NO-GOLD FOR NYC

New York City’s hopes of Olympic gold were officially dashed on Wednesday at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announcement.
After years of petitioning, and in the face of setbacks such as the rejection of the West Side Stadium, New York’s bid was dismissed in Singapore, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and a host of Olympic athletes had traveled to give one final push.
“As Mayor Bloomberg said before, it’s unprecedented in the history of New York City the intensity to get the Games,” said Wellington Chen, senior vice president of TDC Development & Construction Corp. “We can’t speculate on what the reasons were [that New York wasn’t chosen]. But New York should be proud of itself on what it’s accomplished right out of the gate.”
Three times larger than the Winter Olympics, the 2012 Summer Games would have generated unprecedented revenue for the city.
Now, with the no-vote, Queens stands to lose vital improvements that had been slated for many of its neighborhoods and parks.
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park had been set to host events from kayaking to archery. Millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements that were budgeted for Queens as a result of the bid have also been lost.
However, Queens West, where the Olympic Village was to be located, has already seen dramatic improvements prior to the announcement, and the Mets will get a new stadium regardless.
“I really think it would have been good for Queens,” said Luke Adams, executive director of the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce. “It would have brought a lot of jobs to our area and a lot of improvements to our neighborhoods.”
Tom Finkelpearl, executive director of the Queens Museum of Art (QMA), a major proponent of NYC2012, told The Queens Courier, “I was keeping my fingers crossed, but I was pessimistic. We’ve hosted many people from the Olympic Committee from different countries, and person after person has come through here and there’s been a lot of anti-American sentiment. Even though we had an extremely good bid, this was the reality. I think they put together an outstanding proposal. Bloomberg did a great job. I can’t imagine a mayor making it a higher priority. No one could have tried harder.”
Finkelpearl went on to dismiss concerns about terrorism. “Everyone’s heart went out to New York (in regards to September 11). It’s what’s happened since then that lost us the Olympics.”
Despite the city’s loss, experts are saying that New York is a frontrunner to host the 2016 Games. Most believe that the 2012 plan can be revamped in time for a new bid.
“I think [2016] would be a very viable option,” said Finkelpearl. “But I think it depends on where we stand with international politics.”
toni@queenscourier.com