By Jill Colvin and Yepoka Yeebo
DNAinfo Reporter/Producers
MANHATTAN — An owner of the Empire State Building made a passionate plea to the city Monday to halt construction plans on a tower that would rival the iconic high-rise in size.
The proposed skyscraper, called 15 Penn Plaza, is slated to be built by Vornado Realty Trust at the current site of the Hotel Pennsylvania at 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue, just a few blocks from the Empire State Building.
If approved, its tapered glass would soar 1,210 feet in the air — nearly as high as the 102-story Midtown landmark.
At the City Council's nearly four-hour Zoning and Franchises subcommittee hearing Monday, the Empire State Building’s part owner, Anthony Malkin, described the proposed 69-story building as a "monstrosity" that will block the historic building from New Yorkers' sightline.
"We view this as an assault on New York City and its iconography," said Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, LLC. "[It is] the end of the image of New York City that billions of people hold dear."
Malkin and others urged the Council to limit the building's height to 800 to 825 feet to minimize its impact. He also floated the idea of adding a half-mile safe zone around the building to protect the city's skyline from future construction.
But David R. Greenbaum, president of Vornado’s New York Office Division, told the Council that the building would bring much-needed modern office space and improve transportation in the area.
The project, which has been approved by the City Planning Commission, includes re-opening an underground passageway on the south side of 33rd Street that would connect the Sixth and Seventh Avenue subway lines, as well as the PATH train so commuters no longer have to transfer aboveground.
Greenbaum argued that the tower is too far from the Empire State Building to diminish its views.
"There is no adverse impact as it relates to the Empire State Building," he said, noting that the company is not considering revising its plans.
"It's a single package that we have put together," Greenbaum said.
Community Board 5 voted overwhelmingly against the project and sent a letter to City Planning in April urging the agency to vote against the plan, warning it could "set a troubling precedent and a tipping point for future development in the area."
But Borough President Scott Stringer overruled the board, announcing his "conditional approval" of the project in May.
Up until now, most opposition to the development has come from those who want to save the Hotel Pennsylvania from the wrecking ball because of its historic significance.
Eric Corley, 50, who lives in the East Village, urged the Council to save the hotel from destruction.
"Hotel Pennsylvania is a vital part of the neighborhood," said Corley, who was part of a team that collected more than 1,000 signatures opposing the hotel's razing. "This is the kind of thing we may be overlooking in favor of commuters and CEOs."
The subcommittee plans to convene at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday to vote on the plan, said subcommitee chairman Mark Weprin. The issue will then go in front of the full Council at its stated meeting on Wednesday.
After the meeting, Weprin said that subcommittee members generally feel the project will be a valuable addition to the area.
"I'm confident that this will be approved, but there are some issues that we want to address," he said.
