New Yorker Hotel - 481 Eighth Avenue

[ld876]

Just a quick question, or two. Does anyone know what happened to the second half of the 'W' in 'NEW YORKER' on 34th/9? It looks like NEI with the top of the I tipping to the left.

Second, just curious, but since that building is residential now, I wasnt sure if it has any past as offices for or in-relation-to the New Yorker (Magazine)?

[redhot00]

I could be way off, but isn't that building still a hotel and not condos? I don't believe it ever had nor does it now have anything to do with the magazine of the same name.

[ld876]

I'm almost positive its at least partial residential, i know a few people who have claimed to buy units there.

[lofter1]

The New Yorker is on 8th Ave. between 34th & 35th -- it doesn't extend alll the way to 9th Ave.

[thomasjfletcher]

It was never offices for the New Yorker magazine.

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID129-18.jpg

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID129-13.jpg

When built in 1930, this Art Deco hotel was the largest in New York, with 2,500 rooms, 150 launderers, 92 telephone operators, 42 barber chairs, 35 master cooks, 20 manicurists, 10 dining salons, five restaurants and the nation's largest private power plant.
It was the headquarters for Leo Durocher's Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1941 World Series, and Joe DiMaggio's home-game home. Big bands led by the likes of Benny Goodman, Woody Herman and the Dorsey Brothers played here. Electrical genius Nikola Tesla died in his room here January 7, 1943.

After decades of decline, it was bought by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church in 1976, and served as its World Universal Church. In 1994, the Church reopened part of the building as a Ramada Inn franchise, under the old name. Woody Allen filmed scenes for Radio Days and Bullets Over Broadway in the ballroom here.

On June 1st, 1994, the New Yorker Hotel Management Co., Inc. returned the building to hotel use by opening it with 178 renovated rooms. After that, the number of the refurbished rooms increased steadily, with the current number of 1,000 rooms reached by the end of the 1990s. The top three floors house 70 large tower suites and on the top is the panoramic Sky Lounge. Since 2000 the New Yorker has been a part of the Ramada hotel chain.

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID129.htm

[BrooklynRider]

I don't love the sign, but I think it is a beautiful building.

[redhot00]

The famous and underrated inventor Nicola Tesla died penniless in this hotel. His laboratory was on Bleecker near Broadway.

[redhot00]

This article should soften even the hardest of hearts

http://www.newyorkerhotel.com/history/honeymoon_hotel.htm

[alonzo-ny]

So sweet i think ill try that trick at the plaza

[NewYorkYankee]

I hate that ugly "New Yorker" sign.

[alonzo-ny]

Its a landmark of the skyline from nj

[James Kovata]

The famous and underrated inventor Nicola Tesla died penniless in this hotel. His laboratory was on Bleecker near Broadway.


It's nice to know that someone knows who Nicola Tesla is!

As for the sign....I don't mind it much. I just think it needs some sprucing up.

[hella good]

the building wouldnt be the same without the sign - it would be like the old manhattan bank without the pyramid on top.

[Fabrizio]

Oh my... that sign is beyond great. A work of pop art.

The beautiful old NYC that you guys lament when ever Ablarc posts old pictures, was filled with such signs: individual letters fastened to a supporting structure.... like the iconic HOLLYWOOD sign in LA. This is probably the last big one left in all of Manhattan. It should be landmarked.

[ablarc]

Oh my... that sign is beyond great. A work of pop art.

This is probably the last big one left in all of Manhattan. It should be landmarked.
Right on Fabrizio; a coat of paint and change the light bulbs.

[stache]

... like the iconic HOLLYWOOD sign in LA.

Precisely.

[tommy]

I'm going on my first (and hopefully not last) visit to NY in September and I'm wondering if anyones stayed at the New Yorker hotel (34th street) before?
If you did, what was it like? Thats my basic question there!

Also, how long of a walk would it be from there to Central Park? Would a cab be quicker?

Thanks for your help,
Tom

[ablarc]

tommy, a rule of thumb in New York is that going up or downtown, it takes a minute to walk a block (unless you'really hauling ass). Central Park is at 59th Street, and the New Yorker at 34th. 59-34=25 minutes walk.

Crosstown blocks are two or three times as long.

[Eugenius]

This is probably the last big one left in all of Manhattan. It should be landmarked.
Pardon? How about "Essex House"? "A&E Biography"? "New York" (at the top of the art deco skyscraper on 49th and Mad)? "GE" (on top of Rockefeller Center)?

