NEW YORK | 2024 Olympics Bid?

[NYguy]

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...eam-revisited#

Doctoroff's unfinished business

Greg David
May 14, 2014

When Dan Doctoroff became enamored by the idea of bringing the Olympics to New York in the mid-1990s, he quickly came to an important conclusion. The Olympic bid would succeed only if it also promised to solve an important problem in the city.

He could promise to do that because the Olympics came with an unalterable deadline and usually engendered a civic will that allowed the almost impossible to happen.

When Mr. Doctoroff championed the effort to bring the 2012 games to New York, the purpose was to revitalize the city's underutilized waterfront. He drew a big X on the city and placed the most important venues and the needed housing where manufacturing had fled. The key was a stadium on the West Side to revitalize the area we now know as Hudson Yards, which he pushed relentlessly as Michael Bloomberg's most important deputy mayor. Even when the stadium and the Olympics bid died, he pursued the goal of waterfront development and gets much of the credit for the economic growth in the city.

Now the CEO of Bloomberg LP, Mr. Doctoroff is back at it with a plan to organize a bid for the 2024 games, centered this time on the Sunnyside yards area of Queens.

The Doctoroff playbook is at work again. He would put a deck over the rail yards and presumably build his Olympics stadium there as well as thousands of housing units needed for the athletes. Most important, he would construct the world-class convention center New York has always lacked to replace the cramped, money-losing and economically-hamstrung Jacob Javits Convention Center on the West Side, which in turn would free up that key parcel on the West Side for other development.

What could be more compelling? Create new land in a city starved for space, create much needed housing and solve the convention center problem that has bedeviled the city's business community for 30 years. And generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the city or state from the West Side site.

Mr. Doctoroff has had his eye on the rail yards for some time. He had raised the issue of decking over rail yards like Sunnyside in his ambitious NYCPlan 2030 released in 2007, which tried to chart a way to accommodate a growing population while protecting the environment. Almost two years ago, he made moving Javits to Sunnyside the centerpiece of a 2012 speech that seemed to mark a return to public policy.

The 2012 Olympic bid was one of the most bitter public policy fights ever in the city. As a journalist who covered it, it was a great story. Whether the people who lived it want to follow Mr. Doctoroff down that road again remains to be seen.

[NYguy]

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...RISM/140519585

Cuomo confirms possible Olympics bid
The governor said on Wednesday that he is considering a proposal to bring the summer Olympics to New York City in 2024. But Mayor Bill de Blasio sounded a note of caution.


Lisa Fickenscher
May 14, 2014

Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed Wednesday that he is considering a proposal to bring the 2024 summer Olympics to New York City.

Dan Doctoroff, chief executive of Bloomberg LP and former deputy mayor in the Bloomberg administration, brought the proposal to the governor in an effort to fulfill his dream of bringing the summer games to the city. Mr. Doctoroff led the fight to bring the 2012 Olympics to New York, but his effort met with stiff opposition. London won the bid.

"I'm looking forward to talking to [Dan Doctoroff] about it," said the governor, who was speaking Wednesday morning at the New York State Tourism Summit at the American Museum of Natural History.

Mr. Cuomo added that there have also been "preliminary staff level meetings" between his representatives and Mayor Bill de Blasio's over the Olympic proposal, which was first reported by The Financial Times.

The de Blasio administration is also discussing the idea but appears less than enthusiastic at this early stage.

"I think we can safely say that the history of the Olympics, in a variety of cities around the world, has been a mixed bag," Mr. de Blasio said Wednesday morning, apparently referring to the huge increase in public debt that staging the Games typically entails. "So that's something we'd look at very carefully. There may be a scenario where it makes sense, but I would say the bar is high. We'll certainly work closely with the governor's office to determine if this is a situation we think would work for New York."

According to the report, the plan focuses on 167 acres of rail yard in Queens, where a convention center would be built and thousands of housing units. But the mayor may not be too keen on the idea because of the investment involved to fund it.

