By Tom Nicholson
If the IOC selects New York as the location of the 2012 Olympic Games, it would be a boon for Western Queens, the proposed location of the Olympic Village, officials say.
According to NYC2012, the committee tasked with coaxing the IOC to choose NYC for the games from a pool of eight international cities, the bid sent out on Monday included answers to an IOC questionnaire and outlined what the city has to offer as host to the thousands of athletes and spectators the Olympic Games would draw.
The IOC will announce its selection for the location of the 2012 games on July 6, 2005.
Included in the bid are NYC2012 proposals to build the Olympic Village in Long Island City and to hold rowing and other water-related events on two lakes in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
City officials estimate the Olympic Games would generate about $12 billion in regional growth.
“We have a strategic business interest to think about the Olympics,” said Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, founder of NYC2012.
Five architectural firms, selected by 2012 officials in December from a pool of 130 applicants, are vying for the design of the Olympic Village. The finalists are now undergoing a 14-week planning and design study with an eight-member Design Review Panel to develop designs for the Olympic Village in Long Island City.
NYC2012 will exhibit the five finalist's plans in March and, after an evaluation and public comment period, will select the winning design in May.
The planned village would host about 16,000 athletes during the games. The complex would be used for residential housing following the games, officials said.
The complex, which would be named Queens West, is proposed to be built along the East River at Hunters Point in Long Island City and would include a 4,400-unit housing complex.
At Flushing Meadows Corona Park, renovations would include facilities for white water kayaking and rowing competitions.
Other cities applying to host the 2012 Olympic games are Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig, London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris, and Rio de Janiero, according to NYC2012.
Reach Reporter Tom Nicholson by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by calling 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
