Hudson Yards boasts new narrative, leaving long-time residents behind
In its haste to create a glittering, sky-high cultural hub, city leadership eschews neighborhood's historic significance
Hudson Yards does not fit the traditional mold of a neighborhood. High-rises fill the sky, there aren’t any families, or even nannies pushing oblivious children in strollers. The streets are void of four-legged companions with wagging tails. There are no bus stops with exhausted New Yorkers eager to go home after overtime shifts.
“Hudson Yards has become the cultural center of Manhattan’s New West Side!” is the slogan plastered on the official website, which boasts New York Fashion Week soirees and art exhibitions. Succeeded by articles from W Magazine, the New York Times, and Forbes, Hudson Yards developers are seemingly garnering ample clout to support a bold new assertion: this is a glittering success story.
And though the narrative of Hudson Yards is central and crucial to its rebranding, new development leaves little room for addressing the critical needs of the areas. Once a railroad depot and ship building yard on the Hudson River, the area was seen as a lucrative real estate investment as early as 1953. Now, it boasts the title of "the largest private real estate development" in U.S history, toting a hefty price tag of $25 billion.
Despite the common belief that Hudson Yards is filled with deserted railroads, individuals facing housing insecurities have long found shelter in the now sought-after zip code, but are being increasingly dislocated. Those developing Hudson Yards into a cultural nucleus of prosperity must do so by developing a series of high-value property, which comes with higher tax assessments and, therefore, higher rent.
As private and public officials look to create a profitable future in Hudson Yards, attempting to erase its past, developers and residents alike are trapped in a complicated economic and social web.
Unlike companies like CNN and L’Oreal, the non-profit organization Covenant House looks at Hudson Yards as a haven for long-time residents, one of few organizations that saw greatness in Hudson Yards without needing the sales pitch. For over twenty years, the shelter utilized Hudson Yards as a place of redemption. Providing services such as health care and legal services to troubled youth, Covenant House maximizes their resources for the greater good.
Researchers Bridget Fisher and Flávia Leite, of The New School Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, explore how local government and policy constructed Hudson Yards: “...property has more value if built out to its highest potential, density bonuses attract private developers by increasing the buildable area and making their projects more financially attractive.”
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is mainly credited with solidifying Hudson Yards as a developers playground, though over a decade ago the Bloomberg administration failed to consider the vulnerable population that used the isolation of Hudson Yards as a safe space.
“The needs for affordable housing, education investments, workforce development, and homelessness have always been there,” Bridget Fisher from SCEPA said. If there was any hope that the city’s investment in Hudson Yards could somehow be diverted to include the homeless population, Fisher said, “that ship has sailed.”
The experiences and lifestyle that Hudson Yards promotes is attached to a price that is not attainable for many. However, developers are afforded the opportunity to chase tax breaks in exchange for making Hudson Yards economically appealing.
Extravagant infrastructures such as the Vessel, the Shed, and the Edge (all opened within a month of each other in 2019) creates an eerie dystopian aesthetic that promotes the idea of exclusivity in Hudson Yards. Each structure operates under the moral guise that it provides economic growth to the community. But these generate just a small fraction of the wealth that the neighborhood hoards.
Like others, Gotham developers are utilizing programs such as Affordable Housing New York for their current housing unit on 550 10th Avenue. In the September housing committee meeting, the president of Gotham's development, Bryan Kelly, presented the plans for this new "mixed-income" residential building: in exchange for the tax break they receive, Gotham allotted 137 of their 453 units to be marketed as affordable housing, or below market value.
Though these plans show a forward way of thinking, the harsh reality faced by those who face extreme housing insecurities can’t be ignored. Without a stable home and necessities, how would an individual facing homelessness generate a steady income to afford a $1,380 studio apartment at 550 10th Avenue?
Shelters, advocacy groups, and committee board members rallied around the vulnerable population in an attempt to create a shield from this overarching cloud of capitalism inching closer to Hudson Yards.
As New York City became the pandemic's epicenter last year, the elite could no longer wear their rose-colored glasses and ignore the wealth gap. Using the Department of Homeless Services data, Manhattan Community District 4, which includes Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, and Hudson Yards, reached peak numbers of individuals who relied on public resources for housing. Coalition for the Homeless is one of many organizations that pushed for hotels to house homeless individuals at the height of the pandemic.
Advocacy groups like Coalition employed legal proceedings to justify that the homeless should be allowed to occupy empty hotel rooms during the pandemic. Fisher V. The City of New York utilized policy created in the aftermath of the Great Depression to hold the city accountable for its citizens. Over 80 years later, history reared its head in the 21st century and proved why there need to be more concrete solutions for homeless people. By winning this case at the onset of the pandemic, the data displays the urgency of this problem.
On March 31st, 2020, commercial hotels in District 4 housed merely 17 individuals facing homelessness. Nine months later, 1,483 people called the vacant tourist hotels home as a result of COVID-19. In February of this year, the number peaked at 1,551. As of the most recent update, 86 individuals in commercial hotels are allocated for sheltering the homeless.
Despite the drastic drop in numbers from earlier this year, there is still a stark number of NYC residents who are without stable housing. Once New York City started to open back up, rooms once reserved for the homeless reverted to their set price per night for tourists. In the few months that the world paused, it felt like there would be a change in these systemic impediments. The idea that the collective wealth of New York would notice and revise the disparities in economics, race, and gender provided hope for the city.
Yet as developers rush to construct their high rises, the residents of Hudson Yards who’ve long occupied the area are being left in the dust.