NEW YORK | 15 Penn Plaza (Hotel Penn) | 1,200 FT / 388 M | 61 FLOORS

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by RobertWalpole

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...TATE/100829972

August 20, 2010

Green light likely for huge 15 Penn Plaza tower

Next week, the City Council is expected to approve 15 Penn Plaza, a proposed office tower that has generated some criticism from its neighbors—namely the owners of the Empire State Building, which is two blocks east.

...the full City Council is expected to vote on Wednesday to grant Vornado the final approval needed to proceed with the project.

The City Planning Commission, which gave the development a green light last month, said in its report that “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.”

Maybe this will start a new skyscraper war in Midtown. Let the Malkin's get a site on the west side and build taller.

Originally Posted by CHAPINM1

The woman in the interview however was dead on

Yeah, its rare that you get that, because the media prefers the NIMBY types who rant and rave about anything. It's a better story than someone coming along and saying, "oh, they want to build that? why not?..."

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by NYguy

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...fTYk5AZ3559c8J

By STEVE CUOZZO
April 27, 2010

As the New York Observer reported, Community Board 5 delivered a split decision on Vornado's 15 Penn Plaza tower plan: 36-1 against.

But at the April 15 public hearing, Vornado wheeled in some surprising support for its proposal, which would involve building
$100 million-plus in transit improvements at Herald Square and Penn Station in exchange for zoning bonuses that would allow a tower
of over 2 million square feet -- nearly twice what it can build as-of-right.

In addition to predictable yea's from the Real Estate Board of New York and construction unions, there was backing from the
Regional Plan Association, which has opposed many large-scale commercial projects, Columbia University's Real Estate Development Program
and the NYC Transit Riders' Council.

There was also a pro-Vornado brief from Durst Fetner, a partnership that owns the Epic apartment building nearby.

Partner Douglas Durst is said to have promised his backing in exchange for Vornado chopping 13 feet off its project's height
of 1,216 feet so it would be one foot shorter than Durst's One Bryant Park, the new Bank of America tower that has a gala
"grand opening" on May 20 -- "but no one's sure if Douglas was being tongue-in-cheek," an insider chuckled.

You don't hear Vornado crying over the fact that the view of 15 Penn Plaza would be blocked from one of the great New York observation points -
by none other than Durst's One Bryant Park (BofA)...

joe-white

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

Originally Posted by Roadcruiser1

This building doesn't belong in Midtown. It should go in Lower Manhattan with all the other glass buildings down there.

lower Manhattan has no more space besides that it will go perfect with the rest of the West Side redevelopments.

[599GTO]

IMO, Midtown needs more glass skyscrapers.

[NYguy]

Midtown, Downtown, it hardly matters because both are canyons of a variety of skyscrapers. Absurd to say one belongs more to the other...

DOWNTOWN

newhannibal112







MIDTOWN

CECIL RUFUS




Pasa la vida




Postcard Farm




...the bottom line beging it's a city of skyscrapers, and sometimes new skyscrapers block a view of older ones - no matter how tall.

[NYguy]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

Council to Review Penn Plaza Tower

By CRAIG KARMIN
August 21, 2010

The City Council next week is scheduled to vote on whether to approve a roughly 1,200-foot tower that would be built two avenues away from the Empire State Building and would alter the Manhattan skyline.

The City Planning Commission approved the project in July. If, as expected, the Council does the same on Wednesday, Vornado Realty Trust would be permitted to construct the building unless Mayor Michael Bloomberg intercedes to stop it.

Malkin Holdings, an owner of the Empire State Building, in recent days have stepped up calls to reduce the height of the new tower, which is known as 15 Penn Plaza and would rise at Seventh Avenue between 32nd and 33rd streets.

"The approval of 15 Penn Plaza as referred by the City Planning Commission will plant a cultural and iconic time bomb which can not be defused," Chairman Peter Malkin and President Anthony Malkin of Malkin Holdings wrote in an Aug. 18 letter to the chairman of a City Council subcommittee that will hear testimony from both sides on Monday.

The letter says that the new tower—which would be either 1,190 feet or 1,216 feet tall, depending on the final plan—would "dramatically impact daytime sky light" and "damage the beauty distinction of the City's skyline."

The Empire State Building rises 102 stories to 1,250 feet, or about 1,450 feet to the top of its spire.

A Vornado spokesman declined to comment on the Malkins' letter.

Vornado has indicated it will not begin construction until it has anchor tenants for the site. The company has also stressed that its building plan will fund the re-construction and expansion of the 33rd Street passageway connecting Herald Square and Penn Station, and expansion of the subway station.

The Planning Commission said in a July report that "the prominence of the Empire State Building would not be significantly affected" because the new building would be shorter and its location would be about 1,000 feet away.

The Malkins noted the Planning Commission rejected a 1,250-foot tower at the Museum of Modern Art on East 53rd Street, requiring it to be reduced by 200 feet "in consideration of the City's skyline," their letter stated.

[NYguy]

Poll Alert!

Always fun, the Municipal Art Society has come out against the building, and have produced this handy poll...
http://mas.org/battle-of-the-skyline/


http://www.observer.com/2010/real-es...tower-skirmish
ESB vs. 15 Penn Plaza: Make Your Voice Heard!

By Eliot Brown
August 20, 2010

For those who have strong feelings on whether Vornado chairman Steven Roth should be able to build a 1,200-foot tower two blocks away from the 1,250-foot Empire State Building, there's now an outlet.

Over at the Municipal Art Society's Web site, there's an online poll.

