Central Park Tower renderings (Extell / AS+GG)

We expected that Central Park Tower, the city’s tallest-tower-to-be swiftly rising at 225 West 57th Street, would be giving Midtown record-smashers like 432 Park Avenue a run for their trophy-tower money. And now newly-revealed details uncovered from the building’s EB-5 brochure offer a first glimpse of what the upcoming supertall’s rivals could be up against. The preliminary overseas marketing images spotted by CityRealty show off the 1,550-foot-tall building’s apartment layouts and the ultra-luxe amenity spaces that will sit high above the hotel and Nordstrom, the building’s flagship retail tenant. Developer Gary Barnett’s new condo development is the most expensive ever attempted in the city and is projecting a $4 billion sellout including retail and hotel tenants.

Sky palaces and amazing amenities this way

With massive condominiums, private elevators and a 100th-floor ballroom that overlooks Central Park, Gary Barnett and Extell Development won’t have much trouble luring the world’s richest to their ambitious $4 billion Central Park Tower. Although the building at 217 West 57th Street, slated to be the tallest residential tower on Earth and most expensive in NYC, won’t be completed until 2019, the Real Deal discovered the building’s floorplans and the price breakdown for each unit. According to filed documents, 20 of the 179 condominiums in the building have a price tag of $60 million and above. The most expensive unit listed? A $95 million penthouse that contains four bedrooms, a 2,000-square-foot terrace and an outdoor pool.

See the floorplans

As part of a strategy to shore up its flagging retail business, Macy’s is considering providing New York City with more public park space right on the rooftop of its Herald Square flagship store, the New York Post reports. Doug Sesler, EVP of Real Estate for the chain, said in an investor presentation Tuesday that the store was “Exploring ways to activate upper levels (e.g.rooftop) and overall property while retaining Macy’s store and presence.” To attract shoppers and add more excitement to the shopping experience, Macy’s execs are looking at plans to develop the rooftop of the 2.2 million square-foot 34th Street store, including restaurants, green space, trees and benches.

Why a park?

While the Brutalist architecture of the MetLife Building, formerly the Pan Am Building, makes this 59-story skyscraper stand out among Midtown’s many tall towers, its large sign touting its namesake makes it easy for all to identify. Beginning this week, the insurance company will replace the massive letters with a brand new typeface, as Crain’s reported. The installation of the new, more modern logo will be the first time the building’s sign has changed since 1993 when 15- and 18-foot-long letters spelling out MetLife replaced Pan Am’s sign. Additionally, the firm’s new corporate logo–made more colorful in an attempt to shift their marketing strategy along with a new tagline “Navigating life together”–is being installed on the tower’s east side.

Find out more

While the debt continues to grow, the ticker that estimates the current national figure is temporarily coming down this month. The National Debt Clock at 1133 Sixth Avenue will be moved on June 8 to make way for a new entrance at the Durst Organization’s building just one block away to One Bryant Park (aka the Bank of America Tower), the spot where the original clock first stood, as the Post reported. Real estate developer Seymour Durst first put up the ticker on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street in 1989, when the debt was a mere $3 trillion. Today’s debt totals over $19 trillion, with each family’s average share more than $168,000, according to data from the US Treasury.

Find out more

For the past few years, the federal government has claimed that the tower at 650 Fifth Avenue, owned by nonprofit the Alavi Foundation, is controlled by the Iranian government, which would violate U.S. sanctions. Since the court decision that allowed the government to seize the 36-story building was overruled last year, a trial has kicked off again this week to determine if the organization was funneling money to Iran. As reported by amNY, the government must prove the office tower, worth just under $1 billion, is a front for the Iranian government and will do so using emails, letters and journal entries from an Alavi board member.

Find out more

State Senators Brad Hoylman and Liz Krueger have asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the Rose Main Reading Room at the New York Public Library’s main branch and the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room at the 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue branch as interior landmarks, according to DNAInfo. The library’s main branch, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, was given landmark designation in 1967 and Astor Hall and the grand staircases within the building were designated as interior landmarks in 1974. Interior landmark designation would give the two reading rooms–favorites of literary greats including Norman Mailer, E.L. Doctorow and Elizabeth Bishop–the same protection moving forward.

Find out more

Congress agreed to a budget deal Sunday night that allocates money to pay New York City back for funds spent on protecting Trump Tower, reports the New York Daily News. The bipartisan agreement creates a $68 million “protection package,” which will reportedly be split with Florida, where Trump’s Palm Beach Mar-a-Lago mansion serves as his vacation home.

Find out more

Qualifying New Yorkers aching to be in the thick of the city’s performing arts scene now have an opportunity to join the waitlist for two Midtown West rental towers: One Columbus Place and 55-75 West End Avenue. The NYCHDC is currently accepting applications for studio and one-bedrooms priced at $613 and $659, respectively. The towers, both developed by the Brodsky Organization in the mid-90s, boast not only a fantastic location close to Columbus Circle, Central Park, and Lincoln Center, but also come with great perks like roof decks, swimming pools, laundry facilities, gyms, and concierge and doorman service.

find out if you qualify

Ralph Lauren announced Tuesday that it will close its flagship store on Fifth Avenue and 55th Street, citing falling revenue and rising rents. As reported by the New York Times, the company, which opened this location in 2014, plans to reorganize by investing more in their online stores. Keeping afloat a business on New York City’s most expensive shopping strip is not a problem unique to Ralph Lauren; Kenneth Cole, Juicy Couture, and H&M have also recently closed their doors. Soaring rents, plus a drop in tourism, has lead to an increase in vacant space along Fifth Avenue.

Find out more