(SIAC) and Brooklyn Union Gas. SIAC decided to move to MetroTech because the site was on a separate power grid from Manhattan's, which meant their operations would be safe if Manhattan experienced a power failure, as had happened in the New York City blackout of 1977. The move that sealed the decision to build the MetroTech vision begun by Bugliarello was convincing Chase Manhattan Bank (now JPMorgan Chase) to relocate its back office operations there. The 1980s and 1990s were a period of major large-scale development activity and renewal in Downtown Brooklyn. The MetroTech Center office complex was at the center of this revitalization and within walking distance of several other major development projects including Pierrepont Plaza, the Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, Atlantic Terminal Mall, and Renaissance Plaza. MetroTech was controversial when it was created because it involved the demolition of over 100 homes and 50 businesses. MetroTech Center was formed in 1992 by making a rectangle of downtown Brooklyn into a superblock (bounded by Jay Street, Johnson Street, Flatbush Avenue, and Myrtle Avenue), to allow the erection of new office buildings and parking garages. Dozens of older buildings had to be demolished in order to clear this space for the construction of the new center. The entire area was designated a pedestrian zone, and, as a consequence, the north ends of Lawrence and Duffield Streets were closed to automobile traffic. From 2000 to 2016, the MetroTech complex generated more than $1 billion in new investment, representing more than five million square feet of new space. In 2017, New York University announced that it would invest over $500 million in its Brooklyn Campus that mainly includes the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and Center for Urban Science and Progress. In 2018, Brookfield Properties purchased the MetroTech complex. In 2022, Brookfield Properties announced that MetroTech would be renamed Brooklyn Commons. The private plaza at MetroTech Commons was renamed Brooklyn Commons Park, and James Corner Field Operations was hired to renovate the plaza. Brookfield also announced that One MetroTech, Two MetroTech, and Fifteen MetroTech would be substantially renovated, with new lobbies, retail spaces, and terraces. The work was budgeted at $50 million, and the project was scheduled to be completed in 2023. Brooklyn Commons Park Brooklyn Commons Park (formerly MetroTech Commons) is the privately owned public space at the heart of the Brooklyn Commons complex. It hosts events including concerts, health