Spectators and club-goers at the soon-to-open Barclays Center won’t be able to score booze after 1 am thanks to a state decision that residents are calling a small win for the neighborhood.
Vendors at the 18,000-seat stadium must stop selling alcohol prior to the fourth quarter of basketball games, one hour before concerts end — and no later than 1 am if any event runs that late, the State Liquor Authority ruled on Wednesday.
Neighbors say the booze curfew — which is an hour earlier than the 2 am last call requested by the Barclays Center — will help prevent throngs of drunken fans from trashing and disrupting residential streets around the arena.
“There are a lot of people who wanted see a much earlier cut-off — but overall it’s a positive decision,” said Gib Veconi of Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council.
The last call rule applies to the arena’s 53 vendors, including Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club as well as all “premium access” sections such as luxury boxes.
The decision to implement a 1 am last call comes after dozens of residents stormed a Community Board 6 hoping to block the arena’s liquor license bid altogether. The neighborhood group later signed off on the stadium’s request for a 2 am alcohol cut-off — despite outcry from neighbors who wanted the booze to stop flowing as early as 10 pm.
The 1 am rule is roughly three and a half hours later than the cut-off Wrigley Field in Chicago, which is comparable to Barclays Center because of its size and proximity to residential streets.
That’s part of the reason some arena neighbors say the serving times must be scaled back further.
“I’d like to see it much earlier,” said Peter Krashes of the Dean Street Block Association. “These streets are not designed withstand noise and crowds.”
Reach reporter Natalie O'Neill at noneill@cnglocal.com or by calling her at (718) 260-4505.
