By Yepoka Yeebo and Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CITY HALL — A vote on plans to build a skyscraper just blocks from the Empire State Building was postponed again on Tuesday.
The vote was originally scheduled for Monday, but postponed after the Zoning and Franchises subcommittee hearing ran for four hours. Staffers said the vote would instead be taken on Wednesday. The issue will then go in front of the full City Council at its stated afternoon meeting.
If both the Zoning and Franchises subcommittee and the Land Use committee fail to vote on the measure before that meeting, the project will be tacitly approved, subcommittee chairman Mark Weprin said.
The proposed building, called 15 Penn Plaza, is planned for the current site of the Hotel Pennsylvania at 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue, just a few blocks from the landmark Empire State Building.
If approved, the tapered glass tower would soar 1,210 feet in the air — nearly as high as the 102-story Midtown landmark.
Anthony Malkin, part-owner of the Empire State Building, described the proposed 69-story building as a "monstrosity" that will rival the historic building in Manhattan's skyline and block sightlines from its observation deck.
He made an empassioned plea during Monday's meeting to scale down the building.
David R. Greenbaum, an executive with Vornado Realty Trust, the developer of 15 Penn Plaza, 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.
The project has already been approved by the City Planning Commission.
