It provides sadness with a view.
The new Brooklyn tower is more than 1,000 feet tall and has the luxury amenities of a five-star hotel — but the chic custom design isn’t stopping the lavish building from being compared to a villain’s headquarters.
The 93-storey residential building is now the tallest in the city. Although it was inspired by Connected to Landmark Dime Savings BankBrooklynites have declared that the dark metal structure with a neo-art deco crown has “spirits of evil”.
Raoul Rothblatt, a 30-year Brooklyn resident, called the building “another failure of the imagination” in NYC.
Earlier this month, Rothblatt took to Facebook to jokingly brainstorm new names for the building, listing the Dark Tower, the Temple of Doom and the Tower Minus Eye of Sauron as options.
“It looks offensive,” the 58-year-old, who lives in Prospect Heights, told the Post.
Other rank-and-file New Yorkers have taken to social media to complain about the Door tower — which will begin accepting rental applications in August — blurring the city’s skyline.
Lily Dansiger, a book editor in Manhattan, compared it to “the headquarters of an evil corporation in a superhero movie”. on Twittertelling The Post via email: “The tower is a terrible blur.”
But perhaps the most popular comparison is to Sauron’s tower in the wicked land of Mordor from “The Lord of the Rings.” In Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, it is depicted as a foreboding stone obelisk topped with a fiery all-seeing orb.
“It looks like the Eye of Sauron,” video producer Alish Erman, 36, who lives across the street, told The Post, referring to the Dark Lord’s symbol of omniscience.
The building was designed by SHoP Architects, the team building the world’s thinnest skyscraper. 111 W. 57th St. on Billionaire’s Row,
Architect Greg Pasquarelli told NY1 That SHOP incorporated blackened steel, copper and huge windows to reflect the borough, dubbing it “Brooklyn’s Empire State Building”.
“So, when you look at the obelisk, the building looks solid, not glass,” Pasquarelli said. “And it was an important part of us to build this landmark with pride in the heart of Brooklyn.”
Actually, not everyone thinks it’s casting a shadow over Brooklyn.
Cooper Union Irwin S. Nader Tehrani, a professor at the Chanin School of Architecture, called the design “impeccable”, calling it “phenomenal” in the way it “redefines Brooklyn’s skyline”.
“I think that’s the general reaction of people to the new,” Tehrani told The Post. “I would say that there is an element of conservatism when it comes to people’s view of their community.”
Historically, there have been beloved buildings that weren’t immediately embraced, he said.
“The Eiffel Tower is a great example of a structure that was completely disregarded,” he said. “From the moment it was built and conceived, it was criticized for being hostile to the Paris skyline. Now, it is unthinkable to even think of a Paris skyline without the Eiffel Tower.”
The gentrification booming in Downtown Brooklyn has certainly contributed to the anger of some locals.
Rothblatt, who describes himself as a “Brooklyn activist”, said the 2004 rezoning of downtown Brooklyn to allow for more residential construction erased a large part of the area’s immigrant and African-American history.
He cited the city’s efforts to demolish 227 Duffield St. — a stop on the Underground Railroad — as well as the revival of Fulton and the Albee Square mall, which once served as a focal point for Brooklyn’s hip-hop community. , For example.
Rothblatt said, “Almost everything that was part of the vibrant culture of that era has been replaced.” “It didn’t just disappear by accident—it was erased by design.”
Rent Prices will start at $3,407 per month for a studio in the building and $4,350 per month for a one-bedroom, with two months of free rent reflected in the price. prices for condos From $875,000 for a studio to $8 million for a four-bedroom.
SHOP Architects and JDS Development Group did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
Villain or not, at least Brooklyn Tower has character, neighbors say.
“Honestly, I don’t mind it,” Erman said.
“It gives the view of my apartment some drama—I’d rather see that look bad than another boring rectangle in the skyline.”