Brooklyn, NY – Assemblymember Robert Carroll’s (D/WF-Brooklyn) op-ed calling for a joint NYC- Lake Placid Winter Olympics bid was published in the Daily News today. This is a follow-up on his previous op-ed in the Daily News which was published in December.

You can read the new Op-Ed here or below: 

Last month I returned from the trip of a lifetime: the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina. It was spectacular — from Milan’s grand Duomo and charming trams to picturesque Cortina with the dramatic monoliths of the Dolomites towering over the lively alpine village that is tucked between the mountains.

But what struck me most was that the model of a global city paired with a historic mountain town works. Milan and Cortina proved it. And New York City and Lake Placid could do it even better.

The Olympics are special and not just because of elite athletes and global dignitaries. It was the presence of ordinary fans and volunteers who filled the stadiums and brought the Games to life that made me realize that we must host the Winter Games in New York. Northern Italians were brimming with pride. From bartenders at Bar Basso excited to trade Olympic pins to the Alpini mountain troops I skied with in the Dolomites, it felt like the entire region was celebrating.

That’s because the Olympics are for everyone; not just athletes and fans, but also the communities that host the games.

Many tickets were surprisingly affordable. I purchased curling tickets for 70 euros and bobsled tickets for 90 euros — prices that make attending possible for regular families. Anyone who has tried to buy tickets to the World Cup knows how rare that kind of accessibility can be.

A New York City–Lake Placid Winter Olympics would benefit the entire state – bringing together upstate and downstate, showcasing the Adirondacks to the world, and introducing millions of new fans to winter sports.

The next available Winter Olympics may not be until 2042, giving us time to plan carefully. But the work should begin now. The International Olympic Committee is expected to begin considering future hosts once its current dialogue with Switzerland concludes in 2027.

Milan and Cortina showed that a big city and a legendary mountain town can host a spectacular Winter Olympics.

New York City and Lake Placid can take that model to the next level.

While in Milan and Cortina, I was lucky enough to watch athletes like Alysa Liu, Elana Meyers Taylor, and brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes compete on the world’s biggest stage – while sitting in the stands with fans from around the world cheering in different languages but unified by sport and place.

New York City already has the greatest concentration of world-class sports venues in the world. Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, UBS Arena, Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center host major global events every year. In fact, because of New York City’s unrivaled sports infrastructure, it could host more Winter Olympic events in existing venues than Milan did.

New York City’s arenas could host all the indoor ice events, while stadiums like Yankee Stadium or Citi Field could stage spectacular competitions like Big Air. If we were daring Central Park could even host an unforgettable 1.5-kilometer cross-country sprint.

Meanwhile, Lake Placid has spent years modernizing its historic Olympic facilities, building on the legacy of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Games. Thanks to investments from New York State and Gov. Hochul, the Olympic Regional Development Authority has upgraded all their Olympic legacy facilities.

In fact, the world recently saw just how ready Lake Placid is. Because of construction delays finishing the new bobsled track in Cortina, Lake Placid was designated as the official backup host for the sliding events for the 2026 Winter Olympics – a testament to the quality of its facilities and to the governor’s leadership in ensuring New York’s Olympic legacy venues remain world-class.

Anchored by Whiteface Mountain – which boasts the greatest vertical drop east of the Rocky Mountains – Lake Placid is already prepared to host the alpine, sliding, cross-country, and Nordic events of a modern Winter Olympics. These venues regularly host World Cups and world championships across multiple disciplines.

Together, New York City and Lake Placid offer something few potential Olympic hosts can match, world-class venues that already exist. Top it off with an Opening Ceremony in Times Square and I don’t know anyone who would want to refuse New York City and Lake Placid the Games!

Travel between the two regions is also more feasible than many people realize. While in Italy, I traveled from Milan to Cortina the same way many fans did – by train and then by bus through the mountains. Conveniently, Milan and Cortina are roughly the same distance apart as New York City and Lake Placid.
New York could do the same – and even improve on it.

Fans could take a train from Penn Station up the Empire Corridor to Albany or Saratoga Springs and from there board buses to Lake Placid. Planning for a future Winter Olympics could even provide the incentive – and deadline – to improve this corridor, already one of Amtrak’s busiest sections.

Housing could follow a similar model. Milan built a permanent Olympic Village that will become student housing, while Cortina relied on temporary accommodations that will be dismantled after the Games. New York could replicate this approach by partnering with universities or converting underutilized office space in New York City into a permanent Olympic Village that later becomes student or affordable housing.

In Lake Placid, a mix of permanent and temporary structures could help meet the region’s long-term workforce and housing needs in the Adirondacks.

Just imagine it.

Watching Team USA face off against Canada in hockey at Madison Square Garden.

Seeing Alysa Liu land a triple axel at Barclays Center.

Watching Mikaela Shiffrin carve down Whiteface Mountain.

Or seeing Elana Meyers Taylor thunder down the bobsled track at Mount Van Hoevenberg.