We just spent a week in NYC-my home town-50th anniversary. I love the people and museums and theater. Saw “the Ferryman “ . Worth the trip!
Reading the Times at home we thought maybe we should see this controversial Hudson Yards.
The subway station was beautiful. The Queens yard Cafe had a soft chair and a quiche for $3...best deal in the place.
The escalator placement was confusing and inconvenient as we had to search for our ride to the next level. I guess they want us to shop each floor on our way up and down.
There were very few places to sit on each level just to get off your feet. It is only for the strong.
But credit to the vendor near the subway selling water bottles for a dollar...a genuine New Yorker!
2
I took my son to Hudson Yards this Saturday and we loved it except we think the centerpiece structure should be called the Honeycomb...it’s what it looks like.
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What's with the giant half-a-honeycomb/pinecone?
OK, it's for exercise: Trot around in circles, ascend/descend, and you're done. But a little bleak .... the Escher Workout!
3
I don’t know, y’all are too cynical. This is a conceptual experience that reminds me of Short Hills and King of Prussia Mall. I think the restaurants look very pretty and there’s a lot of variety there especially with Little Spain. The shops aren’t too overly high end... no more than what you’d expect on average with a few upscale picks like Cartier and Neiman’s.
New York has Cartier but I’m sure they expect and know their average clientele if you know what I mean. Hudson Yards may be more appealing for tourism. Just because it exists doesn’t mean it needs your dollars or patronage.
New York City is still the City for everyone.
2
Hudson Yards will never be a neighborhood in the conventional sense. Certainly, there is no sense of belonging, no history, no warmth, just hives of wealthy people, each barricaded in their own terrariums. This will turn out to be a huge disaster for all involved, except of course for the developers, because as the recent Times expose on Trump's finances made clear, with every tax dodge known to man, it's impossible to lose money in NYC real estate. Who is going to take the 7 train, much less trek there, and to do what? Climb that hideous glass and metal "sculpture" so you can look at the other heaps of glass and metal - and then top it off with a $20 hot dog? Not even gullible tourists will find it worth the bother. Thanks again Bloomie!
8
Sorry. I quite like it all. It is like we have a little singapore parked on the west side of Manhattan. The only constant in New York is change and people whining about it.
2
This area will probably draw tourists and those stuck at the god-awful Javits Center, but step east and an El still casts dismal gloom on the avenue below. The High Line, such a lovely idea, is too overcrowded to enjoy and buildings are too tall near it. Give me tree-lined brownstoned streets, Westside or Eastside, any day over these. On a Sunday morning you can stroll for a block or more and not see a soul.
6
Sad, just sad. I lived in SF for 12 years, and yes it is true now is a soulless city, only for the super rich native or foreign. Same thing is happening here, just in a bigger scale. I took the Q train in Church ave in BK for the 1st time in '97, the station ceiling had stalactites and so many leaks that you were soaked just by trying to get thru the turnstiles, the floor felt like an ice skating rink, the stairs were dangerous, the platform and the tracks filled with garbage, and overgrown weed. Now when the rich build their playgrounds in Manhattan, the City extends a train line and build a new station for them; while the Church Ave Station is still the same. For those who criticize AOC, you have to understand that when she sees things like the "Sad Yards" (aka HY); she would say: not anymore with our money, basta! Do you get it? if you guys don't, please read any book about the French Revolution. Thank you
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Where do these super restaurants fit into the pocket of the "average Joe?"
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Will there be a bookshop? Please, someone.
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congratulations, everything that is wrong with NYC and the country as a whole encapsulated in one article. I'd suggest reading together with how the new silicon Valley millionaires will eat up the bay area. and the six billion tax dollars given to the Hudson developers to keep them from fleeing to "Singapore".. seems like time for Karl Marx to make a comeback. may betsy devos be the first to be beheaded..
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Very bridge and tunnel, if you ask me.
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Looks good. Are you paying?
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Jane Jacobs is rolling in her grave.
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Vegas on the Hudson
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""Beware the ides of March.""
~ Shakespeare/Julius Caesar
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So glad AOC spoke out for the hundreds of people in her district that won’t get jobs at Amazon while the rich constituents will get some more top restaurants with bigger tax breaks. I wonder who will bus tables when people don’t have to work under her green new deal. I’m a liberal but not ignorant like she is.
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Do they realize Hudson Yards is in NYC hurricane evacuation zones 1 and 2? Who is paying for flood insurance? I hope not taxpayers.
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Just Perfect. Prettied up mall food - Las Vegas has landed on 11th Avenue - get your tickets now for real authentic gourmet food - can’t wait
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"The developers, Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group, are counting on the restaurants to give the former rail yards — now bristling with shiny towers like some futuristic San Gimignano...."
