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Sow's ear --> Silk purse.

Hopefully the rapturous reaction will encourage other private parties to pursue similar ideas. If this doesn't prove that great design pays, what does?

It is unfortunate, however, that such a large relatively central area is devoted solely to buses.

If you're thinking grandly, perhaps the city should put a layer of bus depot above the current...

I dunno about that. Yes, there's a sketchy element to bus traffic, but the reality is that most of the bus traffic is for commuters. So why should the PA be condemned to being nasty forever more?
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Northern BPC is coming together as an outstanding small neighborhood, and that will only accelerate once Whole Foods moves into 101 Warren.

As to yuppies, I wouldn't be surprised if the two...

Can't wait for this to go up. The existing garage is an eyesore, and I'm always happy when otherwise useless land (like that small section of open track at the corner of 58th (?) and WEA) is finally...

Agreed. It's too slick and impersonal for a residential building. I suspect it will eventually look like a building in a suburban office park -- it will look like it's name should be something like...

Outstanding photo of an outstanding restoration taken at the very best time of the year in NYC. Manhattan is never as beautiful as it is in spring, when the leaves are newly out and the temperature...

No, eliminate tax breaks. Get rid of them altogether and simply reduce the overall tax rate. That stops a favored few from benefitting at the expense of the average joe.

Manhattan is booming. The reality is that there are plenty of jobs at most companies that shouldn't be in Manhattan, given how expensive it is. Anything back office or middle office should probably...

Affordable housing may have to be built in places outside of the city (certainly outside of Manhattan) in conjunction with transit improvements/extensions to access land that's currently somewhat cut...

All true, but Stamford is still unique in Connecticut as basically the only Connecticut city of any size that isn't a failure (unlike Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, etc). No, it's not wonderful,...

I was down by the South St Seaport on Saturday and noticed that the largish block bordered by Water St, Peck Slip, Pearl St and Beekman St is completely empty (other than a large surface parking...

Wow, a politician who gets it -- the viability of downtown as a primary business district totally depends on heavy rail transport to the suburbs.

My opinion of Silver has just taken a quantum...

The main objection to this project is its height -- the fact that buildings this tall haven't been a feature of this area of town. As you say, there is a lot of low income housing in the neighborhood...

That's baloney. Housing, like any other market, is subject to laws of supply and demand. Supply of any kind has an effect.

Do you think, by the way, that the locals would be fine with Ariel East...

This financial blog has an idea with merit (not that it's ever going to happen): fill Freedom Tower with the UN. That would greatly reduce the chances of it becoming a target.

Fill Freedom Tower...

This doesn't look quite as bad as this rendering shows it, mainly because Warren St is narrow enough that your view is mainly dominated by the bottom five stories, not the topknot.

It's right next...

I'm sure that many of these people also spend a lot of time worrying about the lack of housing in NYC. The fact that preserving the character of a neighborhood reduces the supply of housing is...

Not sure that's true, at least in the case of TWA. For instance, there's Calatrava's airport at Bilbao, also built to evoke wings. In fact, you could argue that Saarinen's TWA terminal appears to be...

I walked by this yesterday and was underwhelmed. I'd have preferred monocolored glass, or at a reduction in the amount of glass that is white.

Hmmm. To me it's less than beautiful. It's not an atrocity, but it's not beautiful either.

"masterpiece of Brutalist architecture" -- borders on an oxymoron...

Unfortunately, the potential for this intersection to be truly dramatic has been ruined by the fricking hotel on the northeast corner. But we can at least dream that great towers end up on the other...

Even if it stayed in this general style, it could have been improved a lot simply by replacing the white panels with glass, which would have called less attention to itself than the steel.

Is Connecticut Place the location opposite the UBS site, by Rt 95? If so, RBS has announced (it's a done deal) that it will place its US HQ there.

It will move folks from Greenwich Capital and...