Plenty of signage is still up all around Manhattan.

[ablarc]

Plenty of signage is still up all around Manhattan.
But this one's the best. Especially if they fix it up.

[lofter1]

how long of a walk would it be from there to Central Park? Would a cab be quicker?
A cab from 34th to 59th can be real slow going -- especially after 2PM. Traffic really bottlenecks at 42nd.

It's a great NY walk. You can go via the various avenues and cross streets and never do the same walk twice. Be sure to walk up 9th Avenue in the 40s.

[Kris]

http://rion.nu/v5/post/092305/IMG_5506lg.jpg

http://rion.nu/v5/archive/001048.php

[czsz]

"A&E Biography"?

Replaced with a gaudy scrolling CNN ticker...signs of the slow northward creep of Times Square?

[lofter1]

Here's a link to a video created by "LED Solutions" and posted on the New Yorker Hotel website showing the roof-top sign:

http://www.newyorkerhotel.com/showvideo_wm.htm

[BrooklynRider]

I like it. Certainly better than the old sign.

[lofter1]

DOB website has a mention of an application for work on the rooftop illuminated sign, but I can't find any details.

Anyone know if the LED sign shown in the video is in the works for the New Yorker Hotel?

[kmistic]

I would hate to see this sign go.

[lofter1]

Based on the video the sign is not going to go -- its just getting an up-date.

The existing electrics are probably shot (given the condition seen in the photos above) so a reworking of the guts of the sign would be a necessity if we want to see it working at all.

LED technology within the classic lettering could be very cool. It certainly would allow for many options, rather than simple white light all the time.

[czsz]

It seems alright, save for the tacky sequence in which the letters flash randomly...

[TLOZ Link5]

500 Fifth Avenue used to have a neon sign atop it which should definitely return.

[ld876]

the flashing is going to be so freaking distracting...i live in river place on 42/12th and part of my view has the sign in it. it will make it more visible though. as for it being rentals, my (quasi) friend was probably getting a place next to it or something assuming its the same, no clue. Glad someone snapped a shot, I kept forgetting to.

[ld876]

1184

[lofter1]

^ Is that for real? The LCD Sign is going up???

Or did you photo-shop that or pull it off the website?

(Sorry for all the questions!)

[davidcaspian]

I don't think so. I can see the building from my apartment on 36th, which is east of it, and they took the sign down and they replaced it with another one of similar look.

It is also true that the LCD flashing could only happen on the Westward side of the building as well. But I see no change from the east.

[ld876]

The picture i posted is whats up right now, with the 'yor' of 'yorker' disappearing slowely. The red letters have gone up this week. But not sure if its the lighted version or just a gussied up version...guess we'll see.

[davidcaspian]

http://xaa.xanga.com/bdd813776427814236733/b10205738.jpg

That's the shot from the west, taken yesterday. Is it possible they are in fact only lighting up one side? Because that doesn't affect me so much, fortunately.

[lofter1]

I can't find the article but I recently read (within the past few months) that the owner had applied to install a new sign on one side of the building. So perhaps the other side will remain intact.

But I'm still confused, so if you guys could clarify...

davidcaspian: Your photo shows the sign facing towards the east / empire state building, yes?

ld876: Your photo shows the sign facing towards the west / new jersey, yes?

[ablarc]

http://www.newyorkerhotel.com/showvideo_wm.htm
This one's cool. Is that what we're actually getting?

[lofter1]

It looks like we're getting it on one side -- maybe the side facing into the city, but I'm awaiting confirmation from the guys above.

[davidcaspian]

davidcaspian: Your photo shows the sign facing towards the east / empire state building, yes?

Yes sir, that is correct.

[Fabrizio]

Yikes... I just took a look at that video! Lol. When I see the New Yorker building I see an Edward Hopper painting... I hear Gershwin... Rodgers and Hart. Here we get tacky infomercial music and dumbed-down dancing lights. Poverty.

[ablarc]

Yikes... I just took a look at that video! Lol. When I see the New Yorker building I see an Edward Hopper painting... I hear Gershwin... Rodgers and Hart. Here we get tacky infomercial music and dumbed-down dancing lights. Poverty.
Right, Fabrizio; I guess they should have left well enough alone.

