “Fall Festival” event was on the Atlantic Terminal calendar, but no other events were listed for the following six months between November 2023-April 2024..
That’s the crop.
How to Improve The Plaza–Cheaply
There’s a few simple steps that can be taken to “warm up” the space. Before we do anything, though, the space itself needs an actual identity. It’s currently an unnamed plaza. Can we come up with a famous Brooklynite to name it after? Doesn’t really matter who–a writer, a baseball player, a politician, anyone. We could then book an event where we dedicate this new space to this person, whoever it is.
Along with an identity, we would then add signage to the plaza identifying it as such. This would be the first step in some sort of branding of the space. Branding can take place with something as minor as a commemorative plaque or sign, or go further into a set of banners or flags or een a billboard that boldly announces, from more than one sightline, what the plaza is.
Along with the signage, we can post a set of rules and regulations for the space as well. This tells park users what activities can and can’t be done within the boundaries of the space. While this seems to be an authoritarian step, most or all of the rules can be “positive action” rules–telling people what they can do in the park as opposed to what they can’t do in the park. This may then give people ideas for what they could use the space for–and they would then actually use it in that way.
Bryant Park’s rules signage is as much about what one can do as about what one can’t.
Next up, we would propose removing the unmanned, rather useless information kiosk with an actual functional coffee or taco kiosk concession instead. Any easy food will do. While this would slightly increase the footprint of the current kiosk, it would provide a service that is lacking in the area (especially with the Starbucks closing across the street at the Barclays Center!), and keep people IN the plaza for longer periods of time. Non-window sides of the kiosk can still display any information that the terminal and/or mall wish to communicate to people, as well as all sorts of community notices. The rebuilt kiosk can also include signage with the plaza name as well, taking care of the identity and branding issues that the plaza currently has. The location is ideal for a signature kiosk that, given the volume of activity here, could do tremendous business.
A kiosk, such as this famous example of Lisbon’s outdoor stands, will do much for the Plaza.
Along with the coffee or taco stand itself, folding chairs and tables can be scattered about the plaza, allowing folks to remain longer and warming the space up with actual users. Many, many small parks have these tables and chairs throughout New York City (and other cities of course), and their presence promotes longer stays as well as provides people a chance to enjoy whatever they’ve purchased for consumption at the coffee/food kiosk. It also prevents any kind of unwanted use (such as skateboarding) to take place in the space during the day while the tables and chairs are distributed throughout the space.
Currently the space is an uninterrupted triangle of off-white stone, cross-hatched with lines of red stone, creating large rectangles as seen from above. We could reclaim a few of these rectilinear grid spaces as islands of plants, with perhaps more benches or chairs abutting these islands. This would create a bit more green space within the plaza and “break up” the large expanse of triangular stone in front of the terminal. Umbrellas, planters and movable furniture will transform the place and help make it a destination.
Greeley Square did not have much to recommend it to users, but planters, umbrellas and movable seating transformed it into a PLACE.
Finally, the lighting within the plaza is provided by a series of silver light poles; the lighting and the poles themselves are sufficient, but painting the poles black would create a bit more elegance and move the visual away from the slightly industrial-looking silver-gray.
Bringing the Project to a New Level
If more funding were available for this newly-named plaza, a second series of steps could be initiated. Many of these would focus on providing additional amenities to the plaza that would keep people there longer.
For instance, the installation of electric outlets and charging ports would provide an additional amenity for plaza visitors to linger and enjoy the space for longer periods of time.
Power outlets are the joy of regulars in Bryant Park. 48 are available for use!
In summer, shade sails could be installed that block the sun’s most powerful, overhead rays, providing a bit of respite from the heat of the city. Another cooling option would be a small water fountain that would double as both a second visual counterpoint to the newly-installed food kiosk, as well as provide cooling and seating functions to plaza visitors. At night, string lights would warm up the space; strings can emanate from the rebuilt kiosk and radiate outwards to the corners of the plaza, defining the shape of the plaza and creating a cozy space for folks to linger after dark. The kiosk can easily remain open later into the night given the business of the terminal, the mall, and the Barclays Center.
No lighting is more effective than string lights to make people feel good in public spaces.
Finally, we can start, at this level, to begin to bring in art programs to the plaza. Either a permanent or rotating sculpture could (probably in lieu of the water fountain) be placed as a counterpoint to the kiosk; additionally, murals can be painted on level three of the Atlantic Terminal building (perhaps something that tells folks about the LIRR and subway stations underneath, similar to the wonderful subway art programs the MTA funds?) and/or the Atlantic Center building, which currently has two giant blank spaces above its two hideous Atlantic Avenue portals (the Burlington Coat Factory and Marshalls entrances).
Good murals come to define places, as this one at the York Street subway entrance.
If Money Was No Object…And Why Would it Be?
At this level, we can begin to actually program the newly-named plaza with more events. These can be daytime or even early evening concerts or busker programs, morning child-friendly events such as sack races or egg tosses; impromptu events such as building snowmen during snow days, and other craft or music programs, perhaps sponsored by businesses within the mall such as Target, Guitar Center, and Chuck E. Cheese. A serious holiday decor would also be most welcome.
An artificial climbing boulder requires little space but will become a children’s favorite.
Given the number of children that visit this area (between Chuck E. Cheese and just being in tow while their parents shop at the malls), additional child-friendly activities could be installed. If neither the fountain nor the permanent sculpture was created, a climbing structure could be put into the plaza instead; additionally a slide could perhaps be installed from the second floor of the Target for kids to use.
On the actual corner of Atlantic Avenue and Fort Greene Place, a full information kiosk could be installed, with information about the stores, the terminal, the Barclays Center, and tourist information on Brooklyn. This would be in additional to the information that can be put on the some of the sides of the food kiosk.
Finally, a flag program can be installed either around the perimeter of the space or perhaps coming out of the top of the building–either flags from around the world, or all 50 states, or perhaps custom-designed flags representing all the neighborhoods of Brooklyn. These types of visual redesigns would breathe new life into the currently unnamed, underprogrammed plaza.
The dynamism of the flags on Fifth Avenue contributed to establish the commercial success of the street.
In Conclusion
While the list above would seem fraught with roadblocks of all kinds, such as maintenance issues, funding problems, permitting challenges, and more, the only thing that we know for sure is that this current unnamed, underutilized space is ripe for the challenge of having it be something more that it currently is. And we’re happy to be part of the conversation.
Interesting archival photos of the old station:
http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/Atlantic%20Branch/Atlantic%20Branch.htm
https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/flashback-lirrs-old-flatbush-ave-terminal