Although New York City is always changing, it’s hard to imagine to imagine it as anything other than what it is. But change is part of New York’s identity. It is manifest in the crowds of people swept up and spilled out of the island metropolis. Even evidence of New York’s history–in the recreated apartments of the Tenement Museum, for example, and the old City Hall subway station–still feel folded up in this vision. New York has endless layers: you can ascend seventy floors in an elevator to get to your office or descend four stories on the escalator to ride the subway.
To imagine another New York–a different New York, rather than one that has previously existed or secretly exists–is a different matter. It rings of an alternate timeline, so anchored is this city’s iconic skyline in its urban identity. Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin have documented just that, though, in their book Never Built New York. By canvassing architectural firms and archives when available, the authors have unearthed designs and plans for a New York that might have been. Not only could these designs have become a reality, but they might have taken the place of other now iconic architecture in the city.
Some projects were closer to inception than others, but many would have radically altered the cityscape. A gigantic dome over Midtown and a floating airport on the Hudson seem some of the more far-fetched ideas, as does an ambitious extension of downtown Manhattan into New York Bay. As the authors point out, however, these ideas may not have seemed so extreme when first proposed. “’It was a time when people really believed in the power of technology,” Lubell says. ‘And they thought, you know, we can do kind of anything. … We’re building spaceships that go to the moon, why can’t we build a dome over Manhattan to get rid of all this pollution, get rid of all the problems of weather?’”
That’s all well and good, but what about Frank Lloyd Wright’s proposal to transform Ellis Island into a bubble city? And his plan might have been preferable to the immediate alternatives: a prison or a resort. Ellis Island wasn’t in use for long after WWII, so it makes sense the city would want to develop it. No landmark is sacred, as proved by the demolished old Penn Station. And Grand Central Station isn’t still standing for lack of trying.
Many city landmarks might have looked very different if, for example, City Hall had been rebuilt as a “neo-Egyptian pile” in the style of Scottish architect George Ashdown Audsley around the turn of the turn of the twentieth century. And the Federal Reserve Bank could have been made of glass and elevated many stories above the ground via steel columns! Speaking of columns, residential towers were once considered for use as supports of bridges spanning city rivers.
Although some of the designs may sound impossible, some would have undoubtedly complemented the city, like Edward Larrabee Barnes’s 1974 biosphere. Some might have improved the skyline, like a Columbus Circle building for ABC designed in 1963 to take the shape of a flower. There’s also the proposed 2004 Olympic Village, situated on the now booming Queens waterfront…
To help New Yorkers and visitors imagine a Big Apple that might have been, the authors are working with the Queens Museum to reconstruct atop the museum’s existing model of the city. The exhibit will open later in 2017.
Featured image: American Weekly via pri.org
At over a century old and over maximum capacity, The New York subway system is in desperate need of an upgrade. Each weekday, over 5 million riders enter train cars built to withstand approximately 70,000 daily riders, and rely on them to safely and swiftly reach their destination. While MTA-related issues seem to pile up with each passing year, renovations require a great deal of both money and time, not to mention the patience of anxious commuters.
So how does the MTA keep operating trains and tracks safe and functional when it comes time to repair others? It’s a complicated story that has to do with money, population growth and aging infrastructure, among other factors.
Here’s what you need to know about how the MTA plans and executes their major renovations, how long they might take, and what to expect for the future of the NYC subway.
The MTA is still fixing and fortifying, years after Sandy.
To understand how the MTA works, it makes sense to look at its past and ongoing projects. When Hurricane Sandy slammed the east coast in 2012, much of the city was spared — but the subways have ceased to be the same. The ensuing “Fix & Fortify” campaign by the MTA is still ongoing. It’s next focus will be on repairing the L train, a highly trafficked cross-borough line.
This project won’t begin until 2019, but when it does, managing the commute to or from the Williamsburg and Bushwick areas won’t be easy. The MTA predicts either a complete 18-month shutdown or three years of limited service in order to repair the line’s Canarsie tube, which was severely compromised by flooding.
Sandy repairs are typically accomplished on weekends and nights to minimally impact highly-congested workday commutes. Tunnels like the Clark, Rutgers and Cranberry tubes are among those subjected to weekend repairs, to the inconvenience of F, 2 and 3 train riders.
Record numbers of riders mean more repairs and more delays.
Even before Sandy, the MTA’s struggles were real — and challenging enough that the MTA has been compared to Sisyphus in his quest to roll a boulder uphill. Increased crowding and aging infrastructure means more repairs and more funding is necessary just to keep up with average wear and tear. The prospect of future hurricanes only ramp up the gravity of the situation.
Unfortunately, the MTA isn’t in any position to accomplish these fixes immediately. This is in part thanks to record ridership, which has risen to nearly 6 million people a day up from about 4 million in the 1990s. This crowding, in turn, has lead to a swelling delays, which have quadrupled since 2012 to about 20,000 a year.
Thanks to debt and budget constraint, the MTA is in financial straits.
Another obstacle preventing the MTA from immediately acting on repairs is their delicate financial situation. The city and the state split the cost of the MTA’s budget, the rest of which is made up by riders’ fare prices, but Albany has not been eager to help fund the agency. Only when the MTA uses up its resources from the prior round of funding will the state’s contribution be “anticipated” rather than “mandated,” meaning necessary funding could be delayed even further.
Next, let’s not forget the MTA’s massive debt of $34 billion, which is greater than 30 of the world’s countries combined. In the 1980s, the MTA began borrowing from banks to fund luxury projects; now, raised rider-fares are paying back the extravagant ideas of the past. This model is especially unsustainable considering revenues are rising 1.5 percent each year, while costs rise 5.5 percent, according to NY Mag.
