As Carlton Avenue Bridge proceeds toward completion, a "September is Just the Beginning" banner waves nearby

The reconstruction of the Carlton Avenue Bridge, which has to be open before the Barclays Center arena opens on Sept. 28, is nearly finished.

But even before it's done, a "September is Just the Beginning" banner appears down the block on Carlton Avenue, right above a sign that announced the bridge closing, which began in January 2008.

Yes, there are banners on Carlton Avenue, even though they mysteriously appeared and were removed within 24 hours on equally residential Dean and Pacific streets.

What's going on? We don't really know, and we're still waiting for the Barclays Center Community Affairs Manager to be hired, so there's no single point person for the arena.

Sure, that's not an easy job--presumably the person would have to have a wide range of skills and the ability to be credible to both arena supporters and increasingly frustrated (I'll bet) arena neighbors. But Forest City Ratner has been pushing hard to get the arena open. Surely they recognize this position is pretty important too.

Below, the nearly completed bridge:

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