Top architects and engineers present solutions for NYC’s soon-to-explode population

As more and more people move to the Big Apple, the city is running out of room to house all of them. According to Mark Ginsberg of Curtis & Ginsberg Architects, even if the city were developed to the maximum capacity legally allowed, this would still only be enough room to house 9.5 million New Yorkers. Building up every square foot that has been zoned for development is impossible and the city’s population is projected to pass 9 million by 2040. At a real estate conference hosted by Crain’s last week architects from five different firms laid out their plan to serve the city’s swelling population and each focused on a specific borough.

Proposal from Curtis & Ginsberg calls for apartments above Metro-North

1. Curtis & Ginsberg’s Bronx plan
Mark Ginsberg from Curtis & Ginsberg presented the firm’s idea of decking over a sunken Metro-North line with a concrete valley that would run from the Harlem River to Westchester Country. A row of apartment buildings would sit above the tracks, creating more density by the surrounding areas near Metro-North stations as well as the B, D, 2 and 5 lines. To minimize rail service disruption, the firm suggested using modular construction, like previously done at the Morrisania Air Rights Project. According to the architects, there are more than 100 miles of similar rail cuts in the city, which could make room for nearly 400,000 people.

CetraRuddy’s proposal for a revitalized Staten Island

2. CetraRuddy’s vision for Staten Island
Architecture firm CetraRuddy’s principal, John Cetra, laid out his idea for increased transit access to Staten Island, the city’s least dense borough. The architect recommended reactivating an abandoned rail line along the north side of the borough that would run to Newark Airport, that also has NJ Transit and Amtrak stops. CetraRuddy’s vision includes connecting commercial and residential spots by creating bike lanes and increasing ferry service beyond the only terminal at St. George. The firm also presented a plan to build a resort development and marina along Staten Island’s southern beach coast. Plus, the firm said a new mixed-use community called Staten Island City could be built at the foot of the Goethals Bridge, which could potentially house 300,000 people.

HR&A’s proposal to reimagine Rikers Island to boost flight capacity

3. HR&A Advisors reimagine Rikers Island
According to Jamie Torress Springer, a partner at HR&A, the city is projected to lose out on $17 billion in economic activity annual because of the limited capacity of the city’s airports. To boost capacity, HR&A suggested building a new runway for LaGuardia Airport on Rikers Island in place of the jail complex the city hopes to close within the next decade. This involves laying another tarmac strip on the island and then connecting that to the existing airport. Since the island spans 400 acres, other infrastructure uses like waste management or a waste-to-energy plant could be built there.

AECOM’s vision to revitalize Red Hook’s waterfront community

4. AECOM proposes Red Hook mega-development
For Brooklyn’s budding population, the engineering firm AECOM presented its vision of revitalizing Red Hook waterfront and using the proceeds to extend the No. 1 train to reach the neighborhood. The plan would cost $3.6 billion and would create new stations on Governors Island, Atlantic Basin and Red Hook, and connect at Fourth Avenue to the F and G lines. As 6sqft covered last year, the firm wants to create a residential mega-development with more than 12 towers, 45,000 units of housing, acres of parkland and waterfront-flood protections. Overall, the firm would expect the project to be double the size of Battery Park City and several times larger than Hudson Yards.

One proposal to revamp the Port Authority Bus Terminal submitted by design firm Arcadis of New York

5. Port Authority hopes to replace existing bus terminal
Finally, John Degnan, chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said a new bus terminal needs to come to Manhattan as a number of passengers it serves will grow from 230,000 to 337,000 by 2040. As 6sqft discovered a few months back, instead of relocating the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the existing site needs to be replaced or renovated. By the end of July, a study of the original site will determine the cost and schedule of the potential renovation. However, following that, an environmental review which could take two years, must be completed.

[Via Crain’s]

RELATED: 

• NYC Must Produce 20,000 New Housing Units a Year to Keep Up With Exploding Population
• AECOM wants to turn Red Hook into a 45,000-unit mega-development with new subway connection
• Port Authority Bus Terminal unlikely to be built anew; gets updated timeline