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Central Park's future?
JFK, La Guardia and Newark may work for people who live in certain outer boroughs. But they are not an acceptable option for the majority of New Yorkers, requiring travel through some of the most congested traffic arteries in the nation... Amazingly, there is still a large, undeveloped and underutilized site in the center of New York City. In fact, this site has remained undeveloped for so long that many of us forget it even exists. It’s called Central Park. Ask most New Yorkers when was the last time they visited it. Statistically that number is fewer than one visit per person per year. But how many times did those same New Yorkers go the airport?
Check and mate, Central Park Conservancy. The website for the Manhattan Airport Foundation is surprisingly thorough for what is almost certainly a Swiftian satire; it features plenty of 3-D renderings, a design competition, a petition (17,000 and growing!), and F.A.Q. such as, "What will happen to landmarks such as Cleopatra’s Needle, Beethoven and Strawberry Fields?" The irrefutable answer: "Whenever possible, vestigial architectural elements of the Park space will be retained or reworked into the context of the new design. Under the current plan the Imagine mosaic and Strawberry Fields will be preserved, however they will be located indoors within the main terminal concourse."
Ready to say goodbye to rabid weekend warrior cyclists, Shakespeare, and two hour schleps to far-flung airports? Get out your checkbooks and make a $1,000 donation to the Foundation; they'll dedicate an airport bench in your name. Excelsior! [Via Curbed]
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First to land here...
this is the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard of! how the heck do you land huge jets in the middle of manhattan??????? central park should be preserved as it is and was always intended - there are public transportation options that get you to both Laguardia and JFK so the "clogged roadway" argument does not hold any water. what a freaking joke!
Yes, key word here being joke, and you fell for it
Definitely a joke site...
Yes, it's a joke. But it COULD be done. Think how many years they landed planes successfully in the old Hong Kong airport.
This is a hoax story. Huffington Post fell for it also.
Um... "for what is almost certainly a Swiftian satire"
No worries, it'll never get off the ground, so to speak. though this group must be completely out of touch if (as is stated on their website) they really think that an airport would preserve property value of park-side apartments. They actually state,
"In the past, these types of transformative public works projects have created an influx of interest and new investment in the neighborhoods in which they have been built."
Oh what, you mean like the neighborhoods directly surrounding JFK, Newark, LaGuardia, and every other airport in the country, nay the world? Yes, lovely sights they are indeed.
Lastly, the best has got to be offering tavern on the green the option to become an airport franchisee. hahaha!
Real life trolling, eh? But like many trolls, they're trying too hard (and yet they still get bites).
It better be a PRIVATE airport, with a terminal specifically for Pet Airways. Because when Poopsie and I are off to Saint-Tropez we'd like to avoid rubbing shoulders with proles, thank you very much. [strokes the hairy little Shih Tzu while sipping a highball]
LOL the best part is definitely how many commenters fell for it even though you flat out said it was a joke.
I know this is a joke, but I'm pretty sure it would never work anyway given the buildings in the way on final approach.
Eh, just fly in from the north.
Might need to raze a bit of Harlem, but you can't make an omelet without breakin' some eggs, ya know?
NYC should provide better access to the area airports. THere's no reason why you shouldn't be able to have a subway line direct to LGA and JFK. It would require fewer cars and cost a hell of a lot less for people who fly. The AirTrain is a weak attempt. It costs almost as much as a cab and serves only a few train lines. This is a scam by the T&LC not to make that subway connection.
Yeah like they have in all major cities in Europe. They also have public health care and top notch public education systems, and public infrastructure that isn't crumbling.
Why are you still here? Canada/France have been waiting for your arrival.
So you are proud of being a leader of the Third World? You don't think Americans deserve better? Maybe YOU should move to Iran or Afghanistan, you would fit right in over there.
Robert Moses killed that plan forever when he built the Van Wyck. Go read "The Power Broker". It will expand your mind on corruption and how things don't get done in this world.
I can't think of too many European airports where the subway goes right to the terminals. Heathrow comes to mind. Most airports have either a dedicated rail link between the airport and the city center or access to a commuter line or both. Point is you end up paying far more than cost of the local subway - usually between $10 and $20 one way per person. That's roughly what you end up paying for Airtrain plus subway or LIRR to get to JFK or Airtrain and NJ Transit to get to Newark. And then you still have to make your way to and from the central train station. How is that different from here? And I assume part of the reason the system was designed this way was to make travelers pay for the cost of the Airtrain. Simply building a subway extension into the airport would not generate any additional revenue beyond the old system of busing travelers from the terminal to the subway station. As for LGA I've always heard the NIMBYs in Queens killed any hope of getting the subway extension there.
Governors Island makes a much better airport. Just do some land reclamation to length the existing runway on it.
This joke was even funnier when Bruce McCall made it 30 years ago in his book "Zany Afternoons."
Sweet, who needs nature?!
Hmmm... several commentors need to work on their reading comprehension skills.
So is my $1,000 donation still tax deductible?
oniony.
So awesome :) teehee
No! It's still only a half-assed solution. I demand a heliport on top of every building in Manhattan, from the tallest skyscraper down to the the super's tool shed in the back alley. Only then will I be satisfied!
Great idea.
So, let's see...
911 x 1000...
The Manhattan Airport Foundation
233 Broadway, 58th Floor
New York, New York 10007
Doesn't the Woolworth Building have only 57 floors?
Very clever hidden hint from those guys.
Uh, John...
"Roustabouts" ? Look it up, I think you meant "layabouts."
How about turning the perpetually unbuilt Ground Zero site into a landing field for Zeppelin NT blimps?
I've been having drinks in that lounge since 1979.