Not surprisingly, the aptly-named Sunnyside Yards appears as a giant white void, something to be avoided and forgotten, rather than confronted. It speaks to the political dynamics of the neighborhood, perhaps, that the north side of LIC will be the center for investment and development whereas across the tracks, the community will remain, flat. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Some future plans?
Today, the Sunnyside Railyard is sometimes mentioned as the potential site of a new stadium, but it is currently being used jointly by Amtrak, LIRR and freight lines as a storage and maintenance facility. (Photo, left, by BobVogel )I sort of imagine it to be the site of an "arena" though I'm curious as to what would take place? What if it became another type of bridge, where it became a stage for real human interaction and drama, rather than an uncomfortable medium for transition? What if it established a metaphysical, rather than industrial, function that linked the two seemingly alien parts of the LIC? What would this look like? Who would inhabit it? Who would stop? Would it be a place of experience or a means of transition?
[If the long-discussed East Side Access project, which would connect the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal, is ever constructed, a new Sunnyside station would be built in the yards under Queens Boulevard. Public transit projects like this and the Second Avenue subway are never a priority for state and federal funding, however. -- your webmaster]
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