Despite Failed 2012 Olympic Bid, NYC Still Wins

by Jake Neher | 07/26/2012 | 6:48pm

Despite Failed 2012 Olympic Bid, NYC Still Wins

Officials say much of Olympic plan still carried out.

As the Olympics kick off in London Friday night, many watching in New York City might remember, this could have happened here.

Back in 2005, New York City was pushing hard to host the Olympics in 2012. That long-shot bid was seriously hurt when a controversial plan to build a stadium on Manhattan's west side was shot down. Of course, the city lost out to London.

But officials say a lot of the Olympic preparation plan was still carried out. NYU Professor of Urban Planning Mitchell Moss says the city got the benefits of the games, without the traffic and security issues of actually hosting them.

"The Olympic plan for New York was designed to take on problems that had not been addressed in New York City in over 40 years," Moss says. "To deal with the challenges that would be important if we got the Olympics or if we didn't."

Moss says projects like the High Line and the 7-line expansion to Manhattan's far West Side wouldn't have happened without the Olympic bid.
 

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