As the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea approach, let’s not forget the failures along the way, notably NYC’s bid to win the games, literally, by bringing them to the city.
Under former mayor Michael Bloomberg, the city tried, but ultimately came up short, of winning the bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympic games, but there are some lasting legacies of the attempt worth noting, as Curbed reports: here are 10 projects that came about, in part, thanks to the city’s loss of the celebrated games.
1
Hudson Yards
Redeveloping Manhattan’s west side was a major part of the 2012 bid and facilitated the rezoning of what has become Hudson Yards. Though the Olympian dreams had planned for a stadium in the area (which was left somewhere on the cutting room floor), much of the 2005 rezoning can be attributed to the bid — at least as an NYU report argues.
2
The 7 line extension / 34th St-Hudson Yards subway station
An integral part of the Hudson Yards rezoning, the project still happened as planned — just two years behind schedule.
3
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
The bid pushed the center to add an extra 340,000 square feet, for which Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed to help redevelop to the tune of $1.5 billion.
4
Citi Field
The city’s scramble to find a stadium resulted in a fine deal for The Mets, according to an NYU report on how the 2012 Olympic bid transformed New York: “To help reduce the cost of the stadium, the City granted the Mets the right to construct it on City-owned property, foregoing payment for the land.” Though the team still had to fork over $600 million, the city chipped in $180 million.
5
Barclays Center
The center, then known as the Atlantic Yards stadium, was to be the venue for gymnastics.
6
369th Regiment Armory
7
Hunters Point South
8
Bushwick Inlet Park
9
The High Line
10
Bronx Terminal Market