Now one day in, things are running pretty even. With 874 votes in, 49 percent of those who clicked on the polls say the Vornado tower should be built as planned, and 51 percent say it shouldn't.

The poll's been up a few days, where 70% of those folks come out against the building...

[Dac150]

I think the ESB needs to stop being greedy .......time to move on folks, everyone else is.

[Zapatan]

That doesn't mean it won't get built does it?

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

That doesn't mean it won't get built does it?

no not at all,its just NIMBY talk as usual. city council is expected to give it the green light today.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

what time are they gonna vote?

[NYC-Graffhead91]

I thought they changed it to Wednesday...

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

Originally Posted by NYC-Graffhead91

I thought they changed it to Wednesday...

not to my knowledge,NY1 says that there gonna vote today.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

City Council Holds Hearing On Proposal For 15 Penn Plaza

http://manhattan.ny1.com/content/top...-15-penn-plaza

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork

not to my knowledge,NY1 says that there gonna vote today.

The vote before the subcommittee is today, the full council votes on wednesday.

Here's that clip.

• Video Link

[NYC4Life]

The location is ideal for a large tenant considering its close proximity to Penn Station and other venues. I don't exect it'll be long before an anchor is found.

[NYguy]

Here are the quotes from the Sunday ad in the Times I didn't see...


http://gothamist.com/2010/08/23/city..._penn_plaz.php

Dear Speaker Quinn, Councilmember Comrie and Councilmember Weprin,

On behalf of all New Yorkers and everyone who knows and loves New York City, we urge you to reject or amend the present 15 Penn Plaza proposal.

We are the current stewards of the most beloved icon on New York's skyline, the Empire State Building. It is our responsibility to call attention to the Moment at hand and to ask you to weigh carefully whether 15 Penn Plaza should be allowed to proceed as proposed and forever change the New York City skyline.

The Empire State Building is THE iconic image of New York City's skyline. Recently, Speaker Quinn said in a New York Times OpEd that "gardens are as much a part of our city as the Empire State Building or Times Square." In a survey made public by the American Institute of Architects in February 2007, the Empire State Building topped the list of Beloved Buildings in the United States. For New Yorkers and the world, it is a symbol of our city...a beautiful image by day, a beacon by night.

When was the determination made to alter the signature of our city? The City Planning Commission itself has held that a certain standard must be met in exchange for great height. Less than one year ago a tower had 200 feet of height removed by the Commission because it did not belong "...in the zone of the Empire State Building's iconic spire." This building was one mile away. 15 Penn Plaza's sheer walls are less then 1,000 feet away; what about 15 Penn Plaza puts it "in the zone?"

We suggest that most New Yorkers have no idea that is is only bonuses of height and bulk and waivers from setback requirements that would allow 15 Penn Plaza to be nearly 50% larger than any as-of-right development. Those New Yorkers who know, specifically Community Board 5, voted 36-1 against it. We urge you to take note of the dramatic impact the proposed 15 Penn Plaza would have on our skyline. Will we trade our identity for this?

We respect Vornado and strongly support redevelopment around Penn Station. Transit Oriented Planning is the best planning. We will benefit from and not compete with new development in this area. There will be taller buildings in New York City than the Empire State Building, but they should merit the height with excellence, and they should not detract from the City's greatness.

We sincerely hope this Council, as elected representatives of the people of New York City, will recognize, maintain and secure the Empire State Building's iconic place, reconsider the bonuses and waivers granted under the current 15 Penn Plaza, and only approve the project on the condition that its height be reduced and setbacks be required.

We have done our job to bring to the public eye the danger and risk of inaction. We understand the ultimate decision and responsibility are yours.

The Empire State Building Company

[NYguy]

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/08/...aper-near-esb/

In a last-ditch effort to change architectural plans, Anthony Malkin appealed to members of the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises to make the new high-rise shorter. He proposed that 15 Penn Plaza be no more than 825 feet high, making it about two-thirds of its original proposed size.

The 67-story tower would be only 34 feet lower than the Empire State Building.

“There is a middle ground between a 2.8 million sq. foot, 1,200-foot high brand new monstrosity and something which is more elegant and still fills the need,” Malkin said at a hearing Monday.

...David Greenbaum, president of the New York office of Vornado Realty Trust, the company planning to erect the building, told the committee that 15 Penn Plaza would provide critically needed office space in midtown Manhattan.

“We are talking here about world class architecture by Pelli Clarke Pelli who have designed some of the great buildings across the planet,” Greenbaum said.

” We love the [Empire State] building, they love the building, New York City loves the building, we respect the building,” Greenbaum said. “We do not think that somehow the building is in any way blocked, defaced by having another major building in the skyline of New York.”

If the proposal passes the City Council, it would then go to Mayor Bloomberg for approval. Final approval – or disapproval – of the tower could be decided as early as Wednesday.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

if Bloomberg passes the mosque he'll definitely pass this....personally i dont think it should be his say.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork

personally i dont think it should be his say.

The mayor always has a say at the end of the process if he does not agree with the council's decision. The council can then overule the mayor. But none of that ever happens. Bloomberg wouldn't be opposed to this tower anyway. It's part of his legacy of rebuilding the west side and revitalizing the Penn Station area.


http://www.dnainfo.com/20100823/midt...state-building

The subcommittee plans to convene at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday to vote on the plan, said subcommitee chairman Mark Weprin. The issue will then go in front of the full Council at its stated meeting on Wednesday.

After the meeting, Weprin said that subcommittee members generally feel the project will be a valuable addition to the area.

"I'm confident that this will be approved, but there are some issues that we want to address," he said.