The Gates brought $254 million in extra revenue to NYC >

[Stephanie]

Whether you think it's art or not, The Gates was great for NYC.






http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_062071209.html

Bloomberg: "Gates" Brought In The Bucks
Mar 3, 2005 3:11 pm US/Eastern

(1010 WINS) (NEW YORK) "The Gates" was "a daring labor of love," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday -- but the 7,503 pieces of billowing saffron fabric being dismantled this week leave a financial imprint: $254 million spent by visitors to the Central Park installation.

* * * *

The city estimated that "The Gates" drew 4 million visitors to Central Park, up from about 750,000 during the same period in a typical February.

That included 1.5 million out-of-towners who saw "The Gates" between Feb. 12-27, including about 300,000 international visitors representing a 20 percent increase in the number of foreigners typically traipsing around Central Park in February, officials said.

In midtown Manhattan, hotel occupancy was 87 percent, compared to 73 percent last February.

The $254 million in economic activity generated by the project does not include revenue from visitors who were here on business and would have spent money anyway.

Much of the extra cash went "into the pockets of hard-working New Yorkers," said Bloomberg. <more>

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. I am not fond of Cristo, but yes that is good

[LiberalFighter]

3. Previous mayors said no to the Gates

[BurtWorm]

2. I saw them at 86th and CPW on Tuesday in all that snow

and I felt sad thinking that would probably be the last I'd see of them. Not that I want them up all the time. I think it's brilliant that they were only up (officially) for two weeks. Any longer and we'd probably ALL be sick of them.

[Stephanie]

4. I know, I already miss them

I didn't make it to the Park last weekend and I'm sorry - I wanted to see them again. Maybe this weekend I'll go.

[Beetwasher]

8. Yeah, I Got To See Them Last Weekend

Glad I did! Felt I was seeing a (small) part of an historic event. I thought they were kinda cool, not amazingly cool, but cool enough that I can't understand what all the criticism was about...

[FloridaPat]

5. I wish they could have stayed up a lot longer. No way was I going

to NYC in the winter. Spring, summer, or fall would have been nice. Why only a month?

[BurtWorm]

6. It was only two weeks.

They (Jean-Claude and Christo) said they didn't want the gates to have to compete with the greenery. They felt an installation like this was more needed in the winter, when people need something to lift them up.

[paineinthearse]

7. 3/2 Daily Show had an interview with a "native"

He wanted all tourists to leave NYC. Stewart said NY's new motto should be "Welcome to NY, now go home!".

Watch the re-run at 7PM if you missed it.

[Stephanie]

9. Well, they walk too slow and clog up the sidewalks

They stop in the middle of the sidewalk and nobody can get by. They walk four abreast and don't leave room for anybody else. When in New York, obey all traffic rules when walking on the sidewalk. Keep to the right, look over your shoulder before merging or turning, pull over before stopping, keep to your own lane.

[Beetwasher]

10. That WAS Annoying, How Crowded the Park Was

n/t

[Stephanie]

11. It was better at the northern end

The Harlem Meers was beautiful and not crowded.

[Beetwasher]

12. Yeah, I Figured It Would Be

But I went while running errands and it would have been too far out of the way to go up that far...Love that part of the park though!

[BurtWorm]

13. Annoying but amazing.

Considering the temp was in the 30s!

[the_spectator]

14. "Once upon a time"

"Once upon a time, there were "The Gates" in Central Park" (as Christo and Jeanne-Claude said, in explaining their necessary transience.) I miss them already too.

The Gates will have a halo effect in the Park - I walked through them often, and heard so many comments by New Yorkers like, "I've never been to this part of the Park before" or "I don't know where we are, I've never been here" etc. The project helped many busy New Yorkers to rediscover the Park. And yes, the Gates around Harlem Mere were great - my favorite part were the walkways on the hills just south of the Mere. It's a beautiful part of the Park, and many people discovered it for the first time over the last couple of weeks.

Nice (but sad) pictures of the removal you have there!

[Stephanie]

15. Welcome to DU, the_spectator!

You're right about discovering the Park - I was leading some out-of-towners through the northern end and I could not find those paths through the North Woods that my friend told me to check out. I was totally lost. LOL!

[the_spectator]

17. Thanks for the welcome -

Been lurking here since the Election, posting for a month or more - not a huge poster!

[JHB]

16. I still think the most brilliant commentary on "the Gates"...

...was made by an anonymous park-goer on 20th on a park bench:

"The Gates", reproduced in miniature, out of Cheez Doodles.

Tribute, mockery, allegory of absurdity, it was left to the viewer to decide its meaning. Nourishment for the soul, and for birds, squirrels, and rats. Ahh, art in New York.