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April 16, 2007
Smoke (and Mirrors) on the Water
A NY Times editorial contains some lessons for Atlantic Yards, really:
A first look at the drawing of the latest development proposal for the Yonkers waterfront is likely to elicit the kind of reaction a puzzled parent gives a bright-eyed toddler with paint-smeared fingers. “This is interesting, sweetie. Am I holding it right-side up?”
But then it hits you that this is serious....
But the main problem with this project, which is thankfully in the early stages of approval, is not its debatable aesthetics. It’s the scale....
When you add this new project to the others bubbling along in Yonkers — the $3.1 billion partnership of Stuever Fidelco Cappelli to build massive amounts of housing and offices and a ballpark downtown, and Forest City Ratner’s Ridge Hill mini-city to the north — you get the impression that the city’s eagerness to throw itself open to splashy development has trumped caution and patient good sense.
It’s impressive that the developers and architect have gone so far out of their way to imagine a complex that is so environmentally friendly, with rooftop windmills providing all its power and solar panels heating its water. And it’s wonderful that they want to include a contemporary art museum in the mix, instead of the usual lame assortment of high-end retail shops and services.
But all the eco-friendly attributes and all the chic extras amount to nothing if they blind the city to an oversized hulk that will squat by the river for generations, blocking light and diminishing public enjoyment by its massiveness.
NoLandGrab: There but for the grace of God, goes Brooklyn.
Posted by lumi at April 16, 2007 5:57 PM