A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts was awarded today to one ambitious and pretty spectacular-looking urban design project for the West Side Rail Yards on 30th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues. Though we're not sure how far the cute lil' $100,000 grant could possibly take the project, the Times has confirmation of plans to build what is being called "Culture Shed," a 22,000 square foot gallery space by design firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The design involves a five-story main building, covered by "two translucent sheds" that will stack over it "like trestle tables and can roll out into the plaza to temporarily create an exhibition hall of more than 55,000 square feet." Your move, High Line. more ›

Yesterday, the MTA announced that it (finally) "entered into a contract" for the Hudson Yards, aka the West Side Railyards where Mayor Bloomberg once dreamed of putting a stadium for the Jets. But the MTA won't be working with just developer Related Companies—a Canadian (!) pension fund will be pitching in with $475 million of equity. The MTA's Chairman and CEO Jay Walder said, "This is a tremendously exciting development project that together with the extension of the 7 line will turn this area into a vibrant residential and commercial neighborhood. We were also able to maximize value for the MTA and provide a new revenue stream to support many of our vital capital projects." more ›

After a weekend of negotiations, the MTA and developer the Related Companies have agreed to delay closing on the Hudson Yards deal, according to the NY Times: "As a result, Related will not have to make a $43.5 million down payment immediately, although the company will have to pay a nonrefundable $10 million for the delay, according to two executives who have been briefed on the agreement." more ›

Gotta love it: Yes, the MTA managed to salvage its West Side Rail Yards development plans by agreeing to a deal with developer Related and Goldman Sachs, after it tossed a deal with Tishman Speyer. But even though the agency and Related were planing on to sign a contract for the $15 billion project this week, that's been put on the back burner because the MTA has been, according to the Observer, "slower than expected in producing the needed paperwork." MTA CFO Gary Dellaverson added, "This is my fault—the fault of the M.T.A. This is not a product of either Related or Goldman or their lawyers." Dellaverson added he believed the deal would go through, bad economy and all, "Everything that I've seen, is they're continuing to operate in good faith and pursuant to a desire to consummate the transaction." more ›

Since the MTA is working on finder another developer to transform its 26 acres of Midtown Manhattan rail yards after its talks with Tishman Speyer collapse, it's only natural officials are trying to put on a happy face. NY1 notes that MTA executive director Lee Sander's positive spin is, "We're hopeful that we can put the deal back together. You never know till it's done, as we found out with Tishman. But we are optimistic." more ›

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With the deal to develop the West Side rail yards on the ropes, Senator Chuck Schumer said that Mayor Bloomberg's plan for the West Side is the "goofiest thing I've ever seen." According to the Sun, Schumer was specifically referring to "the Bloomberg administration’s decision to include a mid-block boulevard," claiming that it was sapping funds from the much-needed 7 line extension. more ›

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Mayor Bloomberg tried to rally hopes for a happy ending to the saga of the West Side rail yards by telling reporters, "The plan isn’t dead by any means. Hudson Yards is the most exciting opportunity New York has.” more ›

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Now that the MTA has selected Tishman Speyer to develop the West Side rail yards into Hudson Yards, a new period of public scrutiny will begin. The developer's plans will need to go through the city's public review process to rezone the western section, leaving plenty of time for potential modifications and opposition. more ›

Brookfield Properties, which had offered a plan to bring back streets - as well as 12 million square feet of development and 15 acres of public space - to the West Side Rail Yards, has declined to continue in the bidding process. The MTA had requested revised Hudson Yards proposals with more financial details by yesterday and the bids received were from Durst and Vornado, Tishman Speyer and Morgan Stanley, Extell, and Related Companies. more ›

The MTA has apparently narrowed down the list of contenders to develop the West Side Rail Yards - and may even ask them to team up together. According to Crain's New York, the MTA favors the developers who have already lined up tenants. Which means the front runners are The Related Companies with News Corporation and Goldman Sachs, Durst & Vornado with Conde Nast, and Tishman-Speyer with Morgan Stanley. But front runners may need to be partners as well! more ›

