Harvard Design School professor Alex Krieger’s widely-reported contract with media giant Cablevision has placed him at the center of a bitter battle over development rights on Manhattan’s West Side.

Krieger, who is professor in practice of urban design and best known on campus as the lecturer in the popular undergraduate core class Literature and Arts B-20 “Designing the American City” is in the midst of an uphill struggle to halt the construction of a pricey professional sports stadium along the Hudson.

The proposed stadium, supported by city and state officials in New York, would house the National Football League’s New York Jets—and would serve as a venue for Olympic events if the Big Apple is selected to host the 2012 Summer Games.

But Cablevision opposes the plan for the new stadium, which could pose a threat to the dominance of the company’s own Madison Square Garden (MSG).

Although Krieger is personally opposed to the construction of a stadium on the West Side’s vacant but valuable railyards, he recognizes that his client has its own motives for sacking the Jets’ plans.

“Cablevision’s interest first and foremost was to protect its interest in Madison Square Garden as a sports and entertainment venue,” Krieger says. Cablevision owns a 60 percent controlling stake in MSG.

Andrew Lynn, MSG’s vice president of development, says that when he hired Krieger, he gave the professor a specific charge: to design a high-density residential development that would provide access to the waterfront and maximize open space.

Krieger’s plan for the 13-acre site contains schools, a library, retail space, and 5,000 to 6,000 units of housing­— some of which would be subsidized.

“We drew our inspiration from other parts of Manhattan, which is dense, tall, and for mixed use,” Krieger says. “This is one of the largest undeveloped sites in all of Manhattan.”

Lynn said that Cablevision was thrilled to secure Krieger’s services.

“He had done a lot of work for major cities on their waterfronts. I was impressed by that piece of his background and from seeing some of those plans,” Lynn says. “He was my first choice.”

Krieger’s impressive resume includes several high-profile design projects, including a plan to revitalize the Anacostia waterfront in Washington, D.C.

GOING FOR THE GOLD

Krieger’s vision for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) space went up against the Jets’ vision for a permanent Manhattan stadium. The team currently shares space with the New York Giants in New Jersey’s Meadowlands.

On April 1, the MTA accepted the Jets’ bid for the space.