Tom Clark’s Lower East Side apartment has a stunning view of the Empire State Building. “I can see it from my couch,” he said. Well that? used To catch a glimpse of the ultra-thin luxury tower called 262 Fifth Avenue before it was revealed.
The 860-foot residential tower, currently under construction, blocks the Empire State Building from most viewing points south of 28th Street. Many New Yorkers (and tourists) can no longer see the famous landmark because of some poorly located and incredibly expensive condos.
“This really pisses me off,” Clark said as he stood in the plaza in front of the Flatiron Building on Fifth Avenue, a few blocks south of the dueling skyscrapers. “The entire New York skyline was destroyed. I was so excited when I moved here and now it’s starting to get disgusting. These new buildings have no identity, no design. “We’ve lost the character of New York, and it breaks my heart.”
More than 4 million people visit the Empire State Building each year (perhaps impressive since the cost of admission starts at $44 for adults). Once you reach the 1,050ft high observation deck, 86 floors above, you can see the entire city. But New Yorkers crane their necks to see the skyscraper itself at street level.
Depending on your tax bracket, ultra-thin skyscrapers are either a city nuisance or a major investment opportunity.
Last week, a TikToker known as @dr.tpanova attacked 262 Fifth Avenue in a post seen 1.2 million times. “Walking down Fifth Avenue while admiring this symbolic building [the Empire State] “Having a place where you could sit in Madison Square and drink coffee while watching the view glow in the distance was one of the great pleasures of being in Manhattan,” @dr.tpanova said in the video. (Fact check: this is controversial.)
“That beautiful, inspiring view is no more,” @dr.tpanova added. “Millions of people’s experiences in the city have become worse.”
The skinny gray tower stealing the skyline will consist of 41 apartments that were only accessible to the ultra-rich during the nationwide housing crisis, leaving a citywide shortage of affordable apartments for renters. – It won’t win him any more fans.
“There don’t seem to be any rules in the sky,” Clark said. “There are no laws except the mighty dollar.”
One street away from where Clark lived, Nem Fisher and Jagger Corcione were taking their dog, Ziggy, for a walk. They agreed that 262 Fifth Avenue was an eyesore.
“People go to school to be architects, so why are we throwing away cylindrical blocks?” Fisher asked. “They are not interested in the beauty of the city. “It’s just a matter of extremely rich people having mainstream views.”
“There are no more cool-looking buildings,” Corcione added, bringing up another much-underrated development, 432 Park. Located at the southeast edge of Central Park, just steps from the Plaza and Bergdorf Goodman, the toothpick-like tower rises 396 feet. That’s 1,396 ft too much for the 432 Park haters who bemoan this ultra-modern assault on the downtown skyline. Its height qualifies it as a “supertall” skyscraper, that is, going beyond 984ft.
According to the New York Times, some of the building’s residents are also not very happy with their homes. 432 Park is reportedly a terrible place to live, subject to leaks and loud noises when swaying in the wind; these are design flaws you wouldn’t expect from a residential building on Billionaire’s Row.
“It looks like a bunch of Legos stacked on top of each other,” Corcione said. “I hate that building and always will.”
Portuguese tourist Sandra Leite, who was in town with her family, didn’t notice the Empire State Building hiding behind her new neighbor before this reporter pointed it out.
“Now that you say it, it’s like why?” asked. “Why would the city approve something like this? But now it’s up there and nothing can be done.”
Tom Fields, a 30-year New Yorker who reads in Madison Square Park, said 262 Fifth Avenue “doesn’t add anything.”
“I don’t like the one in front of Empire State, and I don’t like the tall buildings south of the park that are currently blocking my sun. “I just don’t like seeing them.”
Not everyone feels the same anger. Living in New York means expecting constant change: Restaurants come and go so quickly that clinging to a favorite spot becomes an emotional gamble, and rapid gentrification turns neighborhood blocks into mall-like playgrounds for transplants who don’t want to give up suburban staples. Wegmans or Whole Foods. Of course, the city’s skyline looks nothing like the classic, mid-century version.
Dennis Pangindian, a New Yorker who works in the neighborhood and was taking a coffee break, said his wife showed him TikToks complaining about blocked views. “I understand all the arguments, but I don’t care,” he said. “Something will be built somewhere, that’s no surprise to me.”
Caroline Owen, a Toronto tourist who took a photo of the Empire State (or the shape you can see from Madison Square Park) also considered the tower a sign of “progress.”
“Over time, the aesthetic may change,” Owen said. “Think of the Louvre and the pyramid there. “At first everyone said it was a travesty, an insult to history, but now you accept it for what it is.”
Unfortunately, for pedestrians who like to look up from street level, “progress” has become synonymous with bland skyscrapers that visually represent the ever-widening gap between the ultra-rich and the rest of us. Maybe a scourge on the skyline, unless you get lost heading out of town and need a can’t-miss landmark to redirect your path.