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Cloisters To Go Medieval On View-Ruining NJ Tower?
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 21, 2013
Modified Jan 21, 2013
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 21, 2013
Modified Jan 21, 2013
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We love development more than the next guy, but sometimes you just have to say No. And the case of the new LG tower being planned in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, is just one of those times. Why? Because it'll mess with one of the great gifts the Rockefeller family left New York City: The Palisades. And that would be a real shame.
As anyone who has visited the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park knows (and should appreciate), the gorgeous bluffs across the Hudson River were specifically bought up by the industrialist family with the intent of preserving the nearly pristine views from the museum. Since then the tree line of the Palisades has remained essentially the same, a stunning vista to contemplate while sitting in one of the busiest cities in the world. Haven't ever been to the Cloisters? You are doing it wrong.
Anyway, after pushing for changes in zoning variances, LG Electronics has found itself able and willing to construct a 143-foot-tall headquarters in Englewood (here's a rendering). That sprawling HQ would disrupt the Palisades tree line. Luckily, if that gives you chills, the development has not gone unnoticed by critics. Including the remaining Rockefellers.
While groups in Manhattan and the Bronx (including The Met, which runs the Cloisters) have politely asked LG nicely not to build so tall, it doesn't end there. Last month environmental lawyer Larry Rockefeller, "through the Natural Resources Defense Council, for which he is a trustee, met with LG executives in Englewood Cliffs last month to ask the company to voluntarily reduce the building’s height." And it went okay?
"I don’t think they’d been aware of the larger context, the historic context, the geographic context," Rockefeller told the Times. "I think LG really wants to do the right thing, and I’m hopeful that will lead them to redesign it."
As for LG? They do seem to be taking note. "We’re listening to their concerns," a spokesman for the Korean company told the Times. "We’re very proud of this project. We’re creating an iconic green structure that we think is going to be among the most energy efficient corporate campuses on the East Coast." But on the other hand, the same spokesman told The Record that "It’s too soon to say. While a major redesign at this stage poses significant challenges, costs and risks, we are listening carefully to the concerns of the NRDC."
LG hopes to begin construction this year and be done by 2016. Hopefully they'll do the right thing. Still, might want to plan a trip to the Cloisters this summer just in case.
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