GUEST COMMENTARY: Hudson Yards – Setting the Record Straight (or Don’t Doubt its Success)

I was motivated to respond to an article by Robert Kuttner on The American Prospect website that in general argued that a tax-subsidized project was facing impending collapse which could provide an opportunity for affordable housing. I have no problem with the author disliking Hudson Yards and he wouldn’t be the first or only one to do so. I believe, however, that the American Prospect piece contains misinformation on the Hudson Yards project. This article … <Read More>


Requests for Proposals Sought For Affordable Housing Developments At Two Hudson Yards Sites

Two sites located at Hudson Yards will be used for future affordable housing development. On April 9, 2018, Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer announced the release of a Request for Proposals that seeks qualified teams to develop two city-owned sites into mixed-use affordable housing developments. The sites are located in Hudson Yards in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhoods.


Hudson Yards owners lose condemnation claim

Owners of M1-5 properties claimed their land should be valued as if zoned C6-4. The City acquired properties through eminent domain for the Hudson Yards Rezoning and Development Program. The project aimed to develop 38 blocks in Manhattan’s Far West Side and extend the No. 7 subway line south-westward from Times Square to Eleventh Avenue and West 34th Street. 2 CityLand 4 (Feb. 15, 2005). The affected owners’ properties were primarily located on 34th and … <Read More>


Hudson Yards text modified

Air rights text and new setback rule slightly changed to respond to Council’s concerns. The City Council approved 12 significant text amendments to the Hudson Yards zoning text after the Department of City Planning made two small modifications. Overall, the final text encompasses the transfer of development rights from the MTA’s eastern rail yards, the use of the Hudson Yards District Improvement Bonus, and the relocation of subway entrances for the No. 7 line. The … <Read More>


Proposed Hudson Yards changes arouse opposition

Stringer, the community board, and Council Members Katz and Avella voice strong opposition;vote planned for August. The Department of City Planning initiated a proposal for twelve text changes to sections of the Hudson Yards zoning text which the Council passed in 2005 and impacts West Midtown below 42nd Street. The proposed changes encompass design points, such as applying sidewalk widening rules along Eighth Avenue and waiving window glazing for projects along a portion of Hudson … <Read More>


MTA selects Tishman’s billion dollar bid for Hudson Yards

Proposal would create 13 million sq.ft. of developable space. On March 26, 2008, the MTA Board selected Tishman Speyer’s proposal to develop the western and eastern portions of the John D. Caemmerer Rail Yard, also known as Hudson Yards. At $1.004 billion, Tishman outbid four competing real estate developers for the right to transform the 26-acre site despite proposing the smallest number of residential units and the least amount of open space.

Tishman’s proposal, designed … <Read More>