53 West 53rd Street Petition (Build the MOMA Spire)

[NoyokA]

Midtown Manhattan is defined by the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. Both were built in the depression era, since then no building in Midtown Manhattan has approached 1,000 feet. New York is known among many other things as the skyscraper capital of the world, but in reality while New York remains one of the world’s greatest cities, it has not been at the forefront of skyscraper design for many years now. In fact New York is losing out to many cities in Asia, the Middle East, and even in America, as Chicago has effectively surpassed New York in terms of super tall buildings. This is not a call for taller buildings, nor is it a complaint against the developers building the current crop of mundane skyscrapers.
As it turns out some developers still have vision and a desire to add to New York’s storied skyline. One such developer is Hines, who is proposing the MOMA Spire in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. This building is designed by Jean Nouvel and is every bit as great as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, which is no small claim. Although it is designed in a modern vernacular, every inch of it strives to be tall, it has a Gotham feel and it has Art Deco flourishes, it is a modern landmark. This is what New York essentially is all about; big, bold, and proud. New York is making a statement, finally! Alas today’s New York wouldn’t be what it is without its fair share of misguided pseudo-intellectual critics and selfish nimby’s including certain members of Community Board 5, these people do not embody the New York spirit. The New York spirit has never been about maintaining the status quo. Instead of encouraging this development, they are rallying against it, claiming that it is too tall. A most ridiculous claim as the MOMA Spire is located at the center of Midtown Manhattan which has the highest concentration of skyscrapers in the world. If MOMA Spire utilized its space by expanding its girth instead of height, it would fit right in with its monotonous concrete and glass neighbors. Certain members of Community Board 5 and certain critics would presumably be satisfied, which exposes them as the fraudulent judges that they really are. It is the boring and the mundane that we should be rallying against! What’s missing in this area is a signature skyscraper among the sea of monotony.

This is the same New York that came together to raise funds to build a base for a very out-of-place, very tall statue, on an island no less! Today, to say the Statue of Liberty is legendary and inspiring would be a gross understatement. There were certain misguided detractors when it was proposed too. New York is very fortunate to have an opportunity to build another landmark, a gift really by another Frenchman; we can not allow this opportunity to be wasted. This is not a call to raise funds, as there is no need, this petition is a call to quiet through a collective voice the certain people who stand in the way of this once in a lifetime development, and to show support for this development in hopes that it eases through a set of needed public approvals, including the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the City Planning Commission and the City Council. By signing this petition you show that the real New York Spirit is alive and well.

“Make no small plans for they have no power to stir the soul”.
- Niccolo Maciavelli

P.S.

I have no affiliation with Hines or with MOMA or with Jean Nouvel. I merely want to see a building built in my lifetime that inspires the same sense of awe and admiration and pride in my city that I have whenever I look at the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.

Please tell friends and family. Please sign this petition as well:

http://www.petitiononline.com/53West53/petition.html

Remember we can make a difference.

[Stroika]

I fully agree, Stern. As Curbed noted today (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/03/1...beach.php#more), the forces of NIMBYdom are racking up a surprising number of "victories" as of late.

I personally am aghast. The most appalling thing is that despite 1) a good amount of vision, 2) the means and desire and ambition to implement that vision, and 3) support from the vast majority of the city (I have no doubt about this) for great, inspiring projects that would breathe life into us all, New York is being turned into a graveyard for architectural talent and ambition. When that happens, what other walks of life and professions can be far behind?

It's time we on Wired and others to take a much more active role to make sure the city's interests and the needs of the majority aren't continually railroaded by a crazed minority that is encouraged by how easy it is to destroy projects and will likely keep up the pressure.

Although we all come on here to complain about what's going on and talk about writing petitions to CBs that rub shoulders with Bolsheviks in their zeal, we need to take a more active role to organize the cause of sanity and progress in New York.

Here are three ideas we can start by implementing at Wired:

-Rather than ask people to write Community Boards, we can prepare form letters that people electronically sign, to be shipped to CB e-mail boxes -- Stern is that what you had in mind with the petition?

-We can set up a forum for comments (nothing too crude of course) to be sent to CBs;

-But they're likely to ignore the above and follow their own motives regardless, so we also need to activate physically, by publicizing and going to CB and other meetings en masse, and even protesting at City Hall and involving the media. None of that is many people's idea of fun, but some drinks afterward or food could grease the wheels.

If the system is broke, you have to work hard to fix it. And in our media-obsessed society, a little good-natured, playful civil disobedience to get the cameras' attention is the only thing that will jolt people into their senses.