It could take 50 years to fix all subway’s issues.
Between debt, hurricanes, and overcrowding, the MTA certainly has its work cut out. And while crucial repairs will need to be made, some say we’re likely to be half a century before we see it all completed. That’s according to the Citizens Budget Commissions, which estimates that stairs, platforms and pillars in 280 of New York City’s 668 stations won’t be fully fixed until 2067.
52 years is two-thirds the human lifespan — far too long to wait for necessary updates to keep riders safe and the subway running smoothly. Still, gradual repairs are certainly better than none at all.
The MTA is still prioritizing tech and expansion projects.
Repairs are necessary on the day-to-day, but above all, the MTA has the future in mind. While it’s easy for daily riders to assume the MTA should focus solely on repairs, it’s critical to think ahead. As the city’s population flourishes and ridership grows, expansion will be needed just to free up space and stop the strain on current lines.
“At a time when growing ridership is leading to crowding and delays, we must pursue expansion projects,” MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz told the NY Daily News.
Recent expansion projects have been less than fruitful so far, with projects like the Second Avenue expansion delayed indefinably.
Technology projects are moving along much better, with all underground stations set to be fully equipped with WiFi by 2017. Subways will soon begin accepting contactless payments, too, and new countdown clocks and subway cars will also be added gradually. The clocks we can expect on lettered lines in 2018, and the cars we may see replacing the old C, J and Z trains by 2022.
Creative solutions for consideration
With public services that New York’s residents and economy rely on, cutting costs and downsizing in a fashion similar to a business would only make matters worst. Revenue and a large labor force is vital to completing projects, but continuing to raise fare prices is not exactly fair to cash-strapped commuters.
The Daily Dot has suggested that the MTA could benefit from an ultra-useful train-tracking app with a one-time fee for users, as well as WiFi and solar panels for diversified revenue streams. NY Mag suggests cutting bloated administrative costs, privatizing buses, selling and leasing MTA-owned real estate, and raising toll prices for drivers. The Move NY plan in particular would collect $1.35 billion a year in revenue from bridge tolls, congestion pricing, and taxi surcharges.
It’s a complicated situation, and no solution will come without losses of its own. But in order for the subway to keep running at the quality and speed at which we need it, we need the MTA to keep its head dry amidst a storm of gnarly obstacles.
One of the largest museums in the world is about to get larger and a lot more surreal. The American Museum of Natural History, situated across the street from Central Park in New York City’s Upper East Side, has plans to add a new wing to its already impressive 27-building facility.
The design, described as “part Dr. Seuss, part Jurassic Park” by the New York Times, comes from the imagination of architect Jeanne Gang, who won a competition for the honor. Gang, founder of the Chicago firm Studio Gang Architects, offers a unique vision for the building, expected to open in 2019 in celebration of the museum’s 150th anniversary.
At once futuristic and historic, the design concept mimics the structure of natural caves and glacial formations to create towering halls and circulatory pathways within a wondrous, abstract building. The design is at home with the museum in subject matter of magnificent creatures, science, and peoples of the past, but diverges in regards to structure, which is more reminiscent of a theme park than a traditional museum.
The theatrical quality of the design may be the perfect direction for the famed museum. With half a million school-children visited yearly and thousands of teachers trained, the fantastical form reinforces the museum’s its reputation as a fun and educational destination for people of all ages. The imagination it encompasses could spur in today’s youth scientific interest and curiosities to last a lifetime, ultimately shaping the future of the sciences.
150 years in the making
It has taken nearly a century and a half of growth and development for the American Museum of Natural History to reach this point. Established in 1869, the museum was first housed in Central Park’s Arsenal Building before today’s facility began construction. The museum’s founding realized the dreams of naturalist and student of zoology Dr. Albert S. Bickmore, who lobbied tirelessly for a natural history museum.
The first building was constructed in 1874 and opened in 1877, after which more were added over the course of many decades. With architecture ranging from Victorian Gothic to neo-Romanesque and Beaux-arts, the museum is a magnificent hodgepodge of science and history outside-in.
The museum’s many buildings were built and connected over time, and not always with rhyme or reason. One of the purposes of the new expansion will be to add additional connections between levels across buildings to alleviate confusion and congestion.
Little has been added to the museum’s exterior since the 1930s, though in 2009 its south front was cleaned, repaired, and renovated, and in 2012 the North Hall of Mammals was refurbished.
The upcoming addition will add to the museum’s facade a contemporary, silvery exterior made of stone and glass, in stark contrast to the red brick of its neighbors.
Dissent and cooperation
Not everyone was initially keen on the expansion, as it will encroach (however slightly) upon the beloved and historic Teddy Roosevelt Park. After its announcement in Fall of 2015, over 200 locals gathered at a town hall meeting for an organization called “Defenders of Teddy Roosevelt Park.”
The $325 million project will take up 218,000 square feet or new space, 116,000 of which will be parkland: about a quarter of an acre. But planners are eager to please locals, especially in the wake of their protests. To limit obstruction, three buildings are being taken down to make room for the new one so it does not protrude much onto treasured park space. Neither will it protrude vertically: the six-story building was designed carefully not to extend higher than existing buildings.
The “Defenders,” as they call themselves, successfully secured a 50 percent reduction in parkland lost to the expansion as of March 10. They were even invited to help redesign the park to ensure it matches or surpasses the space lost to the expansion.
All in all, it seems that the expansion plans will be considerate of community needs, museum goals, and the future of natural history education. After 150 years, the new building should offer an apt 21st-century update that is respectful to the past, hopeful for the future, and earnest to keep the sciences fascinating and awesome.