The good news is that the $390 million renovation of the Javits Center on the west side of Manhattan is coming along well and on target to be completed in 2014. The bad news is it that it will likely be torn down shortly thereafter.
Robin Pogrebin reports on Governor Cuomo's recently announced plans to demolish the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and replace it with a larger center to be built at the Aqueduct racetrack in Jamaica, Queens, with $4 billion from Genting, a Malaysian gambling company. Pogrebin speaks with Bruce Fowle, architect of the on-going renovation to the original Javits, and others involved with the project.
"The waste of creative energy, money and material that would result in its being torn down is painful to think about," Mr. Fowle said during a walk through the center last week. "When you're worrying about every detail - trying to do the best you can to make something that represents the city - it's like having the rug pulled out from under you."
Some would not be as disappointed by Mr. Fowle by the unusual turn of events. "It's just such an awful building that the only reason to keep it would be as a monument to stupidity," said Mark Wigley, the dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, about the original Javits.
FULL STORY: Let’s Raze Javits Center (but First Finish Renovations)
Massive, Expensive Redevelopment of Midtown Manhattan Proposed
New York Governor Cuomo's State of the State speeches last week included an ambitious proposal for a large-scale redevelopment project on Manhattan's west side, adjacent to Penn Station.
The Disconnect Between Virus Prevalence and Local Business Climate
Public health experts assert that to safely reopen the economy, the coronavirus needs to be contained. In Manhattan, where the virus is largely controlled, chain restaurants are closing while their sister stores in Florida are expanding.
Done Deal: Manhattan Congestion Pricing
Finally, congestion pricing, as applied to city cordons, not highways, will be coming to the U.S., thanks to a budget deal approved by the New York State Legislature early Sunday morning. Tolls below 60th Street should begin by Jan. 1, 2021.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.
BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.
Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service