Last summer, as the MTA again solicited bids from developers for Hudson Yards, we took issue with the land-use proposal for the site. Once clearer heads prevailed, we invited Curbed readers to do the developers one better by submitting their own schemes for Hudson Yards 2.0. Thus, the first Curban Planning competition was born. Today, now that the bids are in and we've presented the other contenders, we hereby reveal the Curban Planning winner, who earns $500 and our deepest gratitude.
Proposal Name: Manhattan Palms
Author: "Loyal Curbed Reader Ray"
Proposal Notes: "The idea for Manhattan Palms grew out of a problem I have been wrestling with for many years, one that has long impeded the quality of life in the great city of New York and threatens to pose an ever greater danger to the everyday life of its residents: New Jersey."
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Proposal Notes, continued: "When you look at my site plan, you may wonder, where will the trains go? Well, thus is the beauty of my proposal: all NJ Transit rail traffic into Penn Station will be terminated, thus unclogging the streets and subways from those many thousand cheap individuals who have the gall to steal our jobs in Manhattan, yet are unwilling to pony up the rent to live here. No more! (Incidentally, this will also allow for the Farley Post Office to continue to be a post office and for Penn Station to be converted into a giant pen-and-stationary superstore, owned and operated jointly by Kate's Paperie and the Dolan family.) The site plan itself playfully addresses the needs of all stakeholders, from office workers to apartment-seekers and those simply looking to enjoy a day in the sun or a wild ride on an as-good-as-authentic pirate ship. I believe it speaks for itself and leave it up to you fine ladies and gentlemen to discover its bounty of merits."
Judges' Remarks: "Undoubtedly better than anything Durst, Tishman and the others are going to produce"... "Holy crap—a Grand Canal, water falls and a pirate ship. Something for everyone"... "I do like that the color-coded building plan loosely resembles the Mooninites from Aqua Teen Hunger Force"... "Combines the genius of Venice and the excitment of Vegas and drops it on the West Side. Perfect"... "The really scary thing is, I bet the actual winner looks a lot like this. New York, you've been warned."
And with that, we hereby conclude Curban Planning 001. Thanks to everyone who entered; winners, we'll be following up with you this week to get your prize money to you. And we had a lot of fun sorting all the entries and judging them; let's do this again some time.
· Curban Planning 001 Runner-Up: Green Fields of the Mind [Curbed]
· Curban Planning 001 Honorable Mention #2: Stadium 2.0! [Curbed]
· Curban Planning 001 Honorable Mention #1: Roller Coaster! [Curbed]
· Curban Planning 001: Hudson Yards Design Challenge [Curbed]