‘The Gates’ boosts N.Y. economy
The design installation “The Gates” created an economic boom for New York City, with the city getting a $254-million boost to its economy.
Hot dog vendors, horse-drawn carriage drivers and restaurateurs joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday in celebrating the rewards generated by the $21-million project. Created by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the installation didn’t cost the city a penny to construct.
The installation featured a series of door frames or “gates,” hung with saffron-colored fabric, spaced along 23 miles of Central Park’s footpaths. It drew an estimated 4 million visitors to the park, including 1.5 million out-of-towners, between Feb. 12 and 27. In midtown, hotel occupancy was 87% during that period compared to 73% last February.
Teams hired by Christo and Jeanne-Claude began taking down the gates this week. The thousands of tons of steel, orange plastic and saffron-colored nylon fabric are to be recycled as everything from paint rollers and steel reinforcing bars to PVC pipes.
The artists financed the project with sales of their drawings and other works.
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