Growing City Skyline Could Bring Dark Days To Central Park
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- The ever-growing and changing skyline of New York City could have a profound and less than desirable effect on a Big Apple treasure.
As CBS 2's Scott Rapoport reported there could be dark days ahead for Central Park.
It is a possibility beyond a shadow of a doubt according to a study by the Municipal Art Society.
"It's upsetting. You don't want any change. Change is hard to see," Midtown resident Danielle Codel, said.
The study said that the growing number of mega skyscrapers being built in the 57th Street area, like the Enormo, Tower One 57, and those in the planning stages will cast long shadows across the southern part of Central Park and dim areas of the shining jewel.
"What can you do? It's progress," Shannon Riley said, "They have to build the buildings right. They need more space."
Studies showed that buildings exceeding 1000-ft will create different shadows at different times of the year. In some cases those shadows will be 20 blocks long.
"It's going to cast a shadow that will reach the playground, the zoo, you know way up north," Layla Law-Gisiko explained.
Law-Gisiko is the chair of the Landmarks Committee for Community Board 5. She said that developers are able to build so high because they bought the air rights from the buildings around them and that there is not a public review process.
"It will basically plunge the park into a solar eclipse in the middle of the day," she said.
Residents told CBS 2's Rapoport that making the park darker may not be such a bright idea.
"New York City is a place known for its beauty and I think Central Park adds so much to that," Erica Liebowitz said.
Extell Development Company, the developer of One 57 Tower, said that its buildings are very slender at the top and that moving shadows will mean that no single area of the park will be under a shadow for more than minutes at a time.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
