September 1, 2010

Empire State Building owner loses battle to scale down competing tower

NEW YORK

The Empire State Building’s owner lost his bid to stop a new skyscraper from rising in the neighbourhood when the New York City Council approved zoning and land use changes that pave the way for the 1,190-foot (362.7-meter) tower.

The project, called 15 Penn Plaza, is still in the planning stages. Developer Vornado Realty Trust has not set a date for its construction and has yet to sign a major commercial tenant.

But the plans alone for a glass office tower, which would stand higher than the Empire State Building’s 86-floor observatory, infuriated the landmark’s owner, Anthony Malkin, so much that he called it an “assault on New York City and its iconography.’’

Council members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the project. They said New York City and its world-famous skyline cannot afford to be frozen in time and must embrace new investments.

“We can’t make decisions based on one building,’’ said Councilman Mark Weprin. “The city has to grow, and it’s going to continue to grow.’’

Mayor Michael Bloomberg also backed the project, dismissing Malkin’s argument as delusional.

“Anybody that builds a building in New York City changes its skyline — we don’t have to run around to every other owner and apologize,’’ he said. “One guy owns a building, he’d like to have it be the only tall building — I’m sorry, that’s not the real world.’’

Plans envision a 67-story, 1,190-foot(362.7-meter)-tall office tower two blocks west of the Empire State Building, which stands 102 stories and 1,454 feet (443 metres) but has an 86th-floor observation deck about 1,050 feet (320 metres) above ground.

Malkin had lobbied the council to cut the tower by one-third the proposed height. He said in a statement after the vote that the owners believed the new building’s height and design encroached on the most iconic image in New York’s skyline. But he conceded that the City Council had the final say.

“They have gone out of their way to listen to our position,’’ he said. “In the end ... it was up to them to decide.’’

The Empire State Building was the city’s tallest when it was completed in November 1930. Today, more than 3.8 million people visit its observatories each year.

On a clear day, they say the view stretches 80 miles (128 kilometres), as far as Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

Vornado needed the council’s action to rezone the area to accommodate a more dense development than local ordinances allow.

Associated Press

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