Reply With QuoteIn Midtown its very hard to not redevelop sites as in terms of the commercial market we can only build incertain area so buildings will be lost. Basically from 3rd to 8th from 42nd to 59th many buildings there today may not be tommorow
I cannot agree with you more. Look at the magnificent old building that was replaced with the filthy and disgusting POS at 330 Madison. Countless examples like that exist. NY cannot continue razing these gems. Midtown is now a lost cause, but other areas south of 42nd Street that have scores of beautiful buildings must be preserved. For example, Trinity Church should not be permitted to raze its nice old buildings. The destruction of the L&T annex should be blocked, etc. Extell plans to raze a MAGNIFICENT Victorian townhouse on WEA just south of 86th Street. Rosen should not be permitted to raze the stunning building on 5th and 43rd. This is all horrific.Originally Posted by MidtownGuy
Also, Macklowe has a proven track record of building garbage. At least when Rosen rap.es a site, he hires Foster to create something nice. A 750 foot maximum POS will rise on the Drake's site. The fact that it's nearly 70 stories means nothing. Isn't Orion over 60 stories, and it's well under 700 feet. Even if the Drake's site contains 20 floors of offices, this won't be a 900foot tower. As I stated previously, I hope that it's as short as possible because cheapskate Macklowe will hire SLCE to produce a cheap, glass box, and we don't need a conspicuous POS looming on the skyline.
In Midtown its very hard to not redevelop sites as in terms of the commercial market we can only build incertain area so buildings will be lost. Basically from 3rd to 8th from 42nd to 59th many buildings there today may not be tommorow
Among the windy rants bloating this thread, someone who actually did something!
I hope that you sent Tierney some photos with your letter; unclear how often he emerges from his burrow and opens his eyes. While you're at it, it certainly can't hurt to let his boss know about your views:
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
FAX: 212/788-8123
nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html
And, if you have a few more minutes, these, too:
The Municipal Art Society of New York
457 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
FAX: 212-753-1816
info@mas.org
Preservation League of New York State
44 Central Avenue
Albany, New York 12206-3002
FAX: 518-462-5684
info@preservenys.org
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Northeast Office
Seven Faneuil Hall Marketplace
Boston, MA 02109
FAX: 617-523-1199
nero@nthp.org
Historic Districts Council
232 East 11th Street
New York NY 10003
FAX: 212-614-9127
hdc@hdc.org
Community Board Five
450 Seventh Avenue, Suite 2109
New York, NY 10123
FAX: 212-465-1628
office@cb5.org
Randy Savage's effort is admirable, but these buildings will be razed. Macklowe apparently is very well connected and has carte blanche to do what he wants. Also, Tierney's inability to do anything is as well-settled as Sam Chang's failure to construct a decent building.
I heard back today from someone at the Landmark's Commission. The response at this time is "those buildings are still being studied." Today I am sending emails (including photos) to everyone listed in ManhattanKnight's post (thanks for the information). I hope all who care about this issue have done or will do the same.
Bless You! Bless You!
Bless you Randy Savage and Manhatten Knight!!
Once you get responses... please let the forum know if "MORE THE BETTER" from other outraged citizens will help ... and I'll be the first in line to do whatever you instruct us to do!!
You shouldn't hesitate to contact the aforementioned organizations and let them know your feelings. The more, the sooner, the better. You can use this link:
http://nyc.gov/html/mail/html/maillpc.html
A reliable source reports that The Drake will be replaced with a 30 to 40 story office building. I knew that Scmucklowe would produce something short and lame, notwithstanding reports of a 69 story tower. I guarantee that it will be even lamer than 510 Madison because cheapskate will maximize every square inch of the L-Shaped plot yielding an moronic building. The real kick in the groin will be if he actually razes the beautiful buildings on 57th Street. Macklowe is as bad as Sam Chang.
Last edited by londonlawyer; May 4th, 2007 at 12:37 PM.
How freaking sad.So much dissapointment lately. I was expecting something great and tall to replace this Drake beauty.
It took serious chutzpah for this jerk to raze The Drake to begin with, but his constructing an absurd, cheap glass POC on some of the most expensive real estate in the world adds insult to injury. The real kick in the groin will be if and when he razes the beautiful townhouses on 57th St.How freaking sad.
Last edited by londonlawyer; May 4th, 2007 at 12:14 PM.
I have an idea that I want to present. What if I create a leaflet with photos and info about this impending destruction. I could briefly describe how the Drake around the corner is already slated for destruction and that the row of townhouses that are adjacent to the property are now in danger as well. Then
give some kind of contact info or suggestions on how concerned people could express their views. Is it pointless? Distribute the flyer around the neighborhood, leave it in foyers, hand it to people directly, I don't know. I would need help from you guys in deciding the "headline" to go across the top in large print, and maybe what info should be included. Maybe encourage contacting Macklowe's team?
If it's likely to be without merit, please tell me, guys. It will take a lot of time
to design and distribute these, and if I'm going up against a lost cause then I'd as soon spend my sunny May afternoons some other way.
I just feel like I should do something more than contacting the worthless landmark people who always find some loophole to explain why they won't do anything about it.
anything is worth a effort, but Billy M has been lining D Doctoroffs pockets for years, he was his biggest 2012 supporter and donated most of his staff for " manadtory" volunteering efforts
I applaud your effort, Midtown Guy, but I agree with Kliq. This buildings will be razed, and a terrible glass box will rise in their place. Macklowe is worse than Sam Chang.
This is such a shame...
Macklowe should really take a cue from the Heritage @ Millennium Park residential tower that was built in Chicago's Wabash Ave Historical District. That building preserved practically all the facades of the low-rise buildings that previously occupied the site. In fact, the taller, soon-to-be-built Legacy @ Millennium Park, which will also be built in the same neighborhood, will also preserve the existing street wall. Why Tierney and those incompetent boneheads at the LPC is not at least ordering Macklowe to do that is simply beyond me.
The site that Macklowe has his hands on almost takes up a good half of the block. Heck, that's more than enough room for him to preserve the Drake and the facades of the historical townhomes and still build a decent-sized residential tower over the plots of the townhomes and annex it to the Drake. Only an architecture-hating jerk would still resort to such destructive acts even with all the space he's given to work with, and Macklowe is definitely one of them.
Yeah... kliq6 is probably right. Any efforts I could make won't amount to a hill of beans in the face of all that influence.
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