Since New York developers love to put on a happy face while spinning their architecture plans to the public, Lost City has made a translation guide so it's a bit easier to follow along. Here are a few key phrases:
Statement: "Our design is meant to respect the historical and architectural context of the neighborhood."
Translation: "This building is not as big and ugly as we'd like it to be."Statement: "We support the approval process."
Translation: "We promised City Hall we'd go through the motions."Statement: "Community support is very important to us."
Translation: "We'd much prefer it if you didn't complain about what we're doing."Statement: "We want to expand opportunities for the creation of housing."
Translation: "We want to build luxury condos."Statement: "New York is a city rich with history."
Translation: "Go visit the museum."
We wonder how a developer would respond to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's recent statement: "if we don’t do something soon, public toilets ... may well be the only new housing available to the average working family."
Photo via Amy Rathgeb's Flickr.
