The year is 2030. The Mets are still awful. After you catch a game at Citi Field, you wander into the brand-new, 20-acre park that came with Steve Cohen's Hard Rock casino and resort. Standing in the middle of the "center lawn," your gaze rises to the massive edifice that is dominating your field of vision and you see…nothing. Opaque casino glass. You cross the lawn and ascend a grand staircase to a walkway, hoping to enjoy the sweeping view over the park while you sit down and finish the bag of spaghetti you brought to the game. Soon you realize that the catwalk you've reached is just five feet wide. People are struggling to get past each other—forget about seating. You realize that if you want a moment of repose on this elevated plane, you'll have to make it to the restaurants at either far end of the walkway and make a purchase. Or, you could always enter the casino, and join the more well-heeled crowds that have a commanding view from the top.
This is the reality reflected in the current designs for the $8 billion Metropolitan Park, and the illogical facade was the main subject of complaints from New York City's Public Design Commission, which met on Monday to review Cohen's plans.