The Landmarks Preservation Commission today voted to approve by a vote of 7 to 0 applications for the proposed transfer of air rights from St. Thomas Church on the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street and the University Club on the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 54th Street to a proposed, 1,155-feet-tall, mixed use tower designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel at 53 West 53rd Street adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art.
The planned tower would also use unused air rights from the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of American Folk Art, which is adjacent to the site.
Most of the speakers at a hearing at the commission last month were residents from the neighborhood and civic organizations that were opposed to the air rights transfers and supportive of a resolution passed Community Board 5 March 13 that asked the commission not to recommend the transfers.
Jean Nouvel, the French architect who recently was awarded the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, told the commission at that hearing that his design would "enrich the neighborhood and open the sky to the street," adding that "You can look at the skyline of the city and you can say 'The MOMA is here.'" He said the very narrow building would be open at the top and illuminated at night, describing the design as "elan."
Michael Sillerman, a lawyer representing the developer, Hines Interests, said the proposed tower is about 500 feet away from the church and the club and it moves bulk away from them and toward the higher density of the Avenue of the Americas.
The transfers were being sought under zoning provisions known as 74-711 and 74-79 that permit them if they provide for preservation maintenance programs for the properties transferring them and if the receiving property is "harmonious" with them.
A statement submitted by the Historic Districts Council at last month's meeting maintained that "there is really no way a building so tall could do anything but tower over, eclipse and distract from its neighbors." "Both individual landmarks," the statement continued, "are hardly the dilapidated, abandoned buildings 74-711 and 74-79m were created to help."
Lisa Kersavage, director of advocacy and policy for The Municipal Art Society, said at last month's hearing that "we believe there will be shadow impacts on historic resources, especially on the low-rise landmarks and light-sensitive open spaces like MOMA's sculpture garden."
The tower would provide MOMA with about 50,000 square feet of exhibition space and about 10,000 square feet of basement storage space in the proposed tower. It would be a dramatic addition to the skyline as it has angled, tapered north and south facades and diagonal bracing. It would contain a 100-room, "seven-star" hotel, and 120 "highest-end residential condominiums" in addition to MOMA expansion.
The planned tower would also use unused air rights from the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of American Folk Art, which is adjacent to the site.
Most of the speakers at a hearing at the commission last month were residents from the neighborhood and civic organizations that were opposed to the air rights transfers and supportive of a resolution passed Community Board 5 March 13 that asked the commission not to recommend the transfers.
Jean Nouvel, the French architect who recently was awarded the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, told the commission at that hearing that his design would "enrich the neighborhood and open the sky to the street," adding that "You can look at the skyline of the city and you can say 'The MOMA is here.'" He said the very narrow building would be open at the top and illuminated at night, describing the design as "elan."
Michael Sillerman, a lawyer representing the developer, Hines Interests, said the proposed tower is about 500 feet away from the church and the club and it moves bulk away from them and toward the higher density of the Avenue of the Americas.
The transfers were being sought under zoning provisions known as 74-711 and 74-79 that permit them if they provide for preservation maintenance programs for the properties transferring them and if the receiving property is "harmonious" with them.
A statement submitted by the Historic Districts Council at last month's meeting maintained that "there is really no way a building so tall could do anything but tower over, eclipse and distract from its neighbors." "Both individual landmarks," the statement continued, "are hardly the dilapidated, abandoned buildings 74-711 and 74-79m were created to help."
Lisa Kersavage, director of advocacy and policy for The Municipal Art Society, said at last month's hearing that "we believe there will be shadow impacts on historic resources, especially on the low-rise landmarks and light-sensitive open spaces like MOMA's sculpture garden."
The tower would provide MOMA with about 50,000 square feet of exhibition space and about 10,000 square feet of basement storage space in the proposed tower. It would be a dramatic addition to the skyline as it has angled, tapered north and south facades and diagonal bracing. It would contain a 100-room, "seven-star" hotel, and 120 "highest-end residential condominiums" in addition to MOMA expansion.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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