NEW YORK | 132 West 28th Street (Aloft Hotel) | 326 FT | 32 FLOORS

[Crawford]

I'm not clear why people believe that keeping the streetwall is expected, or even desirable.

Manhattan has never had a common streetwall, in terms of street depth. Of course there's a balance, and you wouldn't want disappearing sidewalks or something, but set-back towers have been routine for over a century.

In the case of hotels, it's particularly adventurous, for restaurants with outdoor seating and loading/unloading. NYC doesn't generally allow curb cuts except on the city fringes, so there are no driveways or parking as in other cities. You need room for dropoff/pickup functions, which would be pretty disruptive if a big hotel tower weren't set back.

[Drcastro]

Adventurous?

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I'm not clear why people believe that keeping the streetwall is expected, or even desirable.

Manhattan has never had a common streetwall, in terms of street depth. Of course there's a balance, and you wouldn't want disappearing sidewalks or something, but set-back towers have been routine for over a century.

In the case of hotels, it's particularly adventurous, for restaurants with outdoor seating and loading/unloading. NYC doesn't generally allow curb cuts except on the city fringes, so there are no driveways or parking as in other cities. You need room for dropoff/pickup functions, which would be pretty disruptive if a big hotel tower weren't set back.

Wrong. All wrong.