The Brooklyn Nets & Barclays Center have announced their official transportation plan in the wake of Hurricane Sandy for Saturday night’s opener against the Toronto Raptors. Here’s everything you need to know about transportation, direct from the Barclays Center, including some additional notes:
Special Free Shuttle Buses: The Brooklyn Nets have leased a fleet of Best Trails and Travel buses to offer fans free round-trip transportation on a first-come, first-served basis from Manhattan, at 9th Avenue between 40th and 41st streets, to Barclays Center. The first bus will depart at 4:30 p.m., with five additional buses arriving for pick-up approximately every 15 minutes. After the game, passengers can re-board the buses on Atlantic Avenue, directly across the street from the arena, near South Portland Avenue, to return to Manhattan.
Note: If you live in Midtown or take transportation into Port Authority/Penn Station, this may be your best bet. My suggestion, as you’ll see a lot of times in this: get in as early as possible.
MTA Buses: All MTA Brooklyn bus routes have been restored with limited service, however the MTA will be providing additional buses to the routes serving the arena as necessary for both the pre and post game periods. Eleven bus lines stop near the arena: B25, B26, B38, B41, B45, B52, B63, B65, B67, B69, and B103. In addition, the MTA will continue to offer free buses from Manhattan’s East Side, with pick-up at 54th Street and Lexington Avenue and which will be stopping at 4th Avenue and Pacific Street, one block west of the arena. The trip will make six stops.
Note: Without subways running at full capacity, the buses have been completely packed these past few days. Don’t anticipate a lot of space or to catch the first bus you see. Again, if you’re coming by transportation, get in as early as possible. Spend the day walking around Fort Greene Park. Check out the lovely Downtown Brooklyn area. But don’t try to catch a bus an hour before the game and assume all will be well.
Subways/LIRR: Some subway and LIRR lines are working and will bring fans to Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center or LIRR Atlantic Terminal. The D, R, 4 and 5 trains from Brooklyn stop at Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and the A train is stopping at nearby Lafayette Avenue. There is currently no subway service between Manhattan and Barclays Center. LIRR service will be operating hourly between Atlantic Terminal and Jamaica only.
Note: Keep in mind this is for Brooklyn service only, and these are the only trains running. So unless you live on one of those lines or can get to them easily, don’t try to get there by train.
UPDATE: Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today that the 4-5-6 subway lines are now operating through the Bronx and Manhattan, and the 4-5 lines will travel to Brooklyn — allowing fans from the Bronx and Manhattan to take the 4 or 5 trains to Barclays Center.
The 4 and 5 are operating in Manhattan as express lines only, meaning they’ll only stop in Manhattan at these locations:
- 125th St
- 86th St
- 59th St
- Grand Central Station
- 14th St-Union Square
- Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall (the 6 line, which does not go to Barclays Center even at full capacity, ends here)
- Fulton St
- Wall St
If you can make it to the 4 or 5 train in the Bronx or Manhattan, that may be your best bet.
Parking: Ticketholders are encouraged to utilize the Barclays Center pre-paid parking system, operated by Click and Park, at www.BarclaysCenter.com through which they can reserve parking spaces in a specific lot located within easy walking distance of the arena. There are 18 parking facilities with approximately 3,500 parking spaces available within a half-mile radius of the arena. There are also five remote parking facilities within a mile of Barclays Center, with more than 1,200 spaces.
Carpooling: Barclays Center encourages carpooling. The Click and Park pre-paid reservation system offers discounted parking passes for HOV vehicles; HOV status is three people per vehicle or proof of purchase of a minimum of three tickets to the game.
Note: If you live within walking distance of the arena, don’t think about driving. It’s just not worth it. If you do have to drive, remember, parking is not cheap, and less not cheap during game nights. Look up anything you can beforehand. The carpool restrictions are getting lifted tomorrow, so you can legally drive in solo, but carpool as much as you can and get those bonuses.
Black Cars: For patrons utilizing black cars, drivers must be notified that no-idling laws will be strictly enforced. A drop-off/pick-up zone is available on the east-bound side of Atlantic Avenue between Fort Greene Place and 6th Avenue.
Yellow Taxis: Fans are reminded that yellow taxis in the City will be picking up multiple passengers.
Note: they take those no-idling laws seriously. Be ready to pay or be ready for hell. The Eastbound side of Atlantic Avenue makes the most sense, but anticipate a LOT of traffic.
Bicycle Parking: Barclays Center offers a free and secure bicycle parking lot for 400 bikes at the corner of Dean Street and 6th Avenue, just steps from the Dean Street entrance.
Note: I’ve seen those bike racks. If 400 bikes are parked there, it’s going to be a madhouse. If you’re biking, get there early, and expect to wade through heaps of bikes getting out.
Early Arrival Encouraged: In order to spread out traffic and make transportation easier overall, Barclays Center is opening its doors to patrons at 5:30 p.m. A special offering on food in the arena will be in place from 5:30 to 7 pm.
Entrances: The following are the arena’s three general entrances and one VIP entrance.
Geico Atrium, the Main Entrance, located at the Intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue. The American Express Box Office is located here.
EmblemHealth Atlantic Entrance, Northeast corner of arena on Atlantic Avenue.
EmblemHealth Dean Entrance, Southeast corner of arena on Dean Street.
Calvin Klein VIP Entrance, Northwest corner of arena on Atlantic Avenue.
Final Note: GET THERE EARLY. Even if you don’t want to walk in at 5:30, you don’t want to be stuck in traffic or smushed between seven people on a 6:00 bus.
