Wednesday: 42nd Street Fantasies; Whitney on the High Line; Boomer Panama Condos

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 08:30:51 -0400

Times Square, circa 2046

Proposal of the Decade: vision42 wants to ban cars from 42nd Street. That's because the current Times Square is a godforsaken nightmare, and because "a pedestrian and light-rail line zone would boost business" by $380 million each year, and because there might be greenery. (AP)

Drama on the High Line! The Dia Art Foundation has ditched plans to open a museum on the elderly elevated railway, and the Whitney may swoop in to take its place. But that would mean the Whitney would have to forget its old plans for a Renzo Piano-designed expansion uptown. And that would mark "the third time that it commissioned a celebrity architect to design a major expansion to its landmark building, only to renege." (The New York Times)

The un-glamorous Brooklyn Navy Yard gets a 400,000-square-foot expansion, resulting in seven bigger buildings (including a "huge" supermarket, of course). Borough Prez Marty Markowitz boasts: "Brooklyn can still make it big, make it bold, and even make it green." Marty always knows just what to say. (NY1)

In its steady climb towards modernization, Vinegar Hill is being treated to a $3 million renovation of McLaughlin Park. The garden will be restored, and there'll be a "multi-purpose synthetic field"--just like the kind our forefathers had. (Brooklyn Record)

The new "Vista Boquete" condos have everything a Baby Boomer could ever want in a luxury development. (Tennis courts, putting green, outdoor heated pool, etc). Remarkably, the place isn't in Midtown--it's in rural Panama. Central America is so chic. (Multi-Housing News)

- Max Abelson

Observer » Wednesday: 42nd Street Fantasies; Whitney on the High Line; Boomer Panama Condos

Wednesday: 42nd Street Fantasies; Whitney on the High Line; Boomer Panama Condos