Long Island City’s long lost East River footbridge concept discovered
Rendering: conceptual East River Footbridge linking Manhattan and LIC
Everyone loves Long Island City’s speedy commute into the city, but it seems one architect has been itching to make it even more direct. Curbed dug up the conceptual East River Footbridge from architect Andre Tchelistcheff. Voilà: imagine if you could saunter right across the East River via footbridge from LIC to Manhattan? (LIC real estate brokers start your calculators.)
If it ever came to fruition, here’s how it would work – via Curbed:
Rendering: East River Footbridge’s nifty drawbridge feature
“The hybrid suspension-drawbridge would cross the the East River from a western approach slotted between the United Nations and Sheldon Solow’s fallow hole. [...] From a support sunk into little Belmont Island, the footbridge takes a dogleg to the east, connecting to Long Island City near Gantry Plaza. Off center, closer to Manhattan, is the drawbridge section that could be raised so ships can continue on their way.”
Hmm, perhaps the spinning drawbridges could also double as wind turbines…? Dare to dream NYC.
Build it! Now!
I agree, would love a footbridge. And let’s make one to Greenpoint too. Maybe connect Greenpoint/Manhattan and us all at once. It would revolutionize the area!!
What do mean? The Pulaski bridge connects us to Greenpoint…
1, Why would the UN have to help fund it? That’s exactly the kind of project the city should fund.
this would be amazing, complete with a bike lane, these are the type of things politicians should grab on to. how much could it cost? i would pay a special tax for it.
wonderful idea! but a tram would also be an excellent option, like the one from roosevelt island to manhattan.
Trams need too much maintenance though and if it’s really windy they can’t be used. A foot bridge needs zero maintenance.
this would be the best thing to ever happen to LIC…but i have no confidence that it would ever happen even if it makes complete sense and even if these types of solutions are much cheaper than increasing capacity on the 7 train.
The footbridge would connect vernon to G’point, and not force foot traffic across the crappy Pulaski.
On a nice day like today I would totally skip the train and walk to work to my office in midtown. Seriously how does something like this get off the drawing board and into planning. Not sure how things like this generally get started.
London did something similar. Their Millennium Footbridge is a pedestrian-only steel suspension bridge crossing the Thames River. This would be double the lenght, but the Millennium Footbridge only cost $30M to construct. Now granted that’s in London not in NY where organized crime family known as unions tend to operate, but its not so crazy financially.
Usually great ideas like this start out on a napkin. NYC just likes to wipe its nose with good ideas, instead of developing them.
this idea is too good to be true. it would be amazing…
anyone from city council or city hall watching this space? :)
Build it and they will come!!!
This makes way too much sense to have it done. I wonder how long an average person would take to walk across this bridge. I would think 10 min tops.
I don’t care who funds it, just build it now!
To walk across the QB takes a little over 25 minutes, walking relatively quickly.
This indeed would be great. Probably a huge security issue for the Un though.
#5, By having the UN fund it, it would have abetter chance of actually getting built. Why would they do it? Because NYC is their host city and they receive plenty of city perks this is good way of giving back.
Considering the UN doesn’t even allow the East Side bike path to cross their property, I doubt they’d allow a foot bridge.
i’m sure it could be altered so that it does not go directly to the UN, perhaps Tudor City…anyway the point is that this is a great idea which sadly will probably never happen (maybe someday in the far future with Hunters Point South?)
It’s so depressing to me that the same city that wouldn’t take no for an answer as it built the the two tunnels and the East River bridges, not to mention the subway system, today finds unable to imagine doing anything approaching the scale of this project. We’re the city of “No-Can-Do.” Tell me, what exactly is so wrong with us today that we can’t think big anymore?
The foot bridge does not seem to cross UN property. It seems to connect with an existing road. Not sure what basis they would have for complaint. If anything security will be an issue. Some one could stand on the footbridge and fire an RPG into the UN. doesn;t meant that it should not be build though.
#22, is sadly right. We were once a nation that did great things. We built skycrapers just because we could, sent men to the moon, unlocked to power of the atom, invented the automobile, put computers on the world stage. That is no longer the case. Unfortunately this is not a NYC problem its a USA problem. To me the most glaring example of this is the WTC. Close to a decade has gone by since the attacks of 9/11, and we are still staring at a hole in the ground wondering what to do. A national disgrace. If you want to see exciting and innovative projects go to China, the far east and India. The USA is now a place for mediocrity and the status quo.
I agree with 22 and 23 on the state of our country as compared to the rest of the world.
When was the last time we build something that was awe inspiring in scale?
Oh wait, the new iPhone leaked yesterday … and we had something to talk about.
The rest of the world has been laughing at us for over a decade. But on the other hand it did not seem to learn from our mistakes. India and China is riding the same slippery slope that led us here.
It is sad to think that something like this footbridge will never see the light of day in this era. The old innovation of NYC was brought about by upstarts & immigrants in a time when NYC was still mostly unbuilt the way it is now, and the government had loopholes that allowed someone like Robert Moses (never an elected official) to have so much power over NYC development. Prejudice aside, not trying to push Moses as a hero, but at least undeniably a visionary, who was not afraid of large scale infrastructure development. If you look even further back in NYC history, Dewitt Clinton’s administrationv catapaulted NYC into the future by building the Erie Canal and the entire Manhattan grid system. All before 1900. The ERIE CANAL. Talk about thinking big. If they hadn’t built the Erie Canal (hundreds of miles away ), supposedly NYC would not be what it once was without the diversion of ships to NYC ports. If you watch the PBS documentary called New York, you will learn all about that. Highly recommended, especially if you want to experience NYC’s days of innovative glory.
Not to get political here, but today’s politician can’t see past the next elections cycle. How can you expect them to develop a vision. Its all about what short term impact can I make so that I can get my name in the paper. Agree with the previous posters. Robert Moses is sometimes a contraversial figure, but he and others in that era had a real commitment to get things done. That’s what we need today. During the depression, dams were built, highways were created, the infrastucture of the country was improved. After spending trillions on so call economic stimulus what public works projects do we have to speak of. Can anyone name anything that was noteworthy in the billions and billions that was spent?
Ever seen in families, where the parents (one or both) was either an immigrant or worked his/her way up from very little, built a fortune, and then raised spoiled, over-privileged children who have no work ethic or ambition like their parents? That’s what the NYC of today is like. A spoiled rich kid who lives off the fat of their parent’s hard work.
26, the saddest thing to me is that I believe the American public is ready to be a leader again and see our economy flourish, but no one on the national stage can or will make anything happen. Obama should have sunk all that stimulus cash into high-speed rail projects and converting moribund factories into green technology centers. If FDR were alive today, I could imagine him pushing us in that direction. Instead, we’re held hostage by entrenched interests and corporate criminals, while the “hate-triots” have monopolized political discussions. The rest of us are left dreaming about simple, practical footbridge proposals that will never see the light of day. How far we’ve fallen.
pretty far.
Here’s an idea. Instead of the government getting involved, why don’t we explore what it would cost to build the footbridge with private capital. Then, after four decades of environmental studies and governmental regulation, we might get the damn thing built. Who wouldn’t pay a buck toll to walk across the great estuary–you know it’s not really a river, right?. I bet we could turn a profit after a while. What a concept.
Wow! Just…wow! This would be absolutely incredible. And unlikely to see the light of day, unless some corporation can see a way to make a profit off of it.
Does anyone know if this architect is related to THE Andre Tchelitstcheff of California wine-making fame?
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That’s exactly the kind of project the UN should help fund. I dream about a footbridge all the time….