[Stern]

Yikes... I just took a look at that video! Lol. When I see the New Yorker building I see an Edward Hopper painting... I hear Gershwin... Rodgers and Hart. Here we get tacky infomercial music and dumbed-down dancing lights. Poverty.

I whole heartedly agree.

[lofter1]

Another question:

][/B]
davidcaspian: Your photo shows the sign facing towards the east / empire state building, yes?

Yes sir, that is correct.

Was there always a sign on that side of the building or is this one new?

[davidcaspian]

Another question:





Was there always a sign on that side of the building or is this one new?

always there. the sign does look brighter now though. one of my roomates said he saw it down, but when i asked if had been looking at it from the west or the east, he could not remember.

[ld876]

Whew, delayed response, huh? The red sign going up is on the west side of the building, facing Jersey. I haven't seen anything tricky happen with it yet (ie flashing, i don't even think I've seen it lit up, maybe I should make a mental note to check...).

[lofter1]

Filling in a Blank on the New York Skyline

NY Times
By LISA CHAMBERLAIN

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/realestate/09hotel.html?pagewanted=all


In 1967, the musical "Hair" opened at the Public Theater in Manhattan (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/classifieds/realestate/locations/newyork/newyorkcity/manhattan/?inline=nyt-geo); the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/martin_luther_jr_king/index.html?inline=nyt-per) addressed 500,000 antiwar protesters at United Nations Plaza; and the New Yorker Hotel sign, installed in 1941, went dark.

The 20-foot-high letters still face west toward the Hudson River and are visible during the day, but the darkened sign, now a landmark, symbolizes the decline of a once glamorous hotel. That is about to change, as the new red letters on the sign are to be relighted by the end of this month.

The installation of the sign will be the first step in a major renovation of the hotel, which is to begin in earnest early next year.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/11/09/business/hotel.184.jpg
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Workers raise a section of a
letter for the New Yorker Hotel sign.

While the 75-year-old hotel at 481 Eighth Avenue, between 34th and 35th Streets, will not be fully restored to its Art Deco glory, a $43 million refurbishment is being done in anticipation of major investments planned for the west side of Midtown in the low 30's. The most notable are the relocation of Penn Station to the James A. Farley Post Office on Eighth Avenue and the expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

Built in 1929 by the same architects and builders who later erected the Empire State Building, the New Yorker opened in January 1930, so it is no stranger to hard times. But with its two-story lobby, grand ballroom, marble floors, brass finishes and highly stylized furnishings, it became a prominent gathering spot for movie stars and other notables, including Spencer Tracy, Joan Crawford, Muhammad Ali and Fidel Castro (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/fidel_castro/index.html?inline=nyt-per), who ate, drank, danced and rattled sabers there. Later, the hotel fell on hard times, as did the entire neighborhood, and the beautiful and important people moved on.

The hotel closed in 1970 and was bought by the Unification Church in 1975, which used it as a residence for almost 20 years. As the tenant population declined, the church decided to try reopening it as a hotel, at least in part.

In 1994, the New Yorker Hotel Management Company, which leases the building from the Unification Church, began converting the top 10 floors (the building has 40 stories) into moderately priced hotel rooms, and much of the rest was subleased as commercial and dormitory space.

"With all the investment that's going to happen in the area, we thought it was a good time to consider making some changes," said Kevin Smith, executive vice president and general manager of the New Yorker Hotel Management Company, a corporation formed to manage the property.

"We looked very seriously at converting to condos," he said, "but because of the configuration of the building that would have required a very big investment. Now, with the condo market softening, not going that route is looking like the right decision, especially with an increasing demand and decreasing supply of hotel rooms in New York."

After a lengthy analysis, Mr. Smith said, his company decided to keep a mix of uses in the building but to upgrade the lobby and meeting spaces, as well as to add hotel rooms, which will occupy the top 20 floors, for a total of 920 rooms.

The classic Art Deco wedding-cake-style building, with each tier set back from the one below, makes room renovations particularly challenging. There will be 17 different room configurations, with the cost of the face-lifts averaging $17,000 a room.

The building, which encompasses about a million square feet, is to get a new central heating and cooling system. It will continue to have 250,000 square feet of office space that lease for about $25 to $30 a square foot annually, and 100,000 square feet of dorm space, used by a number of New York City (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/classifieds/realestate/locations/newyork/newyorkcity/manhattan/?inline=nyt-geo) colleges, with annual rents of $40 a square foot.

