NYC, flight delays, and yanking the football away
Greetings from a (very) late Sunday night at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Shannon, Isabella and I are returning from a trip to New York City, where we packed more events into a few short days than I thought possible.
Here in Atlanta, though, the fallout from Friday’s computer meltdown is very much still raining down, with nearly every flight on my airline of choice delayed, and many being canceled at the last minute. I don’t know if we’ll actually get out tonight, or when we might be able to do so on Monday. (Update: We made it home about 2 a.m. Monday morning; I chronicled our ordeal with my day job.) This sort of thing very much makes you appreciate having an airport just minutes from home.
It’s been an eventful few days in the world, to say the least. But here's something that stood out locally:
An apartment complex next to a stadium?!?!
It’s funny how worlds collide. We took in a New York Red Bulls MLS game on Saturday night in Harrison, N.J., about a half-hour train ride west from the World Trade Center. It was my first time seeing a game at Red Bull Arena, and one thing immediately stood out — the luxury apartment complex next door to the stadium. And not just within walking distance, but mere yards from stadium.
That’s coincidental because Pensacola might finally clear the way for development on one of the empty parcels of land next to the front entrance of Blue Wahoos Stadium. The backstory of all that goes back nearly two decades and is extremely complicated, even by Pensacola standards. But the end result is that we still have empty space that’s been continuously dangled in front of developers before being continuously yanked away, like Lucy and the proverbial football.
Last week, City Council approved another 30-day extension for Inspired Communities (the developer that’s been lined up to kick said proverbial football for quite some time, and has been paying for the privilege to do so) and the Mayor’s office to bring a lease agreement to Council. The current plan is a $150 million hotel/apartment complex built atop a self-contained parking garage.
The relatively simple extension — one more month after years of no tangible progress — came with a fair amount of finger-wagging from our District 1 representative following a lecture that was at least one month and a major procedural step premature.
We all deserve better.
As possibilities change, so too must plans. What might have been feasible years ago might not be feasible today. But we can’t paralyze ourselves with unrealistic expectations that are no longer in the cards. And at some point developers will quit lining up behind that proverbial football, only to have it yanked away at the last minute yet again — and be chastised in the process. The City appears to be doing its part. We’ll see what Council thinks of the agreement.
Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., is hardly the only modern facility in America that’s managed to sprout development alongside. Why can’t Pensacola seem to do so at Community Maritime Park?
New York reviews
Since you asked, here’s a quick take on some of what we took in NYC:
- Elvis Costello and Darryl Hall at Radio City Music Hall: Iconic musicians. Iconic venue. And a brilliant way to surprise your wife and daughter upon landing at La Guardia.
- Foo Fighters Night 1 at Citi Field: This was the third show for Shannon and myself. The first for our 13-year-old. Unfortunately the show got cut short after about an hour due to a Florida-caliber thunderstorm. No regrets.
- The Outsiders: It won four Tonys for a reason. Go see this musical if you can.
- The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: Incredible monument, and some incredible history. (Just plan on it taking all day.)
- N.Y. Yankees 6, Tampa Bay Rays 1: Sorry, Florida boys. (They got revenge on Saturday.) Still, a game at Yankee Stadium is something everyone should do at least once in their life.
- New York Red Bulls 3, FC Cincinnati 1: I’m a soccer guy and have been going to MLS games whenever I can. Great facility. Great fan service. Great game.
