Is there any reason why the QMT Tunnel 'cap' is nothing more than a fenced in lot of overgrown weeds?
Of all the development talk I hear about in NY, I never see anything on the QMT.
IMO, this is an eyesore and a total waste of precious urban space.
Has there been any talk, is it realistic, to better use this area as either:
-A nice rain-garden park, a mixed use development, SOMETHING of value to a city that needs more housing, public spaces, and climate change infrastructure?
It is maddening seeing it vacant.
It's private land owned by a developer. Who knows why it hasn't been developed yet. I don't think paying the astronomical market value to condemn the property would be a good use of public resources. Midtown Manhattan is developed enough, it can afford a vacant lot or two.
The cost of land in Manhattan is so expensive that if land can be built on, it eventually will be built on regardless of the difficulties. That's why Manhattan now has the world's thinnest skyscraper (https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-worlds-skinniest-skyscraper-steinway-tower-new-york-city-2019-10) along with developments like Hudson Yards (https://www.hudsonyardsnewyork.com/sites/default/files/2019-03/Platform-Graphic-2017.pdf) which was built over a railyard.