MTA pledges open Hudson Yards process

By Chris Lombardi

At the urging of community advocates and local legislators, the Metropolitan Transit Authority departed from standard procedure in the case of Hudson Yards last week, stating that it would make all development proposals submitted for the Yards available for public review.

The MTA’s announcement came at the end of the day last Thursday, as it outlined the bids by five firms rumored to be in the running: Related Companies, in partnership with Goldman Sachs; the Durst Corporation, in partnership with Vornado; Bloomfield Properties; Extell Corporation; and Tishman/Speyer, in partnership with Morgan Stanley.

MTA had previously stipulated that all Hudson Yards bids would be kept secret, as reported in Chelsea Now last week. The Hudson Yards Community Advisory Council (HYCAC), which had pushed for the “project profiles” of each bid to be made public, praised the “newly responsive MTA” while cautioning that much more work remains to ensure that the housing, open space and cultural provisions translate into a new neighborhood that is accessible to the full diversity of New Yorkers.

MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin, reached by phone on Monday, said that “the MTA is committed to engaging the public in the design review process in a meaningful way.” He would not elaborate further except to say: “We are very early in this process.”

The rail yards, which stretch from 30th to 33rd Street between 10th and 12th Avenues, constitute the last undeveloped parcel of the Far West Side. Much of the neighboring area has been scooped up by developers since a 2005 rezoning: The Real Deal lists 34 projects, including the Yards, set to transform the blocks between Eighth Avenue and the Hudson River, from 30th to 43rd Streets. Chelsea and Clinton residents are familiar with many of them, such as Rockrose’s already-in-progress condo tower on West 37th Street and the so-called “Lake Related,” the Related Companies’ proposed 53-story residence at 440 W. 42nd St. The design guidelines for the Yards issued by the Hudson Yards Development Corporation (HDYC) would permit approximately 10 million square feet of residential and commercial development, as well as between seven and 12 acres of open space (one parcel of which, in the southeast section of the Yards, may also be used for a still-undefined cultural center).

So far, the only details available on the actual proposals have been those leaked to the real estate press: For instance, Extell Corporation is reported to have proposed towers as high as 1,000 feet, a public park on the High Line, and “suspension bridge” technology holding the buildings high above the Long Island Railroad tracks. Meanwhile, competing media moguls are rumored to have joined with rival bidders as anchor tenants, with Conde Nast previously reported to have signed with Durst + Vornado and Rudolph Murdoch’s News Corporation with Related + Goldman-Sachs—the latter team already described by the New York Observer as among the MTA’s top choices.

But none of those details includes what’s of highest concern to many legislators and advocates—specifics on affordable housing, open space and other issues—which is why they fought so hard for Thursday’s agreement to make the bids public.

“We may not see everything that we want to see in these bids,” said State Senator Thomas Duane, a core member of HYCAC, “but it will be far more than we would have with earlier administrations,” said Duane.

And while no one—not even the MTA—knows the process will work at this time, Duane isn’t worried.

“When I spoke with [MTA Chairperson Lee] Sander, he said, ‘Let’s meet in a few weeks. We’ll work out in the next couple of weeks how it’s going to happen,’” said Duane. “My simple concern is that we need to make sure all the stakeholders—straphangers, park-goers , the MTA, as well as the community—can take equal part in the discussions.”

Others were equally concerned while remaining focused on the issues and guardedly optimistic.

“We’re working hard on 11th Avenue, but there’s a lot of work to do yet,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, speaking at last Saturday’s West Side Tenants’ Conference. Quinn, who worked this spring to insert a package of affordable-housing incentives into the MTA’s request for proposals (RFP), added, “We need to make sure that whatever is built, it is inclusive of affordable housing.”

Anna Levin, CB 4’s liaison to HYDC and co-chair of the board’s Hell’s Kitchen Land Use committee, was eager to get details. When HYCAC meets in a few weeks, Levin told Chelsea Now on Monday, they will try to make sure that people concentrate on the specific elements contained in each proposal.” The phrase “design elements” in the MTA release, said Levin, could mean that fancy architecture. showcased at a public forum, will distract many from more essential issues of open space and affordable housing.

“They’ll show some shiny pictures of cool buildings, and everyone will go ooh,” said Levin. “But will we know if one bid offers three times more than the other, which is tempting to the MTA’s budget crunch, but offers far less housing? Will we know how and when this is all supposed to happen?”

Levin also planned to ask about the two seats reserved for HYDC on the selection committee, which many presume will be chosen by Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff. The corporation’s board, headed by Doctoroff, also includes representatives appointed by Quinn, Borough President Scott Stringer and Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden, a mosaic of city and state agencies, and one appointed representative of CB 4.

“Perhaps one seat can go to someone with more of the overall community in mind,” said Levin.

The MTA’s final selection committee—a majority of whose members will be appointed by MTA, with two seats reserved for HYDC appointees—is scheduled to submit its proposal choices for the Western and Eastern portions of the Yards to the MTA board by the end of March 2008.

Sources close to the process told Chelsea Now on Tuesday that the selection process itself is admittedly a tricky one: They said MTA might be tempted more by bids that offer more money upfront in order to plug its looming budget deficit, while city representatives tend to favor those that promise more future tax revenue for the city. But only ongoing community pressure, said HYCAC representatives, can ensure equal consideration of priorities such as publicly accessible open space, the High Line, permanently affordable apartments, cultural and nonprofit spaces, all of it included but not mandatory in the RFP.

Duane said he was cautiously optimistic that the next six months will feel less like a struggle than a collaboration. “These are initial proposals,” he said carefully. “I’m sure we will see multiple version of each one. The MTA will work with us to see that the community is well represented. And whatever happens next, when the final version is chosen, the community will have had an impact.”