Atlantic Yards: The Future Of Tomorrow, Today, But Mostly, Let's Say, Next Year. Or Later.

Photo: Tracy Collins/threece

We've already seen mockups of the post-Gehry Atlantic Yards design, but this one... well, it's lit up! Barclays, who now owns most of the post-financial crisis world, has its own "Barclays Center" letter blocks forming a V around the plaza, but most interesting is the evidence of the gentrification most feared the complex would bring to the neighborhood: if you look closely, those are all white people milling around the structure. Little, tiny, plastic white people pushing out the lower tax brackets!

Really, these models are just the latest barrage of architectural pornography, since the beleaguered and underfunded project has slowed to a crawl since the gung-ho early days, including the lawsuit that sought to halt it altogether (even though that died in the New York Supreme Court with a win for Ratner and the Yards). Now slated to open in 2011, the home of the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets may just throw off enough ambient light to scare aware the packs of rats currently holding court in the development's footprint. Surely, co-owner Jay-Z can drive them into the Gowanus Canal with his sweet, sweet beats.

Tags:   2011, architecture, atlantic yards, barclays center, brooklyn, canal, gehry, gowanus, jay z, nets, ratner, rats

Moynihan Moves Slightly Forward

Almost a year after Nicolai Ouroussoff's blistering piece on the worthless architecture of New York City, it looks like one of the most hated-by-locals square block of Manhattan may seem some change, and soon. Over the weekend, Amtrak agreed to relocate its Penn Station operations to the proposed Moynihan Station across the street to the old Farley Building. The super-massive structure, which is itself an entire city block in size, would relieve that adjacent block of its long-standing dual roles of transit hub and entertainment venue, something that has remained an uneasy truce since the current Garden was built in '68.

It bears mentioning that Moynihan Station—as beautiful as the conceptual renderings floating around the internet are—will always pale in comparison to the original structure that was demolished to make way for the "modern" sports and entertainment venue. The original Penn Station, an airy, steel-and-glass shrine to one of the most beloved American gods—transportation, has long been a cause for nostalgia and wringing of hands, and Moynihan Station is bound to be the girl New York ends up dating simply because it reminds us so much of the first girl that we ever loved, and who we subsequently allowed Mosean developers to raze and pave over.

Tags:   amtrak, city, farley building, madison square garden, moynihan station, new york, new york times, nicolai ouroussoff, paterson, penn station, robert moses, transporation

New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion // NY400

The NY400 celebration—marking, well, 400 years since Henry Hudson set sail for the New World—started with a press conference unveiling, among other things, Battery Park's newest addition: the New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion. The new public space, which is part of Peter Minuit Plaza, is envisioned as an open space for the many travelers commuting through Lower Manhattan to sit down and enjoy the park and the views before trudging back home or to work. The Plein & Pavilion is also intended to host events, open markets, and—according to the architect, Ben van Berkel—"a superb culinary experience."

Tags:   architecture, new amsterdam, new york, ny400, pavilion, plein

A new South Street Seaport; Battle of the Rinks

In New York, if you build it, they will complain. Mall-masters General Growth Properties' plan to redesign the South Street Seaport is outside of the area's historic district, but it is still managing to engender the ire of every community organization possible. Central to the complaints is the proposed 495-foot tower, which will host a luxury hotel and scattered condos, as well as several 120-foot tall "boutique" hotels what will be the former site of Pier 17. The Municipal Arts Society and the Community Board have argued against the redevelopment to the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission, saying that the tower's proximity to the Brooklyn Bridge will diminish the aesthetic stature of the historic bit of masonry. Besides, the view, from a distance, is reminiscent of the now-disassembled Waterfall installations along the East River.

What's not up for debate is the Seaport's new skating rink, opening in November. For $12, you can rent skates and spend the hours from 10am to 10pm gliding, falling, and bruising yourself on the Seaport's 8,000 square-foot rink.



Not to be outdone, the American Museum Of Natural History will also open up a brand new skating rink of its own in November. The museum is touting the rink as being "scientifically-engineered," which leads me to wonder exactly how every other rink's been engineered previously. Religiously-engineered? Questionably-engineered? Whatever the case may be, the rink will open six days before Seaport Ice, with a winning 12,000 square-feet of ice.



The "Polar Rink," as it's been dubbed, will be a bit more expensive, though, with adult non-members paying $19 for admission and rentals.

Tags:   american history of natural history, architecture, community board, development, ice skating, municipal arts society, new buildings, polar rink, rink, seaport ice, skating rinks, south street seaport