West Side Doom & Gloom: Moynihan the Key for Megaprojects

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Not long ago, Mayor Bloomberg called the redevelopment of the Far West Side "the single most important economic project that this city has undertaken in decades." He was talking about Moynihan Station, Hudson Yards, the Javits Center expansion and the extension of the 7-train. Now, most of those projects are in various stages of disarray (or in the case of Javits, death) and critics have been lining up to pound the rest into submission, citing factors like the credit crunch and poor planning. We've been rounding up these stories under the rubric West Side Doom & Gloom, and Charles Bagli's story on West Side redevelopment in the Times today is by far the gloomiest and doomiest. The argument is made that commercial development will be slow to creep west, especially if Moynihan Station doesn't get done.

That's why, some argue, all resources should be focused on Moynihan—even a smaller version if the Garden stays put—before work begins at Hudson Yards. Oh, and Hudson Yards should be completely rethought, too, because it sucks. Or at least David Childs thinks so. The situation on the West Side is now even more delicate with the addition of Brookfield Properties' Manhattan West. As we speculated, rejected Hudson Yards tenant Condé Nast has been negotiating with Brookfield for one of two office towers planned for the SOM Yards, but that too could be in jeopardy if Moynihan stalls. Ugh! Well, at least the High Line will make its way up there. Maybe.
· West Side Redevelopment Plans in Disarray [NYT]
· Moynihan Station Deathblow: MSG Pulls Out of Plan? [Curbed]
· Yardsmania: From 'Grim Referendum' to 'Damning Indictment' [Curbed]

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