It's been a busy month for NY Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff. After tackling Jean Nouvel's skyscraper, Renzo Piano's Times building and the West Side Rail Yards designs, today he turns to the feverishly celebrated New Museum, previewed yesterday by Gothamist. Designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of Japan-based SANAA, the highly refined seven-story, 174-foot building succeeds, says Ouroussoff, on a "spectacular range of levels: as a hypnotic urban object, as a subtle... more ›

While everyone knows that the proposals five development teams have offered up for the MTA's West Side rail yards are likely to change, the NY Times' architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff made it clear that he hopes they do, with a withering review of the five plans. Noting the great opportunity that developers have, Ouroussoff says the designs "are not just a disappointment for their lack of imagination, they are also a grim referendum on... more ›

A storefront at the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and 43rd Street (across from Grand Central) may be a window into the future of the West Side Rail Yards. The MTA unveiled an exhibition of the five proposals to redevelop the rail yards on the Far West Side of Manhattan, and the public will get a chance to see the models every day (except Thanksgiving) through December 3. And what's more, the MTA wants the... more ›

This morning, Governor Eliot Spitzer is announcing the sale of the West Side Railyards. The NY Times reports that the state and MTA will "formally begin soliciting bids for the development rights." Boy, does this bring us back to 2005. Of course, developers will need a boatload of patience and a boatload of money - the land was appraised last September to be worth $1.5 billion and it's estimated to cost $1 billion to simply build a platform over the railyards. more ›

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Dig out that reading list, load your iPod up, and get ready to lose that teeny sense of "personal space" while commuting - the MTA wants $20 million in service cuts as part of a way to deal with its huge, looming budget deficits. And we're talking deficits of $905 million in 2008, $1.13 billion in 2009, $1.48 billion in 2010. The NY Times reports how the cut could manifest themselves in our everyday lives:

The cuts would add one to five minutes to wait times on many subway lines and local bus routes during off-peak periods. For subways, it would mean that on weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., all trains would run every 10 minutes, according to authority budget documents. Evening and late-night waiting times would be from 10 to 20 minutes.

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Oh, Bloomie, Bloomie, Bloomie. Mayor Mike shot an arrow at State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer yesterday on his weekly WABC radio address. After Spitzer has moved to slow/stop/co-opt a number of his and Pataki's larger projects (read: The city's planned purchase of the West Side Rail Yards from the MTA and Moynihan Station) Bloomberg made it very clear that he thinks Spitzer needs to just let elected officials do their job:

"The tendency when you're near the end of an administration [is] to say, 'Oh, let's postpone everything for the next administration, so the next administration gets a chance to weigh in.' " more ›

- Hey,an OutKast-cover! more ›

- And your last chance to catch World Cup Fever is tomorrow. Who will it be, Italy or France? more ›

Check it out! The Mayor Bloomberg, hoping to make Hudson Yards lemonade out of failed Jets Stadium lemons, along with West Side Stadium opponent City Council Speaker Christine Quinn have offered the MTA $500 million for the West Side Railyards. The two officials sent the MTA an "unexpected" offer letter, which has the city paying $300 million for the "Western Rail Yard" (where the Jets Stadium would have been) and $200 million for the Eastern Rail Yard. The $300 million is already $50 million more than the Jets offered for that parcel and is in line with what the MTA wanted last year, but the MTA appraised it at $923 million. Speaker Quinn said, "Together the city must work to create a mixed-use commercial and residential district, one that protects existing residents, businesses and manufacturers while also creating new employment opportunities, affordable housing, and parks." In other words, let's jampack Manhattan with everything while the iron is hot. more ›

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Surprise, surprise! The City Council put together a team of investigators to inspect the cleanliness of the subways, and found that they are stinking nasty! And what's more, the worst stations just happen to be in the poorest neighborhoods and/or the Bronx. No one is really that shocked, maybe just slightly surprised. The NY Times' Sewell Chan points out that the City Council's survey and the survey from the NYC Transit Riders Council had generally similar results - terrible stations in the Bronx - but each study had a different list of worst stations (all in the Bronx). The worst station, per the City Council, is the East 149th Street stop, while the NYC Transit Riders found the Moshulu stop on the 4 to be the worst. Look, net net, the subways are gross. Here's the most oft-quoted part of the study.

"Subway riders...encounter papers and bottles obstructing stairways, platforms littered with food, pungent odors and track beds cluttered with sludge and debris. In one case, investigators even found human waste."