Because of several renovations over the decades that paid little attention to the building's overall architecture, the lobby, grand ballroom and meeting spaces are a hodgepodge of styles. Some original detailing is intact, like the brass elevator doors and marble floors, currently covered by carpeting. But much of the kitschier Art Deco décor is actually from the 1950's, as are the marquees and the street-level building sign, which will be replaced. There was also a classical renovation of the lobby undertaken at some point, which introduced crystal chandeliers and Corinthian columns.

"Our goal is to bring back the Deco feel, but the reality is, our hands are going to be a little tied by previous renovations," said Gintaras Lietuvninkas, vice president of the Gettys Group, an architecture firm based in Chicago, which is directing the hotel's renovations. "One idea we have is to cover those large fluted columns simply by hanging fabric and lighting it in a dramatic way."

Other changes include opening up the two-story lobby all the way to the street; it is now partly blocked by storefronts.

There are also two restaurants: a 24-hour diner, the Tick Tock, at the corner of 34th Street, and a tablecloth Italian place, La Vigna, at the corner of 35th. The diner will be freshened up, but stay largely the same. The other space will undergo a more significant renovation.

"We're going to do a real sophisticated New York restaurant, very contemporary," said Arnold Syrop, principal of Arnold Syrop Associates, the architecture firm that was brought in to redo just the restaurants and which also recently renovated the interior of the Peacock Alley restaurant at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Some of the New Yorker's glamorous past will still be incorporated into the renovations. The mezzanine of the lobby will be turned into a gallery space featuring some of the 500 pieces of memorabilia collected over the years by the building's facilities manager, Joseph Kinney, the New Yorker's amateur historian.

"The collection," Mr. Kinney said, "contains three kinds of items: things left over from the hotel, things I've found on eBay and stuff given to us by heirs."

As an example, Mr. Kinney pulled out a tuxedo worn by the longtime leader of the New Yorker Hotel Orchestra, Bernie Cummings. "It's the heritage of a place that gives it value," he said. "Otherwise, it's just bricks and mortar."



Copyright 2005 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html)The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)

[BigMac]

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2005_12_newyorkersign.jpg
(Polis (http://nycenvirons.blogspot.com/2005/12/new-yorker-all-lit-up.html))

[lofter1]

New Yorker Hotel Sign

http://nycenvirons.blogspot.com/2005/12/new-yorker-hotel-sign.html


http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7888/578/200/NYH%20Decal%20%28Large%29.jpg (http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7888/578/1600/NYH%20Decal%20%28Large%29.0.jpg)

Last night the New Yorker Hotel (http://www.newyorkerhotel.com/) sign was relit for the first time since the 1960s. The hotel had a party and, in addition to hotel workers and other guests, invited some decedents of the hotel's historic luminaries to watch the relighting via closed circuit camera. Using an original elevator control handle that was still in use as late as 1994, the general manager of the hotel, Kevin Smith, pulled the lever and after a pregnant pause, the red letters were alight. The sign refurbishment is part of a major renovation. It was built in 1929 and -- despite opening shortly after the stock market crash -- became one of the hottest spots in New York City. But the hotel declined and finally closed in the 1970s. It was partially reopened in 1994 and has been operating as a modest mixed-use commercial and hotel building, a far cry from its glory days of yore. When I get some pics of last night's event, I'll post. In the meantime, for a Times article about the renovation, click here (http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F3061EFD3E5A0C7A8CDDA80994DD404482).

[ZippyTheChimp]

The sign should be white.

http://www.gingerrogers.com/images/photos/rogg020.jpg

[kliq6]

Thought this place had over 1,000 rooms in it, i guess crains hotel report was wrong, also thought it had close to 500,000 sf of commercial space

[ZippyTheChimp]

View from W34th and 10th Ave
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/5840/newyorker011bq.th.jpg (http://img223.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newyorker011bq.jpg)

[LeCom]

The sign is lit up again. Looks kickass at night.

[michelle1]

Yeah I like it, The New Yorker sign is one of Manhattan's most recognizable icons

[ld876]

So I was laying on my couch watching Roseanne. The New Yorker sign visible out of the corner of my eye. Typically I notice a flash in that direction as 4 Penn Plaza lights up or turns off. That wasn't the case tonight. As previously though, the sign does indeed flash. Just for about 2 minutes, rotating between 'New' 'Yorker' 'New Yorker' flash flash. I actually don't mind it, but never realized it flashed. I think I noticed it the other night, just didn't pay attention. Sort of fun actually.

