Reply With QuoteThese guys might be smart, but are they really clever enough to fully disguise dirty dealings (if they indeed exist)?
^We'll see. The SEC probe apparently turned up some dirt. So far it doesn't appear to be officially sanctioned, but the company's philosophy is "Go ahead, be a dick, no one will care if you have a lot of money" so no one could say to an AG with a straight face that they're surprised by any of this. Having said that, I don't see another Arthur Andersen, or Madoff, or whatever kind of sloppy crap. These guys are smart, and they take time to learn their stuff.
These guys might be smart, but are they really clever enough to fully disguise dirty dealings (if they indeed exist)?
Not sure why you would post that picture, it's not particularly impressive. Certainly the Hearst Tower and New York Times tower are more interesting than the two buildings shown hereOriginally Posted by londonlawyer
Obviously, we all would have liked a London-calibre tower here. However, by America's low standards (I don't limit this to NY because Chicago, Boston, etc. build crappy boxes for office towers), this is quite nice.
Hearst / Foster pales in comparison the The Gherkin. The NY tower is more like a partially eaten, semi-desiccated pickle missing at least half of its desired size (albeit with a somewhat nice shape + sheen).
However the Shard has got to be one of the most over rated buildings in a long while...
^The glass on that building is really nice, but the overall design is a random mess. They really should have cleaned it up a bit.
Fully disguise? Almost certainly not given recent news (their stock is down 5% on the week after an annoucement of positive findings by the SEC), but will the company be able to pass it off as a collection of rogue traders and therefore get a pass on serious sanctions beyond a fine? Fairly likely. This won't bring them down, and I doubt it would even change their culture all that much. At best they'll make everyone take an ethics class, a refresher on trading law, and tell them not to be so damn obvious in the future.
Winter at 200 West Street:
Nice pic. There's some really great detailing on this building up close, but all the security stopping photo takers makes me feel like I need to be a ninja to get detailed shots. Maybe someday I can pull it off if I'm really lucky.
They can't stop you once you're standing on public property.
The demarcation between public and private here is not clear to the passerby. GS was granted security rights that extend into the "public" area of the bikeways all the way to the street with no actual public sidewalk, so essentially the entire east facade (along West Street) can be photographed only from points across the street(s). And GS also controls all the property contained within the "public" covered passageway. Add to that the areas within the bollards and the security crew operates as if it's nearly all off bounds.
Where did this come from; who granted what rights to GS at the walkway-bikeway?
The passageway between the building and the hotel is under the domain of a public easement. On the east side of the building, GS property (actually leased BPCA property) ends at the building line, like any typical NYC street. All the land between West St St and BPCA was once controlled by DOT. DOT now controls the bikeway, the rest belongs to HRPT.
The flashing-light crosswalks to the car drop-off lane are also public. GS monitors them as a safety issue, probably protecting them from responsibility if there's an accident between an employee and a biker.
From the Downtown Express, March 2010 ...
Goldman’s hired guns also work for the N.Y.P.D.
... In addition to the off-duty police officers, Goldman also employs a private security firm. One of those security guards told this reporter to stop taking pictures of the building, saying the sidewalk along West St. was private property.
Leticia Remauro, spokesperson for the Battery Park City Authority, said each building in the neighborhood is allowed to hire its own security without getting permission from the authority. She and Jim Cavanaugh, president of the authority, were both surprised to hear that Goldman employs a paid N.Y.P.D. detail ...
^
There's no statement in that article that GS has any control of the public space. In fact , they deny it. The statement by the security guard was inaccurate, and no one backed it up.
The vague no-loitering regulations are no different here than on any other sidewalk. Stand in front of any corporate headquarters and take pictures of people coming out of the building, and eventually the police will show up. If you wind up breaking any law, it won't be for taking photographs; it will probably be a result of an argument with the cop.
So if done quickly enough, Roldan can legally get his Architectural pictures from the bike lane?
Why would you guys want to take more pictures of this boring glass can? There's plenty floating around here anyway. You've seen one, you've seen them all.
Nothing interesting to see here.
Besides, it'll probably make GS think their building is pretty or something.
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