| Contact: | Sunny Mindel/Curt Ritter |
212-788-2958 |
| Jennifer Chait | 212-720-3225 (City Planning) |
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced that he was reconvening the Columbus Circle Advisory Panel to review proposals for the redesign of Columbus Circle. The Advisory Panel will work with the Department of City Planning to develop a process to review new designs that will help restore Columbus Circle to its place as one of the great civic spaces of the world.
"Columbus Circle serves as the gateway to the Upper West Side of New York City and it is only appropriate that with the redevelopment of the former Coliseum site, we also renovate the Circle and create a first-class plaza for all New Yorkers to enjoy," said Mayor Giuliani. "I am asking my Advisory Panel to advise me with regard to process and proposals for the design of the plaza, as well as to coordinate with the Economic Development Corporation to review proposals relating to the best uses for the property at Two Columbus Circle."
The panel originally advised Mayor Giuliani on the selection of the AOL/Time--Warner Center building design for the former New York Coliseum site, a 2.1 square-foot mixed--use development that is currently under construction and scheduled to open in late Fall of 2003. The panel is comprised of Jaquelin T. Robertson, FAIA, AICP, a partner in the architecture and planning firm of Cooper, Robertson & Partners; Andrew Heiskell, Chairman Emeritus of the New York Public Library and former Chairman of the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation and of Time, Inc.; and Jack L. Goldstein, a community activist and theater consultant. Joseph B. Rose, the Chair of the City Planning Commission, and John Dyson, former Deputy Mayor, serve as ex officio members of the panel.
"The convening of the Advisory Panel to develop a world class design for
Columbus Circle is another example of Mayor Giuliani's commitment 'to transmit
the City far greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us,'"
said Anthony Coles, Deputy Mayor for Planning, Education and Cultural Affairs.