City Preps for Tomorrow's Rail-Yard Rights Decision

NEW YORK CITY-A winning bid for development rights for the western portion of the Long Island Rail Road West Side Yard could be awarded tomorrow by the MTA Board. The possible development of a stadium on the site has created controversy since it was first discussed nearly five years ago. September, 2000

• Then Mayor Rudy Giuliani announces his desire for a stadium, whether the city’s bid for the 2012 Olympics succeeds or not. There was a possibility the Yankees would be lured from their home in the Bronx to the West Side. The mayor was also reportedly in talks with New York Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson IV and NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue about the team moving when its lease in New Jersey expired in 2008. Protestors were outside City Hall holding homemade banners and signs.

November, 2000

• A Quinnipiac University survey finds that 71% of city residents oppose using tax dollars to fund the construction of a West Side stadium and 55% do not want the stadium built at all. Giuliani characterized the respondents to the poll as misinformed and wrong, and says the proposed structure slotted from 10th Avenue from West 30th Street stretching north would create jobs and contribute greatly to the city’s economy.

December, 2001

• A blueprint for the revitalization of Far West Midtown, one of Manhattan’s few remaining development frontiers, is laid out by Mayor Giuliani. The crux of the report is an extension of the No. 7 subway line west to the Jacob Javits Convention Center, while plans for the mayor’s coveted West Side stadium project are left conspicuously vague.

June, 2002

• Prior to a visit from the US Olympic Committee, a coalition of neighborhood organizations, civic groups and political figures voice their objection to the proposed development of a stadium on the West Side. Proponents believe a stadium would be a major factor in the USOC’s decision. Opponents of the plan stress that they are not anti-Olympics, only anti-stadium, and claim that the media has failed to focus on the potential neighborhood impact and long-term cost that a stadium would incur.

May, 2003

• Vishaan Chakrabarti from the New York Department of City Planning and the L. Jay Cross, president of the New York Jets, detail plans for the West Side including a retractable-roof sports and convention center that could hold as many as 111 events each year and complement a refurbished Jacob Javits Convention Center. Chakrabarti calls it “the greatest opportunity the city has, the region has, to secure its future by transforming this into a thriving area.” Cross addresses controversial aspects of the proposal including what he labels people’s “preconceived notions” that a stadium is incompatible with an urban setting and would bring traffic nightmares. Financing for the center is expected to come from public and private sources. The public aspect includes constructing the deck platform over the yards and the expansion of the No. 7 subway line. Private investors in the center site itself would include the New York Jets, NYC 2012 and the National Football League, among others.
• March, 2004
• Though several items still need to be addressed, the deal to bring the New York Jets to a new stadium on the West Side is announced. Cross also predicts that $50 million in ticket revenue, parking fees and taxes on player’s salaries, that currently go to New Jersey, would go into state and city coffers. And coupled with the other events, the New York Sports and Convention Center could bring an additional $80 million per year into the city as well as 6,700 permanent jobs.
• April, 2004
• According to a poll conducted by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, New York City voters overwhelmingly agree with a plan for West Side redevelopment–if it can be done without raising taxes. A reported 85% of the 1,159 registered voters polled say while, they support elements of the West Side redevelopment plan, they are not in favor of the proposed new home for the New York Jets football team. Sixty percent oppose using tax dollars to build the stadium; however, that figure drops to 53%, “if the only tax dollars used came from the increased tax revenue from new office and apartment buildings in the surrounding neighborhood.”
• June, 2004
• While delivering the keynote address for Buildings New York, Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff talks up the benefits of the proposed New York Sports and Convention Center. “It’s not just a stadium. It’s a revolutionary building,” he says, adding that it’s “not a building that uses taxpayers’ money.” He expects the public to eventually come on board and be enthusiastic about the project. “Once they listen to facts, not to myth, enthusiasm will grow.” He says the NYSCC, which could cost upwards of $1 billion, plays a “critical role in accelerating development in the area.” He also notes that it is “absolutely essential” for the city to win the bid for the 2012 Olympics.
• July, 2004
• In its final report in a year-long study of revitalization efforts for the West Side, the nonprofit Regional Plan Association concludes that plans for the New York Sports and Convention Center might not be the best use of the available space in the area. The RPA calls for the replacement of the proposed Jets stadium with a mixed-use alternative that will provide better waterfront access and increase the likelihood of development in the rest of the district. The board members themselves had disagreements regarding the controversial stadium project during the time it studied the massive Hudson Yards initiative. The RPA report states, “In the end, 17 days in 2012 should not drive the planning for a crucial part of the city for the next 50 years.” The report also calls estimates of the economic benefits to the city “suspect.” It also criticizes the placement of the stadium in a central business district, the potential traffic problems and the loss of waterfront access.
• October, 2004
• During a Real Estate Media RealShare conference, Jets president Jay Cross says the revenues the team would generate in eight games a year are “stunning.” Cross speaks on numerous aspects of the widely criticized plan, including the potential for New York to host the 2012 Olympic Games, another proposition facing intense criticism. In addition to be a possible Olympic venue, the stadium could also be used to host the Super Bowl. Cross estimates the event would be held in Manhattan every five to six years and generate in the area of $25 to $30 million in direct tax impact to the city and state.
• November, 2004
• Plans for the so-called “Convention Corridor” on the West Side moved one step closer to reality as the Empire State Development Corp. board of directors adopted the general project plan. The $1-billion New York Sports and Convention Center would add space to the existing Jacob K. Javits Center and create a multi-use stadium that would be a home for the New York Jets. According to the ESDC, the initiative will “transform the underutilized West Side, grow New York’s convention industry and is expected to generate more than $1 billion in city and state tax revenue, 7,287 construction and 5,685 new permanent jobs.”
• February, 2005
• The New York Jets unveil a redesigned New York Sports and Convention Center that reduces the height and bulk of the structure by 120 feet and creates more open and retail space. In addition, it replaces the exterior steel structure–including its wind turbines– with a floating glass veil. Jay Cross says the modifications address specific concerns raised during the public review process, from the scale of the building to its assimilation into the future Hudson Yards community. According to the Jets, the stadium is expected to open in the fall of 2009.
• Members of the International Olympic Committee tour the city to see the specific venues that would be used for the 2012 Olympics. One official remarks that a stadium would be a necessary component for the city to win the games.
• Madison Square Garden makes an unsolicited offer for the development rights to the West Side Rail Yards. The MTA, which had been negotiating with the Jets for more than a year, opens the bidding process, setting a deadline of March 21, 2005.
• March, 2005
• The New York Jets had a bevy of players deliver its bid by the deadline, while Madison Square Garden officials further detail their offer. The three accepted bids–TransGas, an energy firm also made an offer on the site–are expected to be presented to the MTA board at its March 31 meeting. The MSG proposal includes adding nearly 6,000 new residential units for low- to moderate-income New Yorkers, a public school, library and a 750-room hotel. It also involves creating a public five-acre park that opens up Manhattan’s West Side with a promenade that connects 11th Avenue to the Hudson River waterfront.