Should the Empire State Building Stand Alone?
So what does everybody think about the Manhattan midtown 'monstrosity'?
"The owners of the Empire State Building and their supporters say their tower’s international status and New York City’s skyline are in mortal danger of an assault from a 'monstrosity.' Their rival: a proposed tower on 34th Street two avenues to the west that, according to its developers, will help the city grow and prosper, provide thousands of jobs and improve the quality of life for tens of thousands of New Yorkers. What irks the former is that the latter would rise to be 1,216 feet, almost as tall as the Empire State Building, and would be just 900 feet away, a little too close for a building that has stood apart in the skyline for its entire 79-year life."
Yea or nay?
Way yay. New century, new monolith of industry!
Posted by: Kuhnsy | Aug 24, 2010 11:24:52 AM
Nay
Except if it has a mosque, then build two.
Posted by: protogenes | Aug 24, 2010 11:25:33 AM
Don't have a prob w/ another large skyscraper near ESB but why does it have to be sooo ugly? ESB does not have a monopoly on midtown. Anyone noticed the new Burj bldg in Dubai? Not saying that it has to be that tall but much better looking than this proposed eyesore.
Posted by: Mike | Aug 24, 2010 11:27:38 AM
NAY. that thing is fugly.
Build it downtown!
Posted by: jim | Aug 24, 2010 11:27:54 AM
OMG skyline preservationists are ridiculous! NYC is known for its amazing skyscrapers, not just the ESB. Why do people fear change so??
Posted by: Colin | Aug 24, 2010 11:29:28 AM
Yay - We shouldn't be giving "seniority" when jobs are at stake here. If we do say nay - all we're doing is protecting rich people's investments - and I'm not about to defend someone's right to their view. Get over yourself. We need more jobs, and if that's what the building brings, then I'm all for it.
Posted by: Tyler | Aug 24, 2010 11:31:15 AM
That building IS fugly, Perhaps pugfugly, but a big FUCK YOU to anyone who thinks we should halt construction on new tall cool buildings because they hurt the visibility of the old ones.
I might give a shit if it wasn't so fucking expensive to actually go to the tops of these buildings. But hey, You wanna charge 40$ for me to go to your roof deck, I will be all for building more to put you out of business.
Posted by: Fenrox | Aug 24, 2010 11:31:23 AM
I wouldn't stop a developer from building close to the ESB, but I would reject that building because it's so hideously ugly.
It looks like a giant electric razor.
Posted by: notshychirev | Aug 24, 2010 11:35:36 AM
It looks just like every other supertall being planned.
Houston style "blue tinted glass" seems to be all the rage among architects across the country.
Posted by: John | Aug 24, 2010 11:36:02 AM
NY Mag had an interesting piece on just this topic back when the Tower Verre controversy was happening.
http://nymag.com/arts/architecture/features/65759/
Posted by: MT | Aug 24, 2010 11:36:15 AM
Seriously? Has everyone forgotten the WTC so quickly? The ESB was dwarfed by the WTC for 30 years, and I don't recall any complaints during that time.
Cities are dynamic and their skylines change as new buildings are erected and old ones demolished. Besides, the ESB may be the tallest, but the Chrysler is still the prettiest.
Posted by: Gobear | Aug 24, 2010 11:37:22 AM
Why is American architecture SO ugly these days?????
Posted by: SeaMonster | Aug 24, 2010 11:37:30 AM
Okay, I'm not one to bitch too much when this blog gets a little too NYC-insidery, but this post exceeds my usual couldn't-care-less standard, and so I have to say...
Who gives a flying f**k?
Kisses. :)
Posted by: ColinATL | Aug 24, 2010 11:38:10 AM
Yay. Except that the proposed building looks absolutely hideous. The first picture looks fine but the second.. ugh.. Why not build something similar to what they have in Asia and Dubai?
Posted by: Chris K | Aug 24, 2010 11:39:06 AM
Nay. But feel free to build it a bit further away.
Posted by: Greg | Aug 24, 2010 11:39:16 AM
Who cares? There are already plenty of ugly buildings in Manhattan (the WTC towers were pretty bad, too). New Yorkers are getting very whiny about who gets to build what where.
Posted by: abt | Aug 24, 2010 11:44:21 AM
Quite frankly, I'm amazed that they could even get financing...!
The 2 biggest commercial real-estate financiers (Bear Stearns, and Lehman Brothers) are kaput (via mortgage-backed bond investments gone wayyyyyyy bad) and the rest of the real estate industry is still pretty much on its back, drowning in existing inventory....
Perhaps they've managed to find investors stooopid, er, savvy enough to pay for it and actually think they might get all of their money back (a sucker born every minute)...
Posted by: Terrance | Aug 24, 2010 11:44:53 AM
Meh who cares? If the developer is well-connected and has pockets deep enough to spread the graft around, nothing can stop them. This is the American way it seems. Money talks. Pity the proposed newbie is so boring.
Posted by: Tone | Aug 24, 2010 11:48:15 AM
Nay. manhattan has the most beautiful and iconic skyline in the world, largely because the most dominant structures (like the Empire State and Chrysler buildings) were built with pride in the art of architecture.
If this building were to go up, every beautiful, framed photo of Manhattan would thereafter be an old one from the "pre-ugly" era.
Maybe they could put it in Brooklyn.
Posted by: gregv | Aug 24, 2010 11:53:20 AM
It's always something with people! Get over it, its a fucking building!
Posted by: DaveNY | Aug 24, 2010 11:57:24 AM
I have no problem with the notion of building a skyscraper that height at that location.
What I have a problem with is how completely un-original and un-inspiring the architecture of it is.
Though who knows, maybe it incorporates all the newest in green tech in terms of capturing air circulation and water - though why am I doubtful of that.
Posted by: AERES | Aug 24, 2010 12:03:06 PM
Build it. Why the hell are NY zoning issues suddenly national fodder? People are hurting and need jobs. Build it.
Posted by: Dave | Aug 24, 2010 12:03:59 PM
NYC is for skyscrapers, but hire a gay architect for fuck sake. Straight people have lost all design credibility these last two decades.
Posted by: Tom | Aug 24, 2010 12:06:51 PM
For those talking about it being "ugly"..well I find a lot of the NY bulidings to be dull, cliche and uninspiring as it is. Truth be told I thought the WTC was the biggest eyesore aroound. So to me the proposed design is just as dull as everything else that has gone up there.
Posted by: Bob | Aug 24, 2010 12:13:23 PM
We have millions of people being affected by the floodign in Pakistan and this is what we worry about? No wonder why this world is so upside down!
Posted by: Sean | Aug 24, 2010 12:15:42 PM