A spokesman for the mayor is quoted saying "an Olympic bid is not something the administration is considering" despite Mr. Cuomo's remarks that there have been discussions about it.

[Onn]

New York City would have to move very fast to do this, the submission deadline for plans to the US Olympic Committee is this year! Los Angeles is already way out in front in the entire process, with other cities in hot pursuit as well. However let's be honest here. Whether the US gets the 2024 Olympics or not, New York City's time is coming as its one of the only top cities in the developed world never to host the Olympics.

[mrnyc]

^ let's hope not!

[jd3189]

^^^ Why not? The Olympics could help more than it would hurt if New York benefits from it like Los Angeles did. Granted, that was a different situation, but at least once NYC should host the Olympics. Or another US city that hasn't done it before, like Chicago or Miami.

[chris08876]

I think after the bad choice of Sochi, and the not so well, currently under construction Rio complex along with Rio's absurd crime rate, hopefully the capital of the world gets a shot at the title. I'm positive NYC would be the best place in the world for the olympics. Although I would agree Tokyo was a great choice. Next, NYC!!! The city alone in hotels, shopping, food, would rake in so much money towards the local economy.

Originally Posted by Onn

New York City would have to move very fast to do this, the submission deadline for plans to the US Olympic Committee is this year! Los Angeles is already way out in front in the entire process, with other cities in hot pursuit as well. However let's be honest here. Whether the US gets the 2024 Olympics or not, New York City's time is coming as its one of the only top cities in the developed world never to host the Olympics.

I'm surprised too given its Alpha++ status.

[ue]

^ The IOC is Eurocentric. It's why the vast US of A has only hosted the Summer Games 4 times in 3 cities, with many cities that would've hosted the games long ago had they been in Europe. If any city is overdue for the Olympics, it is New York City. As much as I'd love to see the summer games in Canada again for 2024, I'd be more than happy to see NYC host it instead.

[aquablue]

I predicted this would happen. It has the best chance of any USA city to win in these times of super olympic hyped extravaganzas. London has hosted, so has Paris and Tokyo (soon twice). Isn't it time for NYC, the other Alpha world city? It makes more sense than giving to LA for the third time and Chicago blew it's chance. I'm sure that NYC would do a great job, and this may lead to transport improvements in the city and cleaning up an old eyesore. The railyards are slowly being covered everywhere.

The developers will have a field day. First, there will be new space to built at Sunnyside (hence more economic benefit to the city and housing supply) and then there is the potential of Javit's land being freed up if the convention center is built there. If they are planning on covering the railyards in queens, one could see perhaps a new one seat ride rail link to JFK airport or Laguardia as a secondary benefit, which would continue into Manhattan. This would be helpful for developers who plan to build around major train hubs, a further incentive to build more towers around Penn, sunnyside and gct to attract business that require frequent airport access. Basically you could see a new business/residential district around Sunnyside yards and a new transit hub there. The new temporary stadium in Queens could be redeveloped into a park or housing afterwards.

I think LA has no chance against NYC if they bid, neither does DC or Boston, or anywhere friggin else on the continent. The IOC likes brownfield redevelopment, transport improvements, community and poverty reduction, sports education for the poor, and SEXY named cities.. it's a no-brainer that NYC should at least give it a shot as it could indeed include these elements in a bid.

[Shawn]

No established, mature city should bid for the Olympics in my mind. Same deal with the World Cup. Why should the IOC and FIFA get such massive public subsidies?

I will be quite disappointed with Mass / Boston if Boston puts in a bid. So many way more important things to spend money on.

[yankeesfan1000]

^ +1

Not sure what people expect to see from this. NY's set a tourism record every single year since 1995 except for a couple of years around 9/11 and the financial collapse, and the city is arguably healthier than it's ever been. I honestly just don't see much upside.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Shawn

No established, mature city should bid for the Olympics in my mind. Same deal with the World Cup. Why should the IOC and FIFA get such massive public subsidies?

I will be quite disappointed with Mass / Boston if Boston puts in a bid. So many way more important things to spend money on.