[antinimby]

NEW YORKER HOTEL EMBARKS ON $65 MILLION RENOVATION,
REFURBISHMENT TO BE COMPLETED AUGUST 2008
Hotel to Re-Emerge on the Scene Revitalized with Art Deco and Modern Edge Style;
Complete Overhaul of Furnishings, Remodeled Lobby, New Restaurants Among Highlights


NEW YORK, NY (Aug. 13, 2007 (http://www.observer.com/2007/new-yorker-hotel-undergo-65-m-renovations)) - Once the largest hotel in New York, with more than 2,500 rooms when it first opened in 1930, the New Yorker Hotel has launched an aggressive program to revitalize what is still one of the biggest art deco buildings in the heart of midtown New York City. The owners, recognizing the value of the hotel's glorious past history, have embarked on an ambitious $65 million renovation and remodeling project to both restore its art deco reputation and add the modern edge and style that today's guests demand.

The scope of the project, to be completed by August 2008, includes the following:

* Installation of a new heating and air conditioning system for the entire hotel (a four-pipe HVAC system, which will allow guests to control heat and cool air all year long - not an oft-found amenity in many hotels)

* Total overhaul of furniture, carpets, wallpaper and fixtures in both the guest rooms and the hallways on the guest floors

* Complete redesign of the lobby to recapture the grandeur and feel of when the New Yorker opened in 1930

* Facelift of the entire front of the hotel on Eighth Avenue - replacing signage, re-facing the stonework, and changing the marquee

* Guest services enhancements including improved free Wi-Fi service and better television programming

* Upgrade and refurbishment of the hotel's restaurants (La Vigna Ristorante & Bar and the 24-hour Tick Tock Diner)

"The time is right for us to embark on this major renovation project to revitalize our fantastic property," said Thomas McCaffrey, director of sales and marketing for the New Yorker.

"Our goal is to keep pace with the tremendous development taking place on the West Side with new hotel construction and the expansion of the Jacob Javits Convention Center. We're anchored in a superb location, so we're renewing a once-tired product, infusing it with style and new amenities to unleash its character and make it a hotel in demand," he added.

The design concept is the exotic and glamorous New York/Hollywood art deco style of the 1930's, as a nod to the hotel's past, but with a distinctive modern edge. This project marks the property's first renovation since 2000.

NYC-based Stonehill & Taylor (www.stonehilltaylor.com) has been tapped to conduct the architectural and interior design. Established in 1963, Stonehill & Taylor has broad hospitality experience encompassing five-star, transient and extended-stay properties with an impressive client roster including Millennium Hotels & Resorts, Affinia Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Sheraton Hotels and many other properties, restaurants, industrial and commercial buildings, showrooms, education and healthcare complexes.

"The New Yorker Hotel will open a new chapter in its life once the renovation and refurbishment is complete in August 2008," McCaffrey said.

Copyright ©, The New York Observer, L.P.

[Bob]

A fully restored art deco hotel in New York? I'm there!! Is it too early to book reservations??

[Fabrizio]

Creativity. Foresight. I'm sure it will be splendid.

Note these quotes from the above article:

"The owners, recognizing the value of the hotel's glorious past history"

"Facelift of the entire front of the hotel on Eighth Avenue - replacing signage, re-facing the stonework, and changing the marquee"

"We're anchored in a superb location, so we're renewing a once-tired product, infusing it with style and new amenities to unleash its character and make it a hotel in demand,"

"... a nod to the hotel's past, but with a distinctive modern edge."

"will open a new chapter in its life once the renovation and refurbishment is complete..."

Now go back to the Hotel Penn thread. Above are the same ideas many here were advocating for that hotel. Yet we had to hear over and over again, about what a dump it was.

Well, here you can see what a dreary time-warp dump the New Yorker has become:

http://www.travelpost.com/hotels/photos/Ramada_the_New_Yorker/p30698
http://excitingny.com/nytour/newyorkerhotel34thst.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8503162@N02/1109192190/


---

[scumonkey]

Say what you will about it, it's been the view out my window for 21 years- I love it,
(and sadly thanks to Glenwood Mang. I'm about to lose it)! They should have
left it white,:rolleyes: But I enjoy it none the less.
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/view.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/nyerpop.jpg

[stache]

Last photo very R.Crumb!

[lofter1]

They have been doing facade work / brick replacement at The New Yorker for the past several months.

