http://www.observer.com/2010/real-es...proved-council
City Council Approves Anthony Malkin's Nightmare
By Eliot Brown
August 25, 2010
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The full City Council has approved a 1,200-foot office tower planned by Vornado Realty Trust to rise atop the Hotel Pennsylvania, two blocks from the Empire State Building.
The vote came this afternoon, less than two weeks after Empire State Building owner Anthony Malkin launched a public push to block the skyscraper, warning it would detract from his tower's iconic place amongst the skyline.
The Council, apparently, was unmoved by his criticism. In committee votes today, the bulk of the concerns centered around Vornado's commitments to hiring minority- and women-owned businesses, a top issue for many on the Council.
Much of their ire arose after David Greenbaum, Vornado's New York office chief, responded to a question by a Council member on the topic by telling an anecdote meant to illustrate that there are many women who work at Vornado: "I had a party at my house Saturday night, and there were certainly a distinctly large number of women," he said Monday at a committee hearing. His wife, he said, "saw the number of women there, and she couldn't figure out if they were the spouse or they were the employees—so, many of them were the employees."
This appearance of ignorance on the importance of the topic infuriated multiple Council members, and Vornado had to come back with a hiring pledge meant to soothe tempers over the issue.
The lone "no" vote in the 47-1 vote came from Councilman Charles Barron, who echoed the concerns of others on the minority hiring issues, although many of his colleagues ended up voting for the plan. (Two abstained in the committee vote.)
In all, Vornado essentially got what it wanted without having to give up much in return, a rare feat in the development world, particularly given that Vornado was asking for a major upzoning to allow a 2.8 million-square-foot building.
In a statement, a spokesman for Vornado said the building would be an "outstanding addition to New York's iconic skyline," thanking the Council for the vote.
After the vote, Mr. Malkin issued a statement that seemed to acknowledge he was going to accept the Council's vote without any further action (often opponents launch lawsuits).
"The City Council is the decision maker on this subject," he said in a statement. "They have gone out of their way to listen to our position. In the end, they are the elected representatives of the City of New York, and it was up to them to decide."
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/ny.../26empire.html
For the King of the Skyline, a Tall and Unwelcome New Neighbor
A boy looking out at the Empire State Building from the observation deck at Rockefeller Center
By CHARLES V. BAGLI
August 25, 2010
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New York City approved plans on Wednesday for a new skyscraper near Penn Station that will rise to within 34 feet in height of the nearby Empire State Building, inserting a glassy challenger almost next door to what has been a defining element of the city’s skyline.
The 47-to-1 City Council vote came after a fierce weeklong public relations and lobbying campaign by the owners of the Empire State Building to stop the rival tower, contending that its bulky profile would scar the skyline and diminish the Empire State Building’s iconic status. They went so far as to propose a one-third-mile zone around the Empire State Building, at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, where developers would not be allowed to erect a comparable skyscraper.
But the Council gave those arguments scant attention on Wednesday as it approved the planned tower, known as 15 Penn Plaza, on Seventh Avenue, opposite Madison Square Garden and Pennsylvania Station. Some Council members found the prospect of a new building and the developer’s agreement to spend more than $100 million on improvements to subway entrances and tunnels at Penn Station far more compelling, especially during a citywide slowdown in construction.
Christine C. Quinn, the Council speaker, said the project was about jobs and signaled that “New York City is moving forward and moving out of this recession.”
“This project and this zoning vote today are going to help make sure New York City has a new and important 21st-century office tower in Midtown Manhattan,” she said.
The project also had the backing of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, whose administration has long favored high-density development near major transit points like Penn Station, the busiest commuter hub in North America, with more than 450,000 passengers passing through its portals daily.
In part because of the proximity to transit, the developer of 15 Penn Plaza, the Vornado Realty Trust, earned zoning bonuses that will let it construct a building 56 percent larger than what would ordinarily be allowed.
“People don’t come to New York to visit caves,” said Mitchell L. Moss, a New York University urban policy professor and an informal adviser to the mayor. “They want the views, the height, the experience of tall buildings. Skyscrapers allow us to make the best use of a limited amount of land.”
Bud Perrone, a spokesman for Vornado, said the company was pleased with the outcome and believed its 68-story, 1,216-foot-tall building would be “an outstanding addition to New York’s iconic skyline.”
Anthony E. Malkin, an owner of the Empire State Building, said he favored development in the surrounding area but felt that the proposed tower should be shrunk so as not to obscure the view of his building, which has stood alone since it opened 79 years ago. “We thought that 15 Penn Plaza was too close to the 1,250-foot-tall Empire State Building for its height and design,” Mr. Malkin said.
The Empire State Building, which reaches 1,454 feet when its lightning rod is included, was the tallest in the world for more than 30 years and remained the tallest in the city until construction of the first World Trade Center. After Sept. 11, 2001, it regained that status, but will fall back to second place behind the new 1 World Trade Center, which will top out at 1,776 feet.
Beyond bragging rights and skyline positioning, the new tower will be an unmissable presence for sightseers looking toward the west from the Empire State Building’s famous 86th-floor observation deck.
Despite the vote Wednesday, construction of the new tower is unlikely to start for at least several years. Vornado has said it will not go forward with the $3 billion tower without a major corporate tenant. The project also requires demolishing another landmark of sorts that currently occupies the site: the Hotel Pennsylvania. The fraying 25-story hotel, built in 1919, still has the phone number memorialized in a 1940 hit song by Glenn Miller, PEnnsylvania 6-5000.
...Some Council members expressed misgivings about the size and the challenge to the Empire State Building; the lone dissenter, the Brooklyn Council member Charles Barron, believed that the developer’s commitment to hire at least 15 percent female or minority contractors was too small.
Councilwoman Gale A. Brewer of Manhattan, citing concerns that the new building would obstruct views, said, “I am persuaded that views are important and history is important, but this is a building worth supporting.”
The Council also gave customary deference to the member whose district includes the property. That is the speaker, Ms. Quinn, who has received at least $15,000 in campaign donations in recent years from Vornado and its employees, as well as roughly $3,500 from the Malkins. “It wasn’t a particularly significant amount,” Ms. Quinn said about the Vornado donations at a news conference. “It has no impact whatsoever.”
At least one Council member, Peter F. Vallone Jr. of Queens, seemed to take a small joy in voting for 15 Penn Plaza. He criticized the Empire State Building for refusing to turn on blue and white lights on Thursday night in honor of what would have been Mother Teresa’s 100th birthday, and said he would think of the Vornado building as “Mother Teresa Tower.”
“I’m going to be voting on this matter solely on the merits,” he said. “I just happen to be particularly happy that the merits are not on the side of the Empire State Building.”
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj
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Council Speaker Christine Quinn said at a news conference that studies had determined there would be no significant impact on the views of the Empire State Building, and that the city skyline shouldn't be frozen in time. "We want there to be new Rockefeller Centers and new Chrysler Buildings," Ms. Quinn said. "We want there to be buildings that challenge the rest of the skyline in its greatness."
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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010...ldg_rival.html
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City Council speaker Christine Quinn, who feuded with owner Anthony Malkin over his refusal to light the Empire State for Mother Teresa's 100th birthday, said the vote was a no-brainer.
"We're New York City," she said. "We are not Monument Valley. We are not a place that will ever be frozen in one moment in time."
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NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
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