Curbed Cup 1st round: (1) Hudson Yards vs. (16) South Village

Hudson Yards

First up is Hudson Yards, which has been a contender for the Cup several years running, but has never taken home the ultimate prize. But this could be the year that all changes, thanks to the fact that the neighborhood-in-progress has hit some huge milestones. Chief among them is the fact that 10 Hudson Yards opened, welcoming tenants like L’Oreal and Coach and bringing more people to the megaproject site. Sales also launched at 15 Hudson Yards, and we’ve been assured that they’re going “very well”—pointing to continued interest in the area, even if apartments won’t actually be ready for residents for another couple of years.

Plus, there’ve been a ton of new developments on the megaproject’s moving parts: Thomas Heatherwick’s public sculpture, a doner kabob-like meandering staircase called Vessel, was revealed, as was Bjarke Ingels’s winding Spiral (due to rise one block north of Related’s enormous parcel of land) and the Norman Foster-designed skyscraper at 50 Hudson Yards. Most of its buildings are making headway, and the new subway station has now been open for a year now (even if it’s been plagued with problems basically from the get-go.) So even with only one building currently open to the public, the area is still a Curbed Cup contender.

South Village

The larger South Village includes bits of what is typically considered Greenwich Village or Soho, but 2016 was the year that one specific area—the proposed Sullivan-Thompson Historic District, which is under landmarks consideration at the moment—finally gained momentum. The reason? It’s being used as something of a political bargaining chip: The redevelopment of nearby St. John’s Terminal prompted a renewed call for the historic district, and now, lawmakers like Corey Johnson are on board—and the historic district is preparing for its day in the sun.

But there are other reasons to celebrate the larger South Village this year: It’s home to several of Manhattan’s hottest restaurants, both long-timers (the Dutch is a perennial Eater favorite, Minetta Tavern has a Michelin star) and newcomers (Paowalla, Floyd Cardoz’s new Indian spot, is especially buzzy). (And yes, for some reason, people still line up for Cronuts.) And in the real estate world, 10 Sullivan—the Cary Tamarkin-designed, Flatiron-inspired tower that’s now the area’s tallest building—debuted, though it wasn’t without its bumps. Turning the Sullivan-Thompson blocks into a historic district would curtail larger development in what’s already a largely protected area—something not everyone is happy about—but it’s certainly shed light on this small district this year.

But now, the decision is in your hands: Which area should advance? Cast your vote below, and may the best neighborhood win.

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