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Posted 1 year ago.
See this poll on: http://mas.org/battle-of-the-skyline/
MAS, why wouldn't you oppose the project?
Doesn't the city deserve a more distinguished architectural addition than a tower that still manages to look like a stump?
As many point out here, there also does not appear to be any current real estate need for such an enormous office tower. And as others point out, where are the voices to preserve the McKim Mead and White Hotel Pennsylvania?
Too bad that the sound criticisms of the proposal seem to be articulated by the Empire State's owners, leading people to dismiss them. The tower does obstruct the view and diminish the skyline, rather than enhance it. Why is that not considered important?
Where is the spirit and vision of Jackie Kennedy?
I hope that the New York City’s greatest architecture has yet to be built. It gives me new faith that this project is moving ahead. The City that keeps getting better!
Would Parisians allow this tower(and rather mundane) next door to the Eiffel Tower? Would Londoners allow a structure such as this to shield one clock face of Big Ben? Put a McDonalds on top of the Brandenburg Gate? Build this and New Yorkers are fools and Kong will be rolling over in his grave.
Long Live the TRIBOROUGH BRIDGE!!!!
The renderings of 15 Penn Plaza are very bland and boring. I'm not against building tall buildings in an area that is rich in transit, especially where there are plans to expand those offerings even further. If they are going to build something in such close proximity to the iconic Empire State Building, the architecture should be contextually sensitive and complement the area's existing structures.
New York City cannot stop building. Once it does, the city will truly lose its soul. So since growth is inevitable, it should be well planned and offer world class designs that further enhances the quality of our city's aesthetics.
I don't object to more tall buildings in the skyline, but if one is going to be as tall as the Empire State Building, it better be the absolute best design New York City has to offer.
The design of 15 Penn Plaza is inoffensive, but is bland the best we can do? Any addition that prominent must be an icon, a modern statement, a challenge. The reaction should be closer to "wow" or "WTF" than "meh".
Tony Munchkin's mobster methods are just like guild socialism or fascism: Use the power of the state to get rid of superior competition, in this case of those who want to build a more modern and beautiful building a couple blocks from his aging landmark.
"The height and bulk of 15 Penn Plaza are the result of waivers and bonuses greatly in excess of code. Another waiver granted 15 Penn Plaza the right to build without setbacks." -- Tony Munchkin
Setbacks make a building apologize for its greatness. Setbacks are bad. And who can't use a bit of shade in the summer?
"At only 67 stories, 15 Penn Plaza would be as tall as the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building..."
So what? What's it to you how many or how few floors the competition has?
In fact, it shows how outdated your building is. No space between floors for modern wiring.
"...and would, if built, be as much a scar on the complexion of New York City as the loss of Penn Station."
Really? If anything, the ESB is the scar on the complexion of New York City. If you look at the rendering, sleekly soaring 15 Penn Plaza is much more beautiful than the ESB with its atrocious setbacks, no matter how much the general public has gotten used to it and thus even grown attached to it.
"The prominence of the Empire State Building would not be significantly affected because the new building... would be shorter than the Empire State Building (approximately 230 feet shorter), and the two buildings are approximately 1,000 feet apart, which would further diminish the perceived height of the new building in more distant views." -- City Planning Commission
Who cares about the prominence of the Empire State Building? I hope towers twice or thrice as tall will be built all around the ESB.
If anything, the ESB embodies all that's wrong with New York: bad architecture pandering to the bad taste of the masses and a stagnation that would protect views of an outdated building, short by today's standards, instead of building the taller towers the city deserves.
Whatever became of "Excelsior!"?
Pennsylvania 65000 I thought was considered a landmark hotel in NYC.The ESB surely is landmarked or should be. . Both these places have wonderful memories in our hearts, minds & souls. Generations past have loved seeing & will want to see that world famous towering spire. Please do not let any other building cast shadows on this beloved structure.
I am all in favor of growth and development in NYC. However, the Empire State Building is a city and national icon and its visibility should be undeterred.
Also, the impact of such a huge project on traffic and congestion would be significant and is another sound reason to NOT build this new tower.
First off, the tower won't be built unless there is a tenant for it. So all of the comments about "surplus" office space are unfounding. Secondly, this towe sits at the "gate" for what will be the revitalized Hudson Yards district - which extends well beyond the railyards. And thirdly, the Manhattan West development just a couple of blocks further, will be the same height. And fourth, but not least, we're talking about an area that has the best mass transit in the city. If you are not building new office towers here, where else in New York City are you going to build them? Because, make no mistake, the day New York stops building is the day the city dies.
