NYC icon cries foul over rival
Source: Agencies |
August 25, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
LOOK at Manhattan from afar, and the first thing you notice is the Empire State Building, spiking like a needle above the carpet of skyscrapers that coats Manhattan from tip to tip.
Now it's got some competition - a proposal for a nearby glass office tower that would rise almost as high and alter the iconic skyline.
The tower would spoil the famous view of the 102-story skyscraper for millions of tourists, the Empire State Building's owner, Anthony Malkin, testified on Monday at a City Council hearing. It "defines New York," he said.
"We view this as an assault on New York City and its iconography," said Malkin, whose grandfather founded the Malkin Holdings company. It's "the end of the image of New York City that billions of people hold dear."
The City Council is to vote this week on whether to allow a developer to erect a 67-story tower that's only 10 meters lower than the 79-year-old Empire State Building, the city's tallest skyscraper.
The proposed tower's developer, David Greenbaum, said 15 Penn Plaza would provide critically needed and state-of-the-art office space to midtown Manhattan, creating at least 7,000 new jobs.
"The fact is, New York City's skyline has never stopped changing, and I certainly hope it never will," testified Greenbaum, president of Vornado Realty Trust's New York chapter.
The council's Zoning and Franchises subcommittee planned to vote today on whether to change rules. If they OK the plan, the final word would lie with the City Council, unless the mayor objected.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports the tower, which was approved by the City Planning Commission last month, spokesman Stu Loeser said.
The building would stand two blocks west of the Empire State Building on the site of the current Hotel Pennsylvania on Seventh Avenue, steps from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station.
"Wow! Wouldn't that be sad!" said Christa Huggins, a 35-year-old from Utah visiting the Empire State Building's 102nd-floor observatory.
She said she "loves the view of New York all the way around, but especially in that direction. And this would block it."
Renderings of the proposed building, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, portray a skyscraper shaped like a giant chisel atop a block. It tapers to a flat edge at the peak and is marked by a top-to-bottom groove on its face.
Now it's got some competition - a proposal for a nearby glass office tower that would rise almost as high and alter the iconic skyline.
The tower would spoil the famous view of the 102-story skyscraper for millions of tourists, the Empire State Building's owner, Anthony Malkin, testified on Monday at a City Council hearing. It "defines New York," he said.
"We view this as an assault on New York City and its iconography," said Malkin, whose grandfather founded the Malkin Holdings company. It's "the end of the image of New York City that billions of people hold dear."
The City Council is to vote this week on whether to allow a developer to erect a 67-story tower that's only 10 meters lower than the 79-year-old Empire State Building, the city's tallest skyscraper.
The proposed tower's developer, David Greenbaum, said 15 Penn Plaza would provide critically needed and state-of-the-art office space to midtown Manhattan, creating at least 7,000 new jobs.
"The fact is, New York City's skyline has never stopped changing, and I certainly hope it never will," testified Greenbaum, president of Vornado Realty Trust's New York chapter.
The council's Zoning and Franchises subcommittee planned to vote today on whether to change rules. If they OK the plan, the final word would lie with the City Council, unless the mayor objected.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports the tower, which was approved by the City Planning Commission last month, spokesman Stu Loeser said.
The building would stand two blocks west of the Empire State Building on the site of the current Hotel Pennsylvania on Seventh Avenue, steps from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station.
"Wow! Wouldn't that be sad!" said Christa Huggins, a 35-year-old from Utah visiting the Empire State Building's 102nd-floor observatory.
She said she "loves the view of New York all the way around, but especially in that direction. And this would block it."
Renderings of the proposed building, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, portray a skyscraper shaped like a giant chisel atop a block. It tapers to a flat edge at the peak and is marked by a top-to-bottom groove on its face.
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