6 Radical Plans to Change New York City

New York is no stranger to radical change, as evidenced by its street grid, subway system, and even the size of Manhattan Island. But those infrastructure changes seem tame compared to the ones that were never implemented. Imagine filling in the Hudson River!

In March, 1934, Modern Mechanix featured the daring plan of Norman Sper, “noted publicist and engineering scholar” (maybe publicist meant something different back then?), who envisioned adding ten square miles of land to Manhattan by infilling the mighty Hudson River. Sper proposed creating a massive, multi-layered grid that would connect New Jersey to Manhattan, solving problems like housing and transit which, according to the editors, “are threatening to devour the city's civilization like a Frankenstein monster.”

At the time, other engineers agreed it could be done. However, the estimated cost would have been $17 billion in 2013 dollars. This plan is only one of six that were seriously proposed for New York City, posted at Gizmodo. Link -via the Presurfer


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