New Yorkers Protest Long Shadows Cast By New Skyscrapers
New Yorkers Protest Long Shadows Cast By New Skyscrapers
The shadow of One57 looms large over Central Park in New York City. Courtesy photo hide caption
The shadow of One57 looms large over Central Park in New York City.
Courtesy photoSkyscrapers are a hallmark of large cities. Modern engineering makes it possible to erect something as tall as the Empire State Building on a very small footprint. Although developers love these buildings, in New York — the city of skyscrapers — residents have been upset at the shadows they cast over public spaces like Central Park.
Skyscrapers are a hallmark of large cities. Modern engineering makes it possible to erect something as tall as the Empire State Building on a very small footprint. Although developers love them, in New York — the city of skyscrapers — residents have been upset at the shadows these buildings cast over public spaces like Central Park.
Journalist Warren St. John first noticed the shadows when he took his daughter to a playground near Central Park's southern border on sunny, blue-skied fall day. All of a sudden, though, it became chilly. He remembers the parents zipped up their kids' jackets and hurried off. He looked up, "and that's when I realized the sun was behind this new building I'd never paid much attention to," St. John says. "But what really got me was that about six months later, I was at a playground a mile north of here and the exact same thing happened. I looked up, and it was the same building."
Resident Warren St. John first noticed the shadows when he took his daughter to a playground near Central Park's southern border on sunny, blue-skied fall day. All of a sudden, though, it became chilly. He remembers the parents zipped up their kid's jackets and hurried off. He looked up, "and that's when I realized the sun was behind this new building I'd never paid any attention to," St. John says. "But what really got me was that about six months later, I was at a playground a mile north of here and the exact same thing happened. I looked up, and it was the same building."
On a recent afternoon, St. John again gets caught in the chill in the shadow of another tall, thin building still under construction. It's One57, the tallest building south of the park. And, he says, "it will soon be dwarfed by another building, 30 percent taller." As the sun goes behind the tower, St. John notes, "it's a little chillier."
On a recent afternoon, a tall, thin building still under construction casts a shadow over a swath of Central Park. It's One 57, the tallest building south of the park, but he says "it will soon be dwarfed by another building, 30 percent taller," he says. As the sun goes behind the tower, St. John notes, "it's a little chillier."
At a community meeting held to address the rise of supertowers and the reach of their shadows into the park, City Councilman Corey Johnson said that most of these apartments "are being sold to foreign investors, who have tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars, who are not making this their primary home."
Extell Development, the developer of One57, braved the hostile audience at the community meeting.
At a community meeting held to address the rise of super towers and the reach of their shadows into the park, City Councilman Corey Johnson said that most of these apartments "are being sold to foreign investors, who have tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars, who are not making this their primary home."
Extell Development, the developer of One57, braved the hostile audience at the community meeting.
One57 is a residential skyscraper under construction in Midtown Manhattan. At the moment it is the city's tallest residential building. Christina Horsten/DPA/Landov hide caption
One57 is a residential skyscraper under construction in Midtown Manhattan. At the moment it is the city's tallest residential building.
Christina Horsten/DPA/Landov"The shadows cast by tall, slender buildings, which is what most of the buildings going up are, are very brief — maybe they're 10 minutes in any one place — and cause no negative effect on the flora or fauna of the park," said Gary Barnett, president of Extell Development. What's more, Barnett says, the buildings are creating many permanent jobs in retail, hospitality and construction. "And these are not minimum-wage jobs," Barnett says. "Many of the union construction jobs compensate between $100,000 and $200,000 a year. Upon salaries like this our fellow New Yorkers can build a better life."
"The shadows cast by tall, slender buildings, which is what most of the buildings going up are, are very brief, maybe they're 10 minutes in any one place and cause no negative effect on the flora and fauna of the park," said Gary Barnett, president of Extell Development. What's more, Barnett says, the buildings are creating many permanent jobs in retail, hospitality and construction. "And these are not minimum wage jobs," Barnett says. "Many of the union construction jobs compensate between $100,000 and $200,000 a year. Upon salaries like this our fellow New Yorkers can build a better life."
St. John responds that each of these buildings might have 100 apartments, but 40 million people use the park. To wit, in the shadow of One57, he points to a row of empty benches in the shade. "Nobody is sitting on these benches, but over there where the sun is, people are sitting," he says. "They're having a snack."
St. John responds that each of these buildings might have 100 apartments, but 40 million people use the park. To wit, in the shadow of One 57, he points to a row of empty benches in the shade. "Nobody is sitting on these benches, but over there where the sun is, people are sitting," he says. "They're having a snack."