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If you\u2019re a New York City resident, chances are you\u2019ve seen the article the Huffington Post published \u2013 \u201d This Is What New York City Could Look Like In 2033.\u201d\u00a0 Personally, I love this stuff.\u00a0 The city of New York and all these private investors have visions of grandeur and dream of revolutionizing Manhattan.\u00a0 Some of these projects are capital works like the new Penn Station, the new World Trade Center, and the Low Line Park, while others are mainly funded privately like Cornell\u2019s planned campus expansion on Roosevelt Island and Williamsburg\u2019s Bedford Avenue.\u00a0 New York is the kind of city that requires constant growth.\u00a0 It fuels our economy, provides jobs, enhances property values and often contributes a great deal to our skyline. That being said, I wholeheartedly support some of these ideas. I\u2019m even excited about them. <\/p>\n
\nPenn Station is the literally the gateway to hell.\u00a0 Ascend down those escalators into a hallway of architectural disappointment and sub-par fast food and pizza.\u00a0 In every eye shot there is a guarantee of drunken 20-somethings, or police officers dealing with a homeless person. Three different rail lines operate out of Penn \u2013 the Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak. In contrast, the other major rail station across town, Grand Central, operates only the Metro-North Railroad.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just me that seems odd to, right?\u00a0 Luckily the city wised up and began an $8 billion project to divert some LIRR trains to Grand Central, known as East Side Access.\u00a0 Brilliant.\u00a0 Estimated date of completion? 2019.
\nI\u2019ve seen images on the internet of the old Penn Station<\/a> boasting beautiful wrought iron arches and tons of natural sunlight.\u00a0 Honestly I have no idea what happened, but the proposed new Penn Station looks like a glorified version.\u00a0 It\u2019s super new age and modern looking, with several mezzanine levels and a glass ceiling \u2013 fancy.\u00a0 As an infrequent, yet occasional rider of both the LIRR and Amtrak, a new Penn Station would reduce a great deal of stress when I do in fact have to utilize its services. However, I wouldn\u2019t expect too much to happen too soon.\u00a0 Madison Square Garden, tactfully placed atop Penn has been given 10 years to find a new location, so these projects go hand in hand.
\nOne of the wetter ideas New York has ever had, +POOL intends to filter East River water and create a 285,000 gallon swimming pool between Manhattan and Brooklyn.\u00a0 The prototype alone cost $270,000.\u00a0\u00a0 In my opinion, this is something of an unnecessary investment.\u00a0 There are plenty of public pools in the city and beaches close enough to satisfy your Vitamin D and aquatic needs.\u00a0 That being said, +POOL does bring with it a lot of good.\u00a0 +POOL is designed to filter river that it floats in through the walls of the pool, making it possible for New Yorkers to swim in clean river water for the first time in 100 years. The pool will clean up to half a million gallons of river water every day, and in doing so, +POOL will make a considerable contribution to the rivers of New York City.\u00a0 They have also come up with a really fun and creative way to tile (and fund) the pool \u2013 by having people purchase them, and have a word or phrase etched on it.\u00a0 Prices for tiles range from a sensible and modest $25 to $10,000.
\nOne of the most dense and expensive works on this list is the expansion of Cornell University on Roosevelt Island.\u00a0 They have plans to sink an astonishing $2 billion into what they\u2019re calling a \u201cmega-campus.\u201d\u00a0 The architects predict that the main building will produce as much energy as it consumes, which means to me, (disclaimer: I\u2019m not a scientist) the university will have absolutely zero affect on the environment.\u00a0 What I\u2019m wondering though, is what will happen to the residential buildings already on Roosevelt Island?\u00a0 Where will they go?\u00a0 Also, getting to and from the island is no picnic.\u00a0 The F train is the only subway that stops there, and it is only accessible by car from Queens.\u00a0 The real zinger, though, is the estimated year of completion \u2013 2037.\u00a0 What\u2019s the rush, right?
\nWell there you have it.\u00a0 There are 14 other works happening, but I don\u2019t want to ramble on forever, so read on here<\/a>! Personally, I\u2019ll believe that these projects are happening when I see them.\u00a0 They\u2019re exciting endeavors that will bring a lot of joy and prosperity to the city that never sleeps.<\/p>\n