Ouroussoff and the Gondola

The U.S. government plays no active role in encouraging the creative investment of designers, Ouroussof writes in today's New York Times. Rather than organize design competitions for an urban site, like in Spain or the Netherlands, it just refers to the private sector. This not only leads to questions about public land and private interests, but has allowed New York to fall behind other cities in developing public works projects. In imagining an urban-scape for Governors Island, the "call for proposals is an acknowledgment that the government no longer has the resources or ambition to drive a major public works project." And the Mayor's interest in the gondola proposition shows that "the city will go to remarkable lengths to overcome Governors Island's isolation from tourists."
Governors Island from The New York Times The site is "an ideal laboratory for exploring competing desires to preserve the past and embrace the present." In the end, according to Ouroussoff, it's going to take an architect willing to take some risks. He likely wishes it were him. - Riva Froymovich