NEW YORK—The owner of the Empire State Building went to City Hall on Monday to defend his iconic building’s prominent spot on the New York City skyline from another building project he argues will negatively impact the city skyline New Yorkers have come to love.
The proposed 15 Penn Plaza would be just 34 feet lower than the Fifth Avenue skyscraper, and its shape and breath, particularly at the top, may have the effect of making the Empire State Building look smaller than it is.
“New Yorkers say they find the New York City skyline beautiful (99 percent) and iconic (93 percent), and nearly all (97 percent) say the Empire State Building is the building that most defines the New York City skyline,” Anthony Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, told city staffers on Monday.
Malkin, an owner of more than 3 million square feet of office property in the area, including the Empire State Building, appealed to the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee with survey results he commissioned from communications firm Penn Schoen Berland.
The survey indicated that almost two-thirds (63 percent) of New York residents believe the council should either reject the proposed project altogether or require amendments to the building height.
The survey of 700 New Yorkers was conducted online from Aug. 21-22. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percent.
The building site consists of the entire city block bounded by West 32nd Street, West 33rd Street, Sixth Avenue, and Seventh Avenue. The Manhattan Mall would be absorbed into the project and the Hotel Pennsylvania would be bulldozed. The site location is one block away from the Empire State Building.
The application, submitted by Vornado Realty Trust, has wended its way through the application rezoning process since August of last year and has nearly reached the council review period, scheduled to end on Sept. 7.
Vornado said 15 Penn Plaza will be a respectful addition to the constantly-evolving urban landscape, reported NY1.
Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer said the proposal is appropriate and “represents a unique opportunity to encourage high-density transit oriented development, [and] strengthen the nation’s largest central business district.”
Among the many factors he took into consideration, Stringer did not cite the height or character of the city skyline as a concern in his recommendation report.
Malkin emphasized to the committee that he supports the idea of the project and of adding density to the city’s core.
“We need not stop economic growth and job creation to act as the people ask; slightly slim and shorten 15 Penn Plaza, which is too much, [and] too close to the signature of New York City,” he said.
While Community Board 5 (CB5) didn’t make an issue of the skyline, it rejected the building proposal for different reasons, such as overcrowding, noise, and space for black car queuing.
The proposed 15 Penn Plaza would be just 34 feet lower than the Fifth Avenue skyscraper, and its shape and breath, particularly at the top, may have the effect of making the Empire State Building look smaller than it is.
“New Yorkers say they find the New York City skyline beautiful (99 percent) and iconic (93 percent), and nearly all (97 percent) say the Empire State Building is the building that most defines the New York City skyline,” Anthony Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, told city staffers on Monday.
Malkin, an owner of more than 3 million square feet of office property in the area, including the Empire State Building, appealed to the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee with survey results he commissioned from communications firm Penn Schoen Berland.
The survey indicated that almost two-thirds (63 percent) of New York residents believe the council should either reject the proposed project altogether or require amendments to the building height.
The survey of 700 New Yorkers was conducted online from Aug. 21-22. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percent.
The building site consists of the entire city block bounded by West 32nd Street, West 33rd Street, Sixth Avenue, and Seventh Avenue. The Manhattan Mall would be absorbed into the project and the Hotel Pennsylvania would be bulldozed. The site location is one block away from the Empire State Building.
The application, submitted by Vornado Realty Trust, has wended its way through the application rezoning process since August of last year and has nearly reached the council review period, scheduled to end on Sept. 7.
Vornado said 15 Penn Plaza will be a respectful addition to the constantly-evolving urban landscape, reported NY1.
Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer said the proposal is appropriate and “represents a unique opportunity to encourage high-density transit oriented development, [and] strengthen the nation’s largest central business district.”
Among the many factors he took into consideration, Stringer did not cite the height or character of the city skyline as a concern in his recommendation report.
Malkin emphasized to the committee that he supports the idea of the project and of adding density to the city’s core.
“We need not stop economic growth and job creation to act as the people ask; slightly slim and shorten 15 Penn Plaza, which is too much, [and] too close to the signature of New York City,” he said.
While Community Board 5 (CB5) didn’t make an issue of the skyline, it rejected the building proposal for different reasons, such as overcrowding, noise, and space for black car queuing.
