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City Offering $500M For West Side Rail Yard

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Jul 7, 2006 6:27 am US/Eastern

City Offering $500M For West Side Rail Yard

Mayor Not Deterred By Failures To Get Stadium

by Magee Hickey
NEW YORK (CBS) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 2: The West Side Rail Yard (file photo).
Click to enlarge 2 of 2: Michael Bloomberg, New York City Mayor, testifies about gun control before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security, Washington, DC
AP

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The rail yard is Manhattan's last major undeveloped parcel of land -- a huge chunk that sits between 11th and 12th avenues, and stretches from 30th to 33rd streets.

Originally, Mayor Bloomberg wanted the Hudson Rail Yards to be the future home of the New York Jets. After state lawmakers sacked that plan, city officials wanted the land to be part of their 2012 Olympic dreams.

But exactly one year ago, those hopes also were dashed. So, in its latest bold move, the city is seeking to buy the land from the MTA because it wants to build housing, office, manufacturing and park space over the working rail yards, which are still used by the Long Island Rail Road.

The city is offering $300 million for the Western Rail Yard and another $200 million for the Eastern Rail Yard.

Any development proposal would ultimately require City Council approval. Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a big foe of the West Side Jets Stadium deal, backs this plan, since she said the people who live and work here would have the final say on the rail yard's future.

The MTA had originally wanted $1 billion for the rail yards to help pay for projects like the Second Avenue Subway, so it's unclear whether the agency will accept the city's offer.

MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow said in a statement that the state agency, which runs the nation's largest mass transit system, will give "serious consideration" to the city's proposal.