Culture of Congestion
What’s new at NYU? Part II
Two protesters stood outside Hemmerdinger Hall, where the fifth open house for “Plan NYU 2031” took place recently, handing out literature from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
New York as the Unfinished City
A friend, who is an artist and an economist from France, on a recent visit said she loves New York so much because no matter how many times she’s been here she always finds it new and interesting. Well, couldn’t you say that about any great city? Apparently not.
Thomas Bender’s “ The Unfinished City: New York and the Metropolitan Idea” observes:
What’s New at NYU?
Last Wednesday I attended New York University’s fifth open house presenting the University’s latest vision for the next 25 years (or so), called “NYU Plans 2031.” The event drew a thick crowd of local residents to Hemmerdinger Hall on the east end of Washington Square Park. Inside were images on large poster boards, each with someone nearby to answer questions, illustrating both present conditions and possible future physical development.
Elevating Culture
Nick Paumgarten has written a fascinating sort of “all you ever wanted to know about elevators” article in the April 21st issue of The New Yorker, “Up and Then Down.”
(I don’t recall how I came across this piece, so a hat-tip may be necessary later if I do.)
David Sucher’s Three Rules for Walkable Neighborhoods
David Sucher thoughtfully addressed in his blog “City Comforts” back on April 17th (Sorry David, I’m a bit slow) the question I raised somewhat tongue-in-cheek in my post on “Jean Nouvel v. Community Board 5,” which objected to Mr. Nouvel’s proposed extension for MoMA for its lack of fit: “Can aesthetic impact statements be far behind”?
'City Council rebuffs Willets Point plan'
That’s a headline in today’s Crain’s New York Business.
"This plan is unacceptable, and we wish to inform you that without significant modifications, we will strongly oppose it, leaving no chance of it moving forward,” 29 council members wrote to Deputy Mayor of Economic Development Robert Lieber in a letter dated Monday. “We are disappointed that our deep reservations have gone repeatedly unaddressed.”
(Hat tip again to JW.)
Peter Gordon, Why Congestion Pricing Failed, and The City of Water
I’m long overdue in recommending the excellent blog of my friend and colleague at USC, Peter Gordon, “Peter Gordon’s Blog,” which covers mainly urban planning and real estate issues with engaging common sense.
In his April 11 post, Peter blogs an article from the journal Transport Policy, called "The political calculus of congestion pricing," in which the authors argue that
Jean Nouvel v. Community Board 5
A recent Sun article makes me wonder just what community boards think their role is when they try to block new architecture in their jurisdiction. I had blogged before about incentive and knowledge problems facing CBs, but the issue here is different.
Willets Point Businesses Fight Back
As a follow-up on an earlier post — “The Taking of Willets Point” – I’d like to share a Crain’s New York Business article that reports:
On Crow Eating, Madonna Dissing & Kindred-Spirit Sightings
OK, I was wrong. In my penultimate post on Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion-pricing proposal, I asserted, based on my reading of the political tea leaves, that its passage by the State Assembly should be “a done deal.” Well, I wasn’t close (unless you’re willing to let “not getting to a floor vote” count as close). I usually try really hard to avoid making economic predictions except in very general terms, so why I thought I could do better in the political realm I can’t say.
