TROPOLISM

Michael Sorkin has done some great work here, but we are a little concerned by his conclusions at the bottom of the page.

West Side Stadium is most certainly subway-positive (even if they don't extend the #7, you can just walk from Times Square/34th Street, you know?), not-too-far to Amtrak (like, walk from the station already), highway access can be achieved (like traffic on the BQE is going to be any worse with the addition of a stadium), and it may be a positive addition to the neighborhood (depending on who's talking). So it goes from Mr. Sorkin's score of 3 to a 5 or 6 right off the bat.

HOK did an urban design study for a new Yankee stadium in the early 90s. I read it about 10 years ago. Lots of hard data about traffic, effect on neighborhoods, environmental impact, etc. Three sites were studied, one in industrial Queens, one in the Bronx, and one on the West Side highway. Replacing the existing Yankee Stadium was the first choice, followed closely by West Side Highway. Industrial site in Queens was the last choice, by a long shot. Great highways, but awful neighborhood effect.

We here at Tropolism don't know everything, and are certainly not experts at urban design, but we do request that architects are clear about what they want and what they are studying. It's exciting to hear what Mr. Sorkin would propose, if he were in charge. It's dreadful to read through a proposal masquerading as a study. We're not yet sure where this article falls.