Residents went to the City Council Planning Committee Tuesday to voice their opposition to a new skyscraper planned for Midtown.

The construction lot is between 53rd and 54th streets near the Museum of Modern Art. The building itself is planned to be as tall as the Empire State Building.

“This is the time to call a halt. This is the time to say ‘Stop’,” said resident Albert Butzel.

The proposed skyscraper would have 82 stories, but many are taller than average. It would be twice as tall as the landmark CBS Corporate Headquarters across the street and the neighbors said that’s quite tall enough.

“They say they can get it to stand up but it’s a postage stamp. It’s an abomination,” Justin Peyser said.

Opponents complained about the height and the shadow the building would cast, but the design received critical praise and the designer, architect Jean Nouvel, said that seen from the actual Empire State Building, his equally-tall structure will blend into the cityscape.

“When you are at the Empire State you see the building in front like this. So you cannot see the full of the fins,” Nouvel said.

The developer, the Gerald Hines Organization, said to build the tower it will purchase air rights from the Museum, the nearby University Club, and St. Thomas Episcopal Church and stack them over the site. Leaving the hearing Tuesday, they didn’t seem to want to talk about why. When asked if the structure would work at all if the developers scaled it down, the response? “We have no comment.”

The Museum’s management, however, is adamant. They want the money from those air rights.

“This is vital, because the Museum of Modern Art doesn’t not receive direct support from either the City or the State, we depend entirely on our endowment, admissions, and fundraising,” said Glenn Lowrey, Director of MOMA.

What’s at stake are the financial interests of the Museum, two powerful non-profits, the developer and the real estate company versus the people who live on the block. It’s a classic New York struggle over power and influence that’ll go before the City Council in a matter of weeks.

If approved, the developers said it would take four years to build the tower.

(Source: WCBSTV)