Empire State Building opposes height of neighbour

A soaring new office tower in New York would disturb views of the Empire State Building and diminish the signature symbol of the city’s skyline, the famous skyscraper’s managers said yesterday at city council hearings.

Vornado Realty Trust’s proposed 67-storey building, known as 15 Penn Plaza, would be built two blocks away and stand nearly as tall as the landmark that has stood largely unobstructed in midtown Manhattan since it was built in 1931.

“This is not about banning tall buildings, but about preserving the very uniqueness of the New York City skyline,” the Empire State Building said in a statement. “The Empire State Building is the defining building on the city’s skyline, and its single most important landmark.”

File photo of the Empire State building.




The newcomer would be acceptable if it were shorter and had more setbacks, said the managers of the Empire State Building.

Vornado said its building is designed to be a respectful addition to the neighbourhood.

“The fact is that New York’s skyline has never stopped changing, and one hopes it never will,” said David Greenbaum, president of Vornado’s New York Office Division.

The tower’s height was determined by the needs of potential tenants, such as financial services firms that need large, uninterrupted floors to accommodate trading activities, as well as the additional space needs for “green” office design, Greenbaum told the New York City Council zoning committee.

Vornado also said the construction would bring transit improvements including a concourse linking Penn Station to subways and commuter trains, new subway entrances and an expanded subway platform.

The council was set to hold two hearings on the development yesterday but was not unexpected to vote immediately.

Penn Plaza would be 363 metres tall, putting it just shy of the Empire State Building’s main structure of 381 metres. The 102-storey skyscraper has a 62-metre antenna that puts its peak at 443 metres.

The Empire State Building was forever etched in pop culture by the 1933 film “King Kong” in which a giant gorilla climbs to the top of the building.

It was the city’s tallest building until the construction of the World Trade Center in 1970. After the twin towers were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Empire State Building again held the title of New York’s tallest building, but One World Trade Center will be the tallest when completed.