Rendering showing the location, size and massing of projects currently being developed along Central Park South, via MAS “Accidental Skyline” report

There are a dozen supertalls (1,000 feet or higher) in the construction or planning stages in Manhattan, many of which are sprouting up along the billionaires’ row hotbed south of Central Park. The trend has incensed many New Yorkers because of the shadows these giant towers will cast on the park. Last month, Councilman Mark Levine introduced legislation to create a task force that will examine, as he put it, “the looming threat of shadows falling on our parks from the rising number of skyscrapers.” A similar group of concerned parties, the Central Park Sunshine Task Force of Community Board 5, met last night to discuss the issue.

As Curbed reports, in the standing-room-only town hall meeting at the New York Public Library the group covered issues including zoning laws, transparency in the building process, construction safety, matters of light and air, overdevelopment, and even the “‘phallic’ nature of the buildings themselves.”

More on the meeting here

Rendering via NY Yimby

It’s been relatively quiet on the Nordstrom Tower front since we saw some skyline renderings in September. But now YIMBY has uncovered the official renderings for Extell‘s 217 West 57th Street, the 92-story, 1,775-foot supertall that will take the title of tallest residential building in the world when completed, surpassing Mumbai’s World One Tower by 29 feet. The images continue to show how the tower will dominate the skyline, but they also give us a detailed look at the façade and a peek into one of the penthouses.

See all the renderings here

With foundation work complete, the World Wide Group / Rose Associates’ tower at 252 East 57th Street is rapidly making its climb into the Midtown East skyline. The 57-story development composed of 93 condos and 173 rentals is designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), with SLCE serving as the architects of record.

Despite the tower’s location along the eastern fringe of cloud-busting billionaire’s row, the 715-foot building won’t be competing for any height records–for instance, 111 West 57th Street is double its height at 1,428 feet. Instead, the tower is shaping up to be more of a typical Midtown East affair, falling in line with its Second Avenue context by providing a broad 80-foot-high base along the avenue and a sheer 50-story rectangular slab rising above. Recent residential towers along Second Avenue such as The Milan, The Veneto, and The Three Ten share 252’s massing, which planners prescribed to conform new skyscrapers to the rows of existing walk-up buildings.

More details on the project here

What the NYC skyline could look like in 2018, via CityRealty  

It comes up every time a rendering is released for the latest supertall tower –how will the massive structure impede the views of its neighbors and what kind of obstructive shadows will it cast below? With a dozen supertalls (1,000 feet or higher) in the construction or planning stages in Manhattan, the threats are imminent and unavoidable, but Councilman Mark Levine hopes to get ahead of the issue moving forward. Levine, who chairs the parks committee, will introduce legislation today to create a task force that will examine, as he put it, “the looming threat of shadows falling on our parks from the rising number of skyscrapers,” according to Capital New York.

More information here

Image © Wade Zimmerman courtesy of Agence Christian de Portzamparc (ACDP)

Watch where you walk when treading near supertall towers. The WSJ reports that a stop work order has been issued at One57 after a kitchen table-sized piece of Plexiglass fell from the 22nd floor of the tower on Sunday, smashing into two parked cars down below. Thankfully no one was injured in the incident, but the accident is just one in a slew of construction mishaps that have plagued the building. In late February, glass from the tower landed on a neighboring building’s terrace, and last May, a windowpane fell from the 22nd floor, hitting a truck below. The building was also creating precarious conditions back in 2012 during Super Storm Sandy, when all of New York City looked on in horror as the support cable of an 80-ton crane at the top of the building broke, causing it dangle above their heads.

Is one57 cursed? Find out more here

Developers of 520 Park Avenue have revealed apartment prices for all units in the building, which is poised to become one of the city’s most expensive condominium towers and include a $130 million penthouse. The building, which will rise in the high-priced corridor flanking Central Park that has been dubbed “Billionaire’s Row,” is expected to gross $1.2 billion in apartment sales, according to initial offering prices detailed in documents filed with the Attorney General’s office.

The $1.2 billion in total sales—which will make the building one of the most expensive in Manhattan history—is all the more impressive considering that current plans call for only 31 units, most of which will be full-floor residences.

Click here for full pricing information and floor plans

It’s a good day for Robert A.M. Stern, whose buildings seem to be bringing billionaires to their knees. The Real Deal has just caught wind of the offering plan for Stern’s 220 Central Park South tower being developed by Vornado. According to the papers filed with the Attorney General and sources close to the development, the penthouse may ask $150 million to $175 million, bringing the building’s total sellout to a staggering $2.4 billion. The $175 million price tag would by far blow the Sony Building’s $150 million penthouse out of the water, and most certainly One57’s record $100 million sale which currently holds the title for the most expensive unit ever sold in the city.

Find out more here, plus floor plans!