Quote:
Originally Posted by MAC123
If I had to rank them it would be
HY proposal
Times Square
This most recent proposal
Coney Island
Nassau
Citifield parking lot
The 2 existing ones
The ferris wheel by the UN.
The last 2 shouldn't even be considered, they are by far the worst options and it's not even close.
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I don’t think the Citifield proposal has a chance because the state would have to switch it from park land. There’s no reason to do that, with so many other options. The logical thing there would be to swap locations with the planned soccer stadium, but that’s why it won’t happen. Though I still would like to see what SHoP came up with.
Silverstein’s proposal, while I like the design, seems to be taking a shot because the site itself is large enough, it’s near the convention center, and all the other cool kids are doing it. But his biggest weakness is transit. New York is a very transit related city, and a major casino needs to have a station nearby, not just close. That’s also the biggest problem with the Con Ed site. Other casinos, like the Saks proposal, is not what the state has in mind, though maybe some years down the line.
They are looking for the biggest, most transformative projects that will reach the most people, and bring in the most bucks. That’s why out of city bids (Yonkers, Nassau) aren’t the most attractive options. And as far as Yonkers and Aqueduct go, they can continue to operate as they do now. The state has limited itself to 3 options, and they need to go where the crowds are, where development can happen, and there is easy access to transit.
If they go with the most sensible options (a BIG if), then I would say Times Square, Hudson Yards, and Coney Island. You’re not going to please everyone, so I don’t even know why they made that pretense part of the selection process. But the politicians on Long Island (Nassau bid) have gotten behind that proposal because they know it would be a plus to the area, despite the NIMBY complaints. We have yet to see that for the city proposals, beyond the support of the mayor himself. It will be interesting to see how that’s resolved.