I've been to San Gimignano several times. The comparison is ridiculous. And people don't go to Tuscany to just stuff their faces.
5
So people should not be surprised when NYC starts to fail as it did back in the 70’s. AOC and her leftist following can’t seem to find a development project that they will support. Part of the problem is that these people do not understand where money comes from. Note that the only thing keeping NYC running is the jobs. Chase those out or don’t new ones in and the taxpayers will leave and all that will be left will be illegal immigrants on some form of public assistance. Hey AOC, even your Mom Left NY! Keep pushing against jobs and development!
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@Dan Locker
Lets see, Illegal immigrants (can't receive public assistance) but they work and pay taxes, they rent apartments, pay sales taxes, in other words they help the economy, right? The rich don't pay taxes, they don't live in the apartments that they buy, mostly don't work, because they live from the interests of their investments, and they might have expensive dinners in expensive restaurants, but they receive 6 billions dollars from you and me. Who doesn't understand "where money comes from", huh?
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This is the result of allowing the NYC Real Estate Board to have free reign and engage in quid pro quos with politicians for the twelve years of the Bloomberg administration and the sellout by De Blasio once he was elected.
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I'll eat at Hudson Yards when one of these restaurants puts Roast Plutocrat on its menu
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@Alexander Scala
With Garlic and Pepper!!
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I'll eat at Hudson Yards when one of these restaurants puts Roast Plutocrat on its menu.
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The unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible. (with apologies to Oscar Wilde).
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This paper has more reporters on the food beat than covering Washington. Once again we see that the only thing left to do in this city is stuff your face at some overhyped, overpriced eaterie. Nothing left to see, no quirky stores, no chance that a walk will bring you some moment of serendipity, just stuff your face. Fortunately for these restaurateurs, most of the, wealthy but vapid, denizens of Hudson Yards think that scarfing down an expensive meal is synonymous with culture. Still glad however that these joints are open to the general public. Now that's democracy in action!
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I will *never* visit this place. Zero interest.
5
Well, This already sounds like some kind of 'Time Capsule'.
Hopefully, it won't become an Abandoned Places' show!
Also wish the great mass of New Yorkers could get sufficient good social value from the investment!??
Or perhaps this whole Site, and this 'VESSEL, sculptural centerpiece' (which functions like a classic 'Theme Center' type of feature by the way) won't 'just' become one of those short lived 'Residuals' (i.e. remainders like from some kinda 'Worlds Fair-grounds')!
Or at least, hopefully will be more like a Space Needle and environs from the 1962 Seattle Worlds Fair rather than just a Unisphere at the NY Worlds Fairs'-- site of both the 1939-40 Worlds Fair & the 1964-65 WF too.
-- Worlds Fairs' residuals, by the way, tend to continue to lead as Theme Centers if they don't get built on the far-away peripheral zones of their 'Metropole' Metropolis but closer in, like Seattle's Space Needle/Monorail/Science Center complex from its World Fair's 'residuals'.
-- The Unisphere-- I love it, a nifty residual Theme Center visual, but not a mass destination; although reclaiming the Corona Dumps in 1939 was good work indeed;
Not really Robert Moses' Promised Land in its realization, but a good move it was--
just ask any (other) Expert.
Thank you for your time, gentle readers! -HBfE
2
Whatever happened to just enjoying a Nathan's grilled dog with sauerkraut and some hot mustard? Is everybody eating this expensive stuff now?
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Related Companies was the worst possible choice to develop this land. The company specializes in insipid buildings built only to maximize profit. They are calculated down to the penny and give nothing back to the city. If every Related Company building disappeared tomorrow nobody would notice. Much more could and should have been demanded from the company design wise, but the developer is a buddy of Bloomberg. Now we are stuck with a collection of monstrously overscaled high rises with zero appeal dominating the skyline. In order to counter the withering criticism from architects and architectural critics, they added an inane 'art' structure in the center. This entire project could have showcased the great talent that we have here and made the city more livable. I hope that the sheer sterility of the location discourages sales of condos, but it seems that foreign money has an endless appetite for hoovering up nyc properties, irregardless of character.
8
I have rarely felt so uninspired as when reading about these new luxury ‘troughs’ up the street from where I live. I have no idea what kind of people are going to find this a great place to visit. It makes the shops and dining in JFK’s terminal 4 departures look like the east village in comparison.
Looking forward to getting out of New York. It’s getting cold in here.
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And most of these restaurants will cater to the millionaires and billionaires who, as part time residents, probably will never be there. Meanwhile, this taxpayer funded vulgarity is making a lot of rich people wealthy and will not include anything for the average New Yorker. We are not good enough to invest in it seems, or worthy of inclusion in the future of New York.
