Why Architecture Matters: Paul Goldberger and AY
The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC on Christmas Day, was a rebroadcast of the original 11/17/09 show with New Yorker (and former NYT) architecture critic, Paul Goldberger. Speaking before the recent closing of the bond issue and property transfer (and erection of the arena propaganda, above), Goldberger went on record saying that he thought that…
The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC on Christmas Day, was a rebroadcast of the original 11/17/09 show with New Yorker (and former NYT) architecture critic, Paul Goldberger. Speaking before the recent closing of the bond issue and property transfer (and erection of the arena propaganda, above), Goldberger went on record saying that he thought that AY was, and is, a mistake. He based that on his opinion that mega-projects don’t improve street life, and he hoped that the slowdown in the economy would give the project time for improvement, and the correction of mistakes. He went on to quote the celebrated critic Louis Mumford, who said that, the great function of the city is to permit, indeed, to encourage and incite, the greatest possible number of meetings, encounters, challenges between all people, classes, groups, providing a stage upon which the drama of life may be enacted. Mega-projects, and he cites the World Trade Center, as well as Battery Park City, are enclaves unto themselves that do not encourage this great mingling of people necessary to great city life. Goldberger conceded that he likes the redone façade of the proposed stadium, but still does not approve of the project. Over the years, I’ve realized that streets are more important than buildings,” he said. “The urban experience has to be had on foot.”
The Atlantic Yards Report also has a full report of the Lopate/Goldberger interview, with commentary.
can’t sell it
the better if is so tired. we don’t live in theory. if you can sell it, it doesn’t exist.
D-O-N-E-D-E-A-L!!!
I have no objection to the idea of building over the trainyards. Affordable housing, accompanied by an upgrade to the transit infrastructure would be a good thing for the area. What I hate most about AY is the stadium. Stadiums are nothing more than rackets designed to funnel taxpayers’ money into developers’ wallets. The court’s decision to uphold the use of eminent domain in the AY case shows how corrupt our system is.
Benson: How do you define the success of Metrotech? There is tons of unused space (quietly marketed for sublet). People moved there after 9/11. Many have now downsized. There is no retail to speak of (ex. fast food). No 24/7 — dead by 6pm m-f and dead all weekend. If not for city offices (FDNY) and Poly, it would be a wasteland. Yes it was a needle park 25 years ago, but so were a lot of places that have had organic development and not sweeteart deals with politicians.
One of the big problems with the AY site, and I mean this with all honesty, is the delay in getting something built. Controversial projects need to move fast. The longer it is stalled the more the critics will come out of the woodwork to bemoan this or that. Once it is built everyone will accept it, they will buy and rent apartments there, go shopping there and buy tickets to games and concerts in the arena. If you build it they will come, and only the architectural critics will complain, although in this case, even they may like it.
benson, I have no problem with developing housing at that site, and not limited to brownstone scale. I would have liked to see some real planning go into this that allowed the development to coexist with and enhance the surrounding neighborhoods without boxing them in. Less density and better use of the street grid, and you could have something that works. I also have no problem with the zoning swaps along the lines of those we’ve seen over the last few years — opening up avenue corridors (4th, e.g.) in exchange for preserving a sense of scale in existing neighborhoods), so long as planning for amenities (retail, schools, recreation etc. is part of the mix). I think growth can continue to be accommodated with a mix of smaller scale infill and larger scale along well-selected corridors — not to mention in other boroughs that have had less recent develoopment than Brooklyn (Queens and Bronx, in particular). There are lots of vacant and underutilized lots in various Brooklyn neighborhoods. I don’t think the choice is between AY as planned or another Starret City in the middle of nowhere.
Paul Goldberger knows about as much about Brooklyn as the man on the moon. He is a snob, like all architectural critics, and he is opposed to anything that is popular or that the average American finds comfort or delight in. It is the first rule in the archtectural critic’s handbook: hate anything that most Americans like.
He is such an old windbag. I heard him speak recently. I think even he is not buying his own spiel any more. He has recently “discovered” the beauty and subtlety of Los Angeles. I give him another year in NYC.
benson- not for nothing but the fact there is a mass transit hub there doesn’t address the issue of how well it will handle a huge increase. You know Brooklyn. YOu also know the train lines are all spread out- with no cross connections, the further out you go. By the time you get into the Atlantic Ave Sta. or Jay St/boro hall, train lines are packed to the rafters and they pick up a skizzload of passengers in Boro Hall. So you’re packing on tens of thousands onto a rail system that is already fully packed, at it’s hub.
All the visionary building that went on- including that of your beloved Robert Moses, was built with the idea that we would always be building and improving on the infrastructure and architecture. Unfortunately that did not happen. I agree building in NYC is a morass of red tape, incompetence, and back room deals- but as has been pointed out, a megaproject like Rockefeller Center was planned to be part of the City. The WTC, Metrotech, and AY all see themselves as bastions against the city.