THE NEXT GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD?

From Curbed NY.

Every weekday morning, I head south through the spine of Hell's Kitchen toward the vast construction zone known as Hudson Yards. I love my insanely short commute but, boy, is it an eyesore—and it will be for some time. Half of the site is expected to be complete at the end of 2018.

Hudson Yards is historic on many levels—the most significant being that an entirely new neighborhood is essentially being built from the ground up. A neighborhood filled with residences, office buildings, hotels, schools, parks and an urban explosion of retail. That's the part that blows my mind. I imagine the traffic and congestion will be awful. But it will all be worth it if it becomes a true neighborhood. A place where my kids can play and where my wife and I can find some good eats or go for a Saturday afternoon stroll.

I'm pretty sure Hudson Yards will not become New York's next great neighborhood, but I don't want it to be. "Great neighborhoods" have come and gone, becoming hot one year and irrelevant the next. But truly great neighborhoods have staying power and never grow old. It would be quite a feat if the city could add one more of those.