Curbed Cup Elite Eight: (2) Hudson Yards vs. (10) Astoria

The Curbed Cup, our annual award for the neighborhood of the year, is kicking off with 16 neighborhoods vying for the prestigious (fake) trophy. We’ll reveal each of the neighborhoods this week, and polls will be open for 24 hours so you can cast your vote as to which ones should advance. Let the eliminations commence!

(2) Hudson Yards

Today’s Curbed Cup match-up is a battle between the new hotness (that would be Hudson Yards, the No. 2 seed) and a well-established, but still changing, neighborhood (Astoria, the No. 10 seed).

First up is Hudson Yards, which has been a Curbed Cup contender for several years, but has yet to actually win. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of action happening that keeps the neighborhood-to-be deserving of a shot at the title.

While many of the buildings within the emerging neighborhood are still under construction, Related Companies launched leasing on its pricey rental building, One Hudson Yards, earlier this year. Thomas Heatherwick’s Vessel, the 150-foot-tall centerpiece of the megaproject, topped out, and construction on the Shed has been making steady progress. Though the neighborhood is still very much in the works, this year was one of major progress.

(10) Astoria

Astoria is one of those neighborhoods that’s perpetually on those lists of New York’s next hot neighborhoods, and yet it never seems to take off. (It’s also been overshadowed by the incessant development in Long Island City over the past decade.) But the neighborhood is slowly but surely starting to sprout some big projects, including the Hallets Point megaproject, which finally got underway this year.

Max Touhey

Astoria has now also become more connected thanks to the city’s hugely popular ferry service opening up a new route to the neighborhood in August this year. The ferry service might become all the more important considering the MTA has shutdown two subway stations—at 30th and 36th Avenues—for eight months of repairs. All these developments will dramatically transform the neighborhood in the coming years.

Now, the choice is in your hands: In this battle of neighborhoods bracing for big changes in the future, which one will come out on top? Cast your vote below, and may the best neighborhood win.