The Barclays Center--Basketball is Coming To Brooklyn!

I was excited to see the progress of the new Barclays Center basketball arena today, that is under construction in Brooklyn, New York. The arena is intended to serve as the new home for the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets, currently based at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The team will be renamed the Brooklyn Nets starting with the arena's expected opening season of 2012–13.This move would mark the return of major league sports to Brooklyn, which has been absent since the departure of the beloved Dodgers baseball team that moved to Los Angeles in 1957.

Located at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, the Barclays Center is in close proximity to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, the central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Brooklyn Museum. It is within easy walking distance from several neighborhoods, such as Park Slope and Fort Greene

The Barclays Center is also located on top of one of the largest public transit hubs in New York, with many subway and bus lines and the Long Island Railroad in close proximity.

I am excited to know that I'll soon be able to see not only basketball games, so close to home, but I'll also have the

opportunity to see other world class entertainers such as Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli's upcoming December performance.   With approximately 18,000 seats for basketball and up to 19,000 seats for concerts, 100 luxury suites, four bars/lounges, three clubs, and a restaurant, the Barclays Center will certainly be a wonderful asset for Brooklyn entertainment!

"A Slice of Brooklyn" TV Show!

photo source

In the past I've written posts about The Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tour, The Slice of Brooklyn Neighborhood Tour Part One,  Part Two, and Part Three, and The Slice of Brooklyn Christmas Lights and Cannoli Tour," and now I'm excited to announce that there will be an hour long special on the Travel Channel on Wednesday, March 7th, at 10 PM called  "Slice of Brooklyn,"  which will show the joys, trials and tribulations of running a successful family run tours in the popular New York City borough of Brooklyn.

'A Slice of Brooklyn': MyFoxNY.com

MyFoxNY.com interview the tour owner, Tony Muia, about the show, which you can see in the video above.

Here is how the Travel Channel describes the show:

"Slice of Brooklyn" is an authentic, fun and informative glimpse into the lives of native Brooklynites Tony Muia, his cousin Paula, and his friends from the old neighborhood that he appropriately calls his "consiglieri": Uncle Louie, Fat Sal and Frankie Pancakes.

What makes this oddball family so special is that they run a small but
very successful tour bus company highlighting the best foods, neighborhoods, landmarks and famous movie locations in Brooklyn, NY. 

Their wildly popular pizza tour is always booked to capacity and has
even been voted the #1 tour of Brooklyn on Tripadvisor!

But there are bigger fish swarming through the East River from Manhattan
and they're trying to gobble up his clients.  Will Tony be able to keep his business afloat with multi-million dollar tour companies looking to take over his turf? One thing for sure is that Tony is not going down without a fight."

 


A short Travel Channel promo video for the show is above.  As you can see, there is some strong language, which I imagine remains "bleeped" out, but the producers of the show wanted this type of reality grittiness.

* As full disclosure, The Slice of Brooklyn tour host,Tony Muia, is a relative of my husband.  Good luck Tony!  You and Paula are excellent tour guides and show how wonderful Brooklyn really is! We are thrilled for you and wish you much success with the show!