Even established, mature cities have areas in need of investment. The tension is between Olympic tourists (and city boosters, and TV networks) wanting to have the events in the more attractive parts of town, while the investment is only justified by reinvigorating a more desolate part of town.

By most accounts, London 2012 was a good example of an established, mature, wealthy city actually benefiting from an Olympic gains. An athlete's village that could be turned into affordable housing was a big part of this. And I think there was a good balance between having most venues located in Stratford (east London, off the tourist grid), but having just enough events in central London to showcase the city. And the right kind of events (beach volleyball, the marathon)... ones that are outdoors and allow for overhead aerial shots on the TV with city landmarks. There's no point in having an aquatics center in the middle of town.



An NYC olympics could be successful by borrowing from the same playbook. The issue is that NYC doesn't have a lot of empty space, aside from Staten Island, which is too disconnected from the rest of the city. Queens and the Bronx are the logical candidates for the olympic park. Flushing Meadows is one option (you'd have to raze Willets Point, and build on the parking lots surrounding Citi Field). But another that I like would be just east of LIC, covering the LIRR tracks and yards. Is there already a project going on here? Because if not, that area is fairly large, close to Manhattan and extremely transit dense: https://goo.gl/maps/Dl3wK

You've got the N, Q, R, E, F, M and 7 train right there. It's only 3 subway stops from Midtown hotels!

And then you just have the marathon finish in Central Park, do beach volleyball in Bryant Park, etc to give it more of an iconic New York flavor. But an olympic development in LIC/Sunnyside could seriously redevelop an area that currently looks like this into another dense downtown in NYC:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@40.75...6A!2e0!5m1!1e2

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@40.75...WA!2e0!5m1!1e2

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@40.75...PQ!2e0!5m1!1e2

[Onn]

Originally Posted by aquablue

I predicted this would happen. It has the best chance of any USA city to win in these times of super olympic hyped extravaganzas. London has hosted, so has Paris and Tokyo (soon twice). Isn't it time for NYC, the other Alpha world city? It makes more sense than giving to LA for the third time and Chicago blew it's chance. I'm sure that NYC would do a great job, and this may lead to transport improvements in the city and cleaning up an old eyesore. The railyards are slowly being covered everywhere.

I think LA has no chance against NYC if they bid, neither does DC or Boston, or anywhere friggin else on the continent. The IOC likes brownfield redevelopment, transport improvements, community and poverty reduction, sports education for the poor, and SEXY named cities.. it's a no-brainer that NYC should at least give it a shot as it could indeed include these elements in a bid.

I think you'll find New York City has plenty of time left to host the Olympics, and maybe even twice. I'm hearing perhaps in the 2050s. *cough* (Don't know if that means another US city gets the Olympics in 2024 or it goes somewhere else.) Just a hunch.

[MolsonExport]

Dr. Misteroff.

Sorry, I had to do it.

[brickell]

If NYC is going to host it we need to make streetball an olympic sport. Maybe stickball and handball (the other handball) as well.

[MolsonExport]

how about skeeball?

[aquablue]

Originally Posted by Onn

I think you'll find New York City has plenty of time left to host the Olympics, and maybe even twice. I'm hearing perhaps in the 2050s. *cough* (Don't know if that means another US city gets the Olympics in 2024 or it goes somewhere else.) Just a hunch.

It would be nice to see it there before I'm really old. I guess i'm being selfish about it, oh well.

[The North One]

You'd think with the insane power and influence this city has on the world, they would have had the Olympics at some point at least once.

And yet St. Louis has hosted them...

...Go figure.

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by The North One

You'd think with the insane power and influence this city has on the world, they would have had the Olympics at some point at least once.

And yet St. Louis has hosted them...

...Go figure.

St. Louis was the nation's fourth largest city in 1904.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by TarHeelJ

St. Louis was the nation's fourth largest city in 1904.

And for a good part of the 19th Century, St. Louis was a very important and cosmopolitan city, even more so than Chicago was.

[Perklol]

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