Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel cleared a hurdle today in his effort to build a skyscraper taller than the Chrysler Building next to the Museum of Modern Art, as the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission today voted 7-0 to allow the tower to go forward, according to agency spokeswoman Lisi De Bourbon. Neighboring residents have strongly resisted the idea of a giant new hotel and residential tower going up mid-block on 53rd Street.  read more »

Assemblyman Richard Gottfried has come out against Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel’s tower planned to rise next to the Museum of Modern Art, joining neighbors and State Senator Liz Krueger in their opposition to the project.  read more »

Like an unknown bar band playing on a weeknight, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel seemed to leave little impression on much of his audience yesterday, speaking at a public hearing to win an approval for his planned 75-story tower by the Museum of Modern Art.

The room at the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission was packed with residents from around the planned mid-block tower on West 53rd Street who, by and large, were vehemently opposed to the scale of it. And while it is the commissioners who ultimately vote on the approval, the community concerns could count heavily some months down the road when another approval comes before the City Council.

“I wish to enrich this neighborhood, to open the sky to the street and also to create a kind of a signal,” Mr. Nouvel said. “You can look at the skyline of the city, and you can say, ‘The MoMA is here.’”  read more »

Jean Nouvel, the newly minted winner of architecture’s Pritzker Prize, will likely face some criticism of his planned 75-story apartment tower (rendering right) next to the Museum of Modern Art tomorrow afternoon, as the development proposal goes before the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission for a hearing.

Surrounding residents have criticized the tower for its out-of-scale height, and the local community board recommended against the development last month. Though in a twist uncommon to not-in-my-backyard battles, architectural enthusiasts, troubled by the community board vote, have tried to rally support for the tower, at least in cyberspace (we’ll see if they show up to the hearing tomorrow).

The Times did a profile of Mr. Nouvel yesterday and quoted his business partner as saying the French architect was focusing his energy on the MoMA tower.  read more »

Some West Side Manhattanites might not be too thrilled to hear that French architect Jean Nouvel has won the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honor. The award is to be announced today, according to The New York Times.

Mr. Nouvel, 62, has two buildings in New York City: 40 Mercer, a luxury condo building completed last year in Soho; and a proposed 75-story condo and hotel tower slated for 53 West 53rd Street, next-door to the Museum of Modern Art. On March 13, Community Board 5 voted 21-1 to deny the transfer of air rights from two landmarked buildings to the site for the tower.  read more »

There’s been a bit of movement on the MoMA tower front since I wrote about it in this week’s paper.

Last night, Manhattan’s full Community Board 5 voted overwhelmingly (21-1, according to the board’s office) to deny the transfer of air rights from two landmarked buildings to the site for Jean Nouvel’s planned 75-story midtown hotel/residential/Museum of Modern Art skyscraper (the community board’s vote is only advisory).  read more »

Italian mens' fashion designer and reigning red-carpet favorite Domenico Vacca has bought a 39th-floor condo in Musuem Tower, the 52-story apartment complex MoMA built in 1983, city records show.  read more »