Terrific news that it will be brought back to its former glory.

It is a great NYC building and deserves the care it is getting.

[BigMac]

Michael McDonough on Flickr
August 6, 2007

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1040/1035546068_c7783d3ce0_o.jpg

[stache]

Now if they can get rid of the bedbugs...

[BrooklynRider]

Or turn them into paying guests.

[brianac]

City Lore

Here at the New Yorker

By LAURA B. WEISS
Published: November 18, 2007

When the New Yorker Hotel swung open its brass doors at Eighth Avenue and West 34th Street at the beginning of the Depression, the 2,500-room Art Deco structure was considered a marvel of engineering and construction. A private tunnel whisked guests directly from the 43-story hotel into nearby Penn Station, and a laundry handled 15 tons of linen daily.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/11/18/nyregion/new450.jpg

A 1929 rendering of the hotel.

Seventy-seven years later, now known as the Ramada New Yorker and owned by the Unification Church, the hotel has begun booking guests into its newly refurbished rooms in the hope of recapturing its glory days. And in its redesign, one source of inspiration came from nearly 1,000 photographs and pieces of memorabilia that have been lovingly collected by the building’s engineer, Joseph Kinney.

Gems include a photograph of Johnny Roventini, the diminutive bellhop who first sang out in the hotel lobby what became the famous jingle, “Call for Philip Morris!” Mr. Kinney also has pictures of Hollywood stars like Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor, gliding across the dance floor of the hotel’s famed Terrace Room nightclub. And Muhammad Ali, defeated by Joe Frazier in the “Fight of the Century” at Madison Square Garden in March 1971, is seen recuperating in one of the hotel’s bedrooms, the covers pulled up to his chin.
Mr. Kinney, who is also the hotel’s unofficial archivist, realizes that his collection, coupled with his deep interest in the building where he has worked for 11 years, might brand him as something of an eccentric. “If I listen to myself talking about this place,” he said, “I’d think, ‘This guy has issues.’”


Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company.

[Bob]

The postcard shows illumination at the setbacks. If this lighting scheme is no longer in use, it should be restored.

An excellent book concerning building lighting is "Architecture of the Night -- The Illuminated Building," by Dietrich Neumann. ISBN 3-7913-27-6.

[Stern]

Now if a developer were planning on tearing this building down instead of the Hotel Pennsylvania I'd have a serious problem.

[MidtownGuy]

I definitely second the motion to restore illumination to the setbacks. That looks beautiful.

[BrooklynRider]

I think they would need to lose the window a/c units first.

[econ_tim]

they better install some heavy drapes if they are going to be shining floodlights on the windows

[ablarc]

Now if a developer were planning on tearing this building down instead of the Hotel Pennsylvania I'd have a serious problem.
Is it landmarked?



Or will they wait till it's too late?

[NewYorkDoc]

I like this building just as much as the hotel Penn. Why is this one so much more worthy of saving and the other is not?

[ablarc]

^ They both need to be kept.

Primo New York landmarks.

They both know how to be vast. That's what New York is all about.

A building like the Westin only knows how to be paltry.

[NewYorkDoc]

Nicely put Ablarc.

[lofter1]

Is it landmarked?

Amazingly, per records at DOB (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/PropertyProfileOverviewServlet?boro=1&houseno=481+&street=eighth+avenue&requestid=0&s=A03C41B885B461E4F46BD08866A7430E), it seems that the New Yorker Hotel is NOT landmarked ...

The only mention I could find at the Landmarks' website for The New Yorker Hotel was in the LPC Designation Report for the former Summit Hotel (http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/summithotel.pdf) [Warning: PDF!] by Morris Lapidus (the Summit is now the Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel at Lexington / 51st). LPC notes that in the 1950s Lapidus remodeled some interiors of the New Yorker Hotel.

[BrooklynRider]

I can't believe it is not landmarked! The building is gorgeous with some of the best setbacks in the city.

[lofter1]

Doubt that the current owner (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=199131&postcount=65) has much interest in designation.

[BrooklynRider]

Oh, there you go. 'nuf said.

[scumonkey]

want this baby landmarked you'll have to bark at the....
http://www.pa.msu.edu/people/frenchj/moon/moon-16day-2723-450.jpg

[lofter1]

You'd ^ be in seemingly good company (http://www.iapprovethismessiah.com/) :cool:

http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2003/09/24/moon/story.jpg