9
While I'm not enthralled by most of the activity on the west side and in HY, I am over the moon about the El Mercado Little Spain project.
For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of eating at Jaleo in DC or The Bazaar in LA, Jose Andres' restaurants live up to the hype that is the larger than life cheftivist he has become.
I always enjoy myself when I'm at his establishments, and I'm thrilled more NYers and visitors alike will get a chance to taste his food.
Salud!
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@Stephen Schmitz I went to Bazaar a couple times...the most memorable dish was a plate of sliced jamon, which I could get at many gourmet stores.
I'm not even going to mention the silly separate desert area (you switch tables and go to a different part of restaurant), the absurd bathrooms and of course the dreadful Starck decor.
5
I so miss restaurants like La Luncheonette--casual, easygoing, good food with character, decent wine, and reasonably priced. A New York that was.
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It's time . . . it's PAST time, that some beauty hit the New York streets. There's no way Amazon warehouse and entry level jobs for people who have to 'drive to survive' into NYC in order to airlift goods back out to the hinterlands. That gorgeous sculptural 'Vessel is there for people who want to STAY in New York, not those 'passing through' for a job that can't support living there. New York is our 'museum' where people visit in order to take home ideas.
4
So we residents are mummies?
2
@Oliver
The High Line lost its charm for me a month or so ago. I walked the entire length from the Whitney to 34th St. and didn't see the Hudson until the path turned west. I did however see lots of tall new builds towering above me, making me feel like I was in a narrow canyon. I'll not be going back anytime too soon. Like Hudson Yards, it has become overly manicured and the home for tourists and those residing in those towers which almost block the sun.
19
Six or seven years ago, High Line was a bit disappointing, and the area provided little reason for people living or staying on the West Side to leave the dining and shopping choices several blocks north, around Columbus Circle. It sounds like Hudson Park will be an improvement, and I look forward to paying a visit.
Will there be a subsequent article on the tax incentives given the developers and the high-profile tenants?
6
I thought Manhattan, West Hollywood, and New Orleans would retain their individuality in our over-gentrified, corporate country. But, I will be proven wrong because, (as Hudson Yards shows us) if there is an opportunity for profits, development will follow.
West Hollywood is going through a development spurt. Up to now, city hall’s heavy handed approval process has sent many national developers away, selling the land they bought, vowing never to return. The trade off is it has kept the city from looking like every other city in America. That strong handed oversight has eased lately, especially on Sunset Blvd. The end result will be bigger, shinier, and more expensive—the first rule of urban development.
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@Scott
And don't forget more cheaply built with less imagination and certainly no interest in supporting the surrounding community (to the extent there still is one).
3
What is somehow forgot in all the negative/positive hype about the Hudson yards is that actually a philanthropic infrastructure made it actually desirable to live and work there (for those who can afford): the High Line.
Without the High Line the entire area north of West 14th wouldn’t be as attractive as it is today. (Hello google...)
I doubt that the creators and enablers of the (great) High Line had in mind to instigate the genesis of a „gated community“ (gated by salary) for the wealthy.
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@Oliver
I've always wondered whether the guys who created the High Line knew they were dupes of the real estate cabal?
2
It is not 1985. This must be the city's grand plan to cash in on the oligarchs and foreign wealth that has dominated the real estate scene over the last decade. But these owners are not physically in NYC most of the year if ever. No one will be making dinner reservations on the West Side anytime soon and in 2 years all these restaurants will be closed. This will be a colossal failure.
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What genius came up with this concept? It has no redeeming qualities - almost makes me root for the next recession.
36
Hudson Yards does not seem at all attractive and a city destination that I will avoid. A taxpayer subsidized neighbourhood for the 1% . What is there to celebrate? There is nothing ethnic nor inclusive nor interesting about this mega mall with it's expensive shops and branded restaurants.
If anything this is yet another stylish safe haven for foreign investors to park their tremendous wealth.
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@My 2Cents - You are spot on. Corporations want to cater to the rich, and there aren't enough rich citizens to make that profitable, so the U.S. is being transformed from a country to an investment matrix for the rest of the world. Anyone with to slim a bank account will be invited to go live in Mexico.
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@Nicole - I can just imagine the slick glossy brochures already out there touting this world class destination/ investment that will become part of a strategic diversified portfolio for high net worth clients. Or some such nonsense.
Restaurants typically don't open en masse at such a scale as this. It will take a steady stream of customers with gold plastic to fill these seats. I'm sure they've done their market research, but it has zero appeal to me. Just the name "Mercado Little Spain'. Now that's authentic.
Seriously, moving to Mexico is sounding better and better.
