By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — The City Council has approved of a controversial plan to build a 82-story, 1,050-foot tall Museum of Modern Art Tower.
Now construction can begin on the MoMa Tower — or "monster tower" as some critics say – that will be on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues.
The building has been designed to hold 150 apartments and 100 hotel rooms, along with additional gallery space for the museum. MoMa, which already houses its main gallery at the adjacent lot, will increase its space by 40,000 square feet, a 30 percent increase, accordinf to the museum's Web site.
It's been mired by delays, most recently in September when the City Planning Commission voted to reduce the height of the structure by 200 feet.
But the New York Post reported that starchitect Jean Nouvel and developer Hines, which is leasing the land from MoMa, deliberately stalled the project because of a lack of funds.
Kim Jagger, a spokesperson for Hines, had no comment about when construction might begin at the site.