Stern, the only thing I'd say in disagreement to what you said is not that we need to focus on silencing the wackos -- they can and should be allowed to yap all they want -- but make it clear that they are not in the majority. People's interests should have a part in determining the city's development, but those interests shouldn't be hijacked by a complacent minority that are pushing New York into the architectural abyss.

Anyway, I also wrote Curbed's editorial staff this morning to propose the same thing. I haven't heard back from them, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

With some proactive thinking, we could counter some of the NIMBYs who are hating on the city and its growth; otherwise, we're doomed to a long period of Eeyore Complexing.

Any other ideas? Any thoughts on implementation?

[antinimby]

Hell yes it should be built, with no waterdowned changes either.

They're not stopping New York's 21st century landmark. Not on my watch they won't.

We don't know if we'll ever get anything like this again in our lifetimes. This ain't gonna be another one of those 'Never Built' proposals that just breaks your heart.

I'm fightin'.

[antinimby]

I forgot that the full Community Board meeting was held tonight (meaning it is over already).

I guess we'll have news tomorrow on how the voting went. Either way, I feel we're gonna have to convince Landmarks, City Planning and the City Council that the CB's stance is not representative of the public.

Stroika, I like your ideas but we must now shift our attention from the CB over to the three government agencies. Anyone know how the process goes from here? I guess if someone had attended the board meeting tonight, they'd know.

[antinimby]

Another idea to help spread the message to average New Yorkers (and NJ-seyans as well) : advertising in a paper or two.

How much does an ad cost anyway?

I'm willing to chip in some money (eventhough I'm essentially broke ) to help out the cause.

[matteofi]

I signed because this tower is the most beautiful skyscraper in the world
Only if you want, I can ask for help of italian forum (on SSC)

[antinimby]

Yes, tell everyone you know.

[matteofi]

I did a new 3d in the Italian forum
if you want add something this is the link http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=594752

[Ebola]

We seem to all be united on this, so I feel warm saying that.
I feel so great because this type of building, with structural elements, like 3WTC in a way, is by far my favorite type of building. The one and only feature I would change is the shape of the base from a certain angle, but as a whole, I would rate the tower a 9.9 out of 10, pretty much on par with 405 Lexington.

I signed the petition as #10. By God's will, if we can get the right people's attention and decimate the already-budding anti-MoMA Spire feelings, the odds of it getting done only rise. I think it's obvious that we need both luck and hard work to pull it off. I'll write a letter to the CB as well after classes tomorrow. I've seen enough grand towers and masterplans in NY die. It must stop here and now, or else New York City will suffer even more; it will, in some aspect, be like 9/11, but in this case, and icon will die without having the chance to soar. You call this tower a clear violation of zoning laws and to tall; I call your words a pure violation of logic. Because the Hearst Tower has been bashed, I can understand that some idiots may see this tower as the most disgusting thing ever, but only smart people should have the power of letting a skyscraper live or die. It's midtown Manhattan. How often does a rendering come along that features a building which gains global praise within weeks?





Just thinking about what could happen makes me sick in so many ways.

[Alonzo-ny]

I signed it with every name I have. When is the next possible meeting we can attend for this project? I plan to go to every single one. I know there are alot of architects and professionals around, can we get together and build a computer model to refute their shadow studies which is the first card out of the book? I think if we gather evidence to refute their ridculous claims then we will completely blow them out of the water. We can study traffic and find out the demographic of the area, blatentely commercial and then they will have nothing to say.

[NoyokA]

I would like to thank everyone who signed, and passed this a long to friends, and have posted this petition elsewhere. Thank you, it is much appreciated.

The next step is to try to have curbed run a story on this and then hopefully have the printed press run a story on it. The NIMBY voice shouldnt be the only voice making news, although the most organized and the most vocal I truly believe they are in the minority.

Also I'll try to attend all meetings in the approval process. I know its difficult to find the meetings sometimes, but if someone finds one please send me the information via a PM and I'll try to attend it. Meetings are another great place to have our voices heard instead of the choir of mindless NIMBY's which is usually the case.

[NYCDOC]

Petition signed. And regarding Stern's post if anyone finds out about meetings please post them here or under the Public Hearings thread I created today so that we can all make our best effort to attend and speak out in favor of this great tower!

[Alonzo-ny]

What other agencies can we contact? LPC etc. How about we also contact Hines to show some support to make sure they know they have support for this project.

[Scraperfannyc]

I'm in there. This one must rise! We have lost the shores of manhattan to the nimby's for now, but we must prevent them from desecrating the heart of midtown.

[Alonzo-ny]

This is from the CB5 website,



Shows almost no new construction, with only 2 projects anywhere near the site.


Zoning, not a residential area.