This entry is pretty late, as you’ll see by the pictures that follow, it was still very sunny and quite warm when my 
studio took our site visit over to Hunters Point in Long Island City, Queens. The site is interesting and unexpected, with a unique view of the Manhattan skyline. My professor is Michael Manfredi, of Weiss/Manfredi, with his employee, Justin Kwok, as his teaching assistant. Hunters Point is one of many sites around New York City’s 5 boroughs that are undergoing redevelopment. It is part of Bloomberg’s initiative of revitalizing the waterfronts around the city, making New York a greener and better place.
Hunters Point past extends back to its days as wetlands (habitats on the edge of land reaching water that were home to plants, animals, and self-sustaining ecosystems). However, such natural conditions are often forgotten looking around at what remains of the city’s extreme industrial past, and Hunters Point is no exception. A waterfront site
that used to be a hub of industrialization and transportation, now overtaken by empty warehouses, artist communities, a budding high-end social life, and luxury condos. Currently the proposal for the site is high-rise residential towers, accompanied by green recreational space along the water’s edge that Weiss/Manfredi is designing.
We arrived in Queens on the number 7 train at the Vernon Blvd./Jackson Ave. subway stop. We proceeded to walk due west to the water’s edge of Hunters Point. The site is deserted and blocked off by chain-link fence, always an inviting sight. But the fencing didn’t stop us—we all slipped through a gap—Michael and 
Justin with business cards at the ready in case we ran into any trouble with the law. Cameras clicking away, we walked the length of the site all along the water, trying to capture the essence of the site in photos.
From there we walked north to the newly redeveloped Gantries Park, which includes new piers, paving, plantings, and plenty of seating. By this point the group was starting to fade, so every horizontal surface became seating and every water-fountain was taken advantage of. Realizing the group was losing our gusto, Manfredi directed us towards PS1 MoMA, with a pit stop at a small deli along the way.
At one point on our way to PS1 a woman passed us, turned around and asked, “Hey, are you guys architects?” Usually
this wouldn’t be too hard to figure out, but at the moment she posed the question all eleven of us were simply walking forward, not pointing out buildings or anything as we walked, and talking about normal life things. It was so strange—I guess we all just looked particularly ‘architect-like’ that day…
We made it to PS1 (MoMA’s off-shoot in Queens), briefly sat under MOS’s “Afterparty” (this year’s young architects program’s winning design for the courtyard), and then went inside. Of particular interest was the YAP 10th Anniversary Review, which displayed the finalists of all the Young Architects for the past 10 years. We recognized some professors in the group, and wondered how many of the projects would have been manifested had they have won. After making the rounds inside and regrouping outside, we ended our day with a trip to a Queens diner where we ate our weight in burgers and fried foods.
