By Matt Chaban 10/25/12 4:43pm

Mr. Ross' Neighborhood

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Hudson Yards Will Be Taller Than the Empire State Building, Including a Higher Observation Deck

Earlier this week, the Related Companies announced it had found backers to begin building the first tower of its Hudson Yards project (at the same time that it is trying to get a break from the MTA for payments on the entire 16-acre complex). Should the project get off the ground, it will have a long way to go.

Sure, in terms of time, as it will takes years, if not decades, for the entire 12 million square feet of office, residential, retail and cultural space to be built. But there is also a long way to go in terms of distance. As the design team puts the finishing touches on the first phase of the project, it turns out the other office tower on the site, which has yet to find an anchor tenant or an announced start date, will become the second or third tallest building in the city when it is completed, surpassing the Empire State Building. Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/16/12 11:33am

Making History

Let's celebrate. (GEI NY)

Rainbow Room Granted Landmarks Status, Paving Way for Restaurant’s Reopening

Despite concerns the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission might not grant the Rainbow Room landmarks status, having denied a request to do so only a few years ago, the commission did exactly that this morning, voting unanimously to add the historic eatery to the city’s list of interior landmarks, making it the 115th. Now Tishman Speyer and the as-yet unnamed restaurateur it has selected to reopen the restaurant atop Rockefeller Center can get on with the task—though any changes to the space would not have to pass muster with the commission. Read More

By Matt Chaban 9/12/12 10:50am

Making History

Dancing into history. (bilde/Angelfire)

Rainbow Room Gets Its Gold: Landlord Tishman Speyer Blesses Plan to Landmark Sky-High Club

One of the big questions surrounding the landmarking of the Rainbow Room was whether or not it would win the support of Tishman Speyer, the august real estate firm that owns Rockefeller Center, home to the famed dance hall and eatery. But the space is lucky as a leprechaun, as the Rainbow Room’s landlord came out in support of landmarking yesterday, according to Crain’s. Read More

By Matt Chaban 8/14/12 4:52pm

Making History

Ginger Rogers and Howard Hughes, two years after the Rainbow Room opened. (Getty)

Chasing the Rainbow Room: Landmarks Commission Considers Iconic Eatery

The Rainbow Room, like Tavern on the Green or Chumley’s, was one of those New York institutions no one ever visited, until it was gone, at which point the lamentations became unceasing. The fate of the restaurant atop Rockafeller Center remains a mystery, since it was abruptly closed by the Ciprianis three years ago amidst a rent dispute with another of New York’s august families, the Speyers, who control Rock Center.

Whoever takes over the famous (and famously garish) catering hall in the sky, one thing that is unlikely to change is the decor. Today, the Landmarks Preservation Commission decided to consider the two-story space on the 65th floor of 30 Rock for designation as an interior landmark, one 114 in the city. (Others include the Four Seasons, the New York Public Library and, just downstairs, Radio City Music Hall.) Read More

By Dana Rubinstein 8/18/09 10:43pm

The Demise of Sky-High Dining

It was Friday night on the revolving 48th floor of the Marriott Marquis, and an elevator had just vomited a handful of tourists onto the solid core of the restaurant there—a minor miracle given how difficult it is for even the directionally adept to navigate the hotel’s devious elevator system.

From the center, one Read More

By Max Abelson 8/03/09 4:39pm

The Last Ambiance Salesman

Location: Last August, just before the world crumbled, you said you catered to a clientele that ‘wanted a more sophisticated experience than dribbling beer on their running shoes.’ Has the recession changed your outlook at all? Do you aim for less snobbery?

Mr. Grossich: Well, it’s not so much snobbery. Read More

By Chris Shott 1/14/09 12:06am

Who Could Get Rainbow Room’s Pot of Gold?

The illustrious Rainbow Room high atop Rockefeller Center is up for grabs! Maybe.

On Friday, the ever-embattled Cipriani family, which has operated the hallowed 64th- and 65th-floor banquet hall at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for the past decade, was served with eviction papers, citing millions of dollars in unpaid rent.

Read More