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Originally Posted by BK1985
I would definitely like to see a MSG sphere on one of the west side piers
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Dolan (who built the Las Vegas Sphere) thought about it, but it was too costs prohibitive. Related tried to get an MSG move to the railyards, also declined. That would have done nothing more than anger the NIMBYs, who fought tooth and nail over the proposed Jets stadium. As it is now, they're lucky they aren't getting either of those things, but they can never be pleased.
There are some who spoke out, but the "community boards" don't actually represent the community. They represent the NIMBY arm, because only NIMBYs will actually join a community board. No one joins a community board to demand
more development.
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Despite supporters showing up in large numbers of community board meetings over the past few months to ask them to vote in favor, the board inexplicably wants to issue a blanket denial of the project. Fortunately, their vote isn’t binding, and there is another way forward – working together to make this project a reality.
Related has already updated their plans to reflect community feedback. Together, we can ask for additional changes that are realistic for the development and better for those of us who live nearby. If we can do that, in less than five years the community would have a brand-new park, keys to new apartments, thousands of new jobs, and dozens of new restaurants, coffee shops and stores in the surrounding area. It’s time for our elected officials to step up and move the plan ahead.
If not, we will just have a hole in the ground and some bragging rights that we blocked yet another development that wasn’t quite perfect.
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Those voices were ignored.
Related also spoke on the matter:
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In his recommendation, Levine suggested Related could win his support by adding more housing to conform with the 2009 plan, or by simply adding more affordable units. He also said the developer may need to reduce the size of the podium containing the hotel-casino, which would sit near the High Line’s northern terminus.
But Natalie Ravitz, a Related spokeswoman, called Levine’s suggestions unfeasible, saying that it would not earn enough money by adding residential units to pay for the costly platform Related needs to build over the existing train yard.
“There is no getting around the fact that the site cannot be developed without first paying for the $2 billion platform over the rail yards, and unfortunately it is simply not viable to pay for the platform with housing,” Ravitz said. “The housing units removed from the plan were multi-million dollar, luxury condos that the west side does not need and the market does not support.”
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Meanwhile:
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Community Board 4 — which represents the Hudson Yards neighborhood — voted unanimously last month against approving a zoning change to allow the project by Related Companies and Wynn to proceed, saying it would be bad for the neighborhood.
Friends of the High Line said dangling money won’t win support for the project.
“The fact that Related and Wynn are now trying to buy our community off shows just how out of touch they are. They need to scrap this plan and do what they should have done in the first place — work with the community to develop the Western Rail Yards in a way that increases housing, creates new jobs and protects the High Line,” said Friends of the High Line executive director Alan Van Capelle.
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This is why you don't bring idiots to the table. What jobs do they think they are bringing by reverting back to housing? And how exactly will developing the railyards - which would happen in either scenario - harm the High Line?
Hybrid Mode