3 comments:
I'm a Bostonian, not a NewYorkian, and have seen the experience of building 2 tall buildings close
together in an otherwise low-rise area - gave rise to the plywood skyscraper as the winds between the
buildings sucked windows off of the Hancock Bldg. If you've got to build the Vornado tower, think
of this. It's a reason to build much lower.
Re: Iconic buildings:
The Chrysler Bldg was the iconic tower until the ESB came along, Then everyone lost interest in
it as the WTC towers were built. Now ESB is IT again. Sic Transit Iconia.
Sad to say it might not be bad for the ESB to have a competitor for sabateurs' attention.
Vornado should put a 50 foot spire to piss malkin off even more!!! And who the hell cares about shadows lol if you don't want shadows then go live on a prairie this is NYC!!!
"It would be a shame to build anything that would impede the viewing of such a historic landmark."
The 15 penn will only block it from one angle so don't worry about the ESB it will still be seen from almost anywhere...
Exactly, cities change and cities grow. New York is not a museum, neither is the area within 10 blocks radius of the empire state building so I see no problem in building this, or an even bigger building in the future.
Cities change, cities grow,..(ancient Paris reinvented itself in the 19th century), and its part of what makes the great cities of of the world great.
The "Penn Station" area is another historically fascinating area of New York that deserves attention, but
yet another skyscraper need not be part of the equation,
New York is already riddled with some of the most profound towers in the world.
Can't we find a marriage of architects and civil engineers who can create something remarkable without being size-queens?!
Give the Penn Plaza building a unique place of it's own, so it can stand out on it's own and not compete or crowd the area. Just as people loved the Twin Towers and enjoyed them as a landmark, so too, this new skyscraper can be admired for it's architecture, far away from the busyness of midtown. I strongly oppose going ahead with it at the present designated site.
This is one of the dumbest ideas ever in this city (known for quite a few dumb ideas - see Lincoln Center). We don't need another sky scraper that tall, casting shadows...and we certainly don't need a cluster of skyscrapers within a couple block of each other!
But if someone wants to build another tall building for Superman to leap at a single bound, why not in the Bronx which really needs a shot in the arm; or Queens; or in a slum area of Brooklyn (no they don't need another Atlantic Yards fiasco). That Real Estate lobby really owns this city doesn't it! Shame shame on Vornado!
With so much surplus commercial real estate at the moment, I don't see the economic advantage to one more large office building. Yes, I understand the street will be widen, etc. The cost in inconvenience for the addition of non-rentable space is questionable.
There is a surplus of office space in NYC. Is there a need to increase this surplus? Office space is plentiful both in NYC and in the suburbs. It seems that this venture is nothing more than a "get rich scheme".
The Empire State Building is now and should continue be one of the most recognizeable landmarks in NYC. It would be a shame to build anything that would impede the viewing of such a historic landmark. My children never had the opportunity to visit the WTC before 9/11. I would like them to remember the ESB as the most majestic landmark to be seen in the city without being crowded by other buildings.
My wife and I grew up in the city and left in our twenties. We visit fairly often. The proposed area for construction is already overcrowded, as is much of the city. Increasingly, the congestion and crowds impact on our enjoyment of the city. After all, there is only so much you can reasonably pack into many areas of Manhattan.We vote against construction.
THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING IS PROBABLY THE BEST KNOWN BUILDING INN THE WORLD. IT SITS ABOVE THE SKYLINE AS A HISTORIC ICON. NEW YORK STATE IS KNOWN AS THE EMPIRE STATE. ANYTHING THAT IS BUILT THAT CONFLICTS WITH THAT IMAGE ON THE SKYLINE IS A DEFINITE NO-NO. PLEASE CONSIDER THE IMPACT ON THE IMAGE OF NEW YORK STATE AND CITY.
hopefully 15 penn gets built!
Enough buildings, enough cars, enough people. Fight illegal immigration instead of building new buildings!
Penn Station is already inhumanly overcrowded. Until the Moynihan Station is built, why make life for comuters and residents more difficult?
With an estimated 2.8 million SF, the proposed Penn building will be in direct competition with the new buildings emerging at the WTC site.
On the other hand, the Penn proposal shows great confidence in the future of NYC as an international business address.
In order to stay competitive in the world marketplace, NYC needs more modern, efficient office space near major transportation hubs. This project increases the widths of the sidewalks on 32nd and 33rd street (deparately needed), improves and widens subway entrances and takes pedestrians into the proposed and widened Gimbel's passageway to connect to Herald Square from Penn Station. City Planning Commission has approved the plan (with a lot of input) and the last step is City Council approval.
Who really wants to deal with all that construction in a city that is already packed with people
there is no need for another big mess in NYC.