Death and Destruction of Manhattan

Future-Skyline-1

New York City is in the process of becoming the worlds ugliest city. It is my understanding that it is Mr.Bloomberg our former mayor who gave out permits, left, right and center for anyone to build the highest,ugliest buildings ever seen by man, to be built helter skelter in Manhattan. Apparently no one in this city’s administration, or any other administration cares anything about the quality of  our city life, or the inherent beauty of the city.

Manhattan was famous for the beauty that was created by the symmetry of the buildings on Park and other avenues, where most of them were of a certain height. All the buildings on West End Avenue, Park Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, West End Avenue, were largely well designed buildings. At the same time New York  had a few taller but beautiful buildings like the Empire State building and the Chrysler building, and still New York was able to preserve and improve the older lovely townhouses that have existed in various neighborhoods of Manhattan.  It was this strange combination of tall buildings, sharing city blocks with seven story town houses. That has always been part of the attraction and charm of Manhattan.

Now suddenly, buildings are going up right, left and center of unimaginable height with no sense of design or proportion. Probably the ugliest building in the world is on West 57th street, right across from Carnegie Hall. And on 56th street and Park Avenue one of the tallest buildings in the world with no special design and nothing to recommend it. It is decimating the the symmetry, the scale that has contributed so much to the fascination, variety and excitement of the city. This building on 56th street and Park Ave has absolutely nothing to recommend it. It is an architectural anomaly, it doesn’t even have any green space around its needle like facade. It is so obviously built for and by American greed. The word on the street  is  that it is likely being owned by extremely wealthy foreigners who will not inhabit the building, but whose ownership of the property allows them to park their money there.

This ugly building can be seen from any place in Manhattan and driving into Manhattan it is almost the only building you can see, and it totally destroys the skyline of Manhattan. One has to think that Mr.Bloomberg had something in mind when he gave out the permits for these ugly buildings to be built. I know his intention was to renew the midtown of Manhattan and to bring more money into town. But it is certainly a mystery as to how this will happen when we have what I hear are 15-20 year tax abatements bringing nothing, zilch, nada into the city coffers.

As far as employment is concerned, they could have built more beautiful buildings at half the height spread around many parts of Manhattan, this would have created many more jobs in the construction industry. If the people of this city had anything to say about what goes on in our city, they should say “tear down those buildings”. Bloomberg is gone. The damage he did will live on in infamy. It is up to us to make sure that Mayor  de Blasio does not continue the ongoing destruction of Manhattan.

 

One reply on “Death and Destruction of Manhattan”

  1. Rita,

    I agree with everything you say, particularly about the Supreme Court. One feels powerless. I just hope a lot of college kids will get out and vote in November. We know which way the vast majority of them go.

    Love, Craig

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