Midtown and Billionaires' Row from the Empire State Building's 102nd floor observatory

YIMBY Tours the Empire State Building’s Newly Renovated Observatories

For more than 40 years, the Empire State Building‘s observatory reigned as the loftiest manmade place on Earth. Though no longer the pinnacle of New York, the Art Deco masterpiece’s Olympian mass still cuts an uncontested figure in the popular imagination as a symbol of the city and is an enduring emblem of human might and ingenuity. Today, as the supertall enters its tenth decade, it welcomes visitors with a fresh new face, the product of a four-year, $165 million renovation to improve the experience for the 10,000-odd guests that stream through its doors each day.

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2455 Third Avenue in Mott Haven, The Bronx

Permits Filed for 2455 Third Avenue in Mott Haven, The Bronx

Two sets of permits were filed this past week for 2455 Third Avenue in Mott Haven, The Bronx. One is for a 24-story mixed-use building and the other for a 23-story residential building. Located between East 134th Street and East 135th Street, the lot is near the 3 Avenue-138 Street subway station, serviced by the 6 train. Artimus NYC is listed as the owner behind the applications.

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Central Park Tower’s Glass Curtain Wall Nears Completion in Midtown

Taking the number-one spot in our annual construction countdown is the 1,550-foot-tall Central Park Tower, aka 217 West 57th Street, the tallest building by roof level in New York City and the entire western hemisphere, as well as the tallest residential building in the world. Work on the glass curtain wall is approaching the parapet of the slender reinforced concrete superstructure, which rises 99 stories above 57th Street, aka Billionaires’ Row. The project is designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill and developed by Extell, which is expecting a $4 billion sellout on the tower’s 179 residences. A 320,000-square-foot Nordstrom flagship occupies the base of the building.

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