12
Awkward big jewlery small thinking architecture with modern cliches and suburban tastes of glass and steel; the vessel looks like an evening class assignment from early 60's ceramic sculpture; the shed an awkward heavy machine out of place without space, with vocation for noise and ready to smash. A sense that without intention it all belongs to the times.
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and when will there be billions of dollars of subsidies and tax breaks and new subway stops for thousands of new affordable apartments and condos?
when?
38
Thank you! You saved me a lot of typing.
6
Meh, NYC is filled with fantastic restaurants. The only thing worse than going to Midtown to dine is to go to Midtown’s new manufactured Dallas-light neighborhood aka Hudson Yards to dine. I was convinced to eat at Legacy Records by family in town for the marathon and although the Ken Fulk-designed space was gorgeous, the meal, the building and the neighborhood had zero character and were very forgettable.
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@Brooklyn Dog Geek
"Zero character"?
You want "character," go to the Strand Bookstore and buy a book of photographs of New York from the 1960's or 1970's.
Oligarchs like Stephen Ross who never had character, and equate what's good for New York with what's good for their wallets are destroying the City at a faster pace than ever before.
4
@Brooklyn Dog Geek Seems like that is the story in many American Cities. Sad
3
Restaurants for the 1%... remember when NYC was the greatest city in earth and not just a playground for tycoons and oligarchs? Remember when middle class people lived there and starving artists created masterpieces that changed America? Remember when it was a city for all?
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@Milad
Yes! I remember and miss it. Only good thing about Manhattan IMO is many of the top specialists in medicine can be found there if you need one.
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Except most of them won't take your insurance!
5
@Milad Seems like that is the story in many American Cities. Sad
2
Just what I like to look at when dining at a fine restaurant, a parking lot.
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@Zappo. What parking lot? The vessel? The climbable sculptural centerpiece? I dont see any parking lots in the images...
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@Sharon. You mean that big contraption isn't a parking lot? Are you sure? It looks like a cheap parking lot driveway up to the stars.
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@Zappo its kind of interesting...imho. But to each his own. Not a parking lot-Its for working off the fancy dinners!
1
Bloomberg really, really wanted this mega-development, so much so that he pushed for — and got — an extension of the 7 train. If anyone wonders why there is no station at 42nd Street and 11th Avenue, where thousands of new apartments units have arisen in recent years, it's because the area was already developed. Only in New York!
19
It certainly looks like a lot of money lost in trying to fill these thousands and thousands of new dining seats will simply be written off from real estate moguls’ taxes. Shame on them.
40
There is nothing more annoying, no absolutely grating, than celebrity chefs opening unaffordable eateries in a city with a disappearing middle class. It's all horrid. Stop pushing this.
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@lisa
I'd rather read an article about City Harvest and Food Pantries than celebrity chefs.
20
Celebrity chefs, upscale restaurant groups and fast food chains.
Chain/mall retail stores.
Luxury residential real estate and commercial buildings.
Very costly, manicured landscaping and green spaces that benefit luxury real estate interests.
All thanks to the taxpayers of New York.
Terrific (not).
In the meantime, the subway and bus system continues to deteriorate and costs more; the tsunami of luxury real estate continues to displace regular people and destroy neighborhoods, etc.
82
I'll still be dining at Castile Blanc (White Castle).
36
@Louis Sorry- gotta say it- Château Blanc ☺
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@Pam
Yes, unless he meant Spanish, which is Castillo Blanco
2
I think it’s shamefully irresponsible to adulate this tax subsidized, anti-Jane Jacobs, well, “amenity space”, while not acknowledging what it means when you treat the fabric of our city in this way. For a more nuanced piece, google the Eater article. Instead of the Times one. Wow, never thought I’d say that!!
42
There goes the neighborhood!
38
I apologize, but to compare this ill-conceived assemblage of high-rises (that seem more suited to Houston, than New York City) to that iconic urban masterpiece, San Gimignano, is really pushing it. Additionally, the experience of the Hudson Yards is more akin to visiting Weehawken (no offense New Jersey) than being in New York. And this is apparently by design. San Gimignano is a vibrant, beautifully scaled "city" - with those magical stone towers. Not the same please.
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@MG: I agree with you completely.
The whole Hudson Yards complex is utterly alien to what NYC is *really* about, which is why it looks like it belongs in Houston and feels like Weehawken! Hudson Yards is walled-off from we peons, and it wants to pretend to be in Manhattan while it snubs everything genuine about Manhattan. It looks like a Potemkin village.
And I'm definitely not going that far west to eat at any "upscale" (but suburban at heart) restaurants.
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@MG new neighborhoods around the world look the same. I think Hudson Yards looks like Jersey City/Weekhawken because most development has become formulaic and hence disappointing to those who seek the architectural tastes of lore.
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@MG Houston does not have assemblages of high-rises other than in its relatively small downtown.
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