Anyone living in the New York City area can vouch for the fact that our trio of JFK Airport, LaGuardia and Newark-Liberty makes for some very crowded air space. So perhaps we need another airport to alleviate the stress on those three—and maybe we'll plonk this new airport down right in the center of Manhattan to make it super accessible?
Of course a Manhattan airport, even another New York City-area airport, is a crazy idea, and so we're happy that the so-called Manhattan Airport Foundation is a joke ... or is it? The Foundation, a "land-use constituency committed to the immediate development of a viable and centrally-located international air transportation hub in New York City for the benefit of all New Yorkers," propose tearing up Central Park and turning this massive plot of primo land into an airfield.
Although their Terminal renderings do look pretty, there are a gazillion and one reasons why this idea ... fantasy ... fever dream, whatever it is, won't work at all. For one, there is no way airplanes can get any closer to the city than they do now; remember the Air Force One photo-op debacle? Another reason is that Central Park sits on so much uneven bedrock that it would far too cost-prohibitive to try and level it for runway use.
Nonetheless, for New Yorkers and aviation geeks, it's a hilarious joke of a website. Pass it around to your friends and maybe organize a pool to "dedicate a bench" for $1000; they've got to pay for their website design somehow.
