An Open Call to New Yorkers, Patrons, and the World
Buy out 262 Fifth Avenue. Tear it down. Protect the view in perpetuity.
For nearly a century, the Empire State Building has stood as the spiritual center of the New York skyline. A new supertall at 262 Fifth Avenue threatens to obscure that silhouette from the south. We propose to buy the parcel, demolish the structure, and place its air rights into a permanent civic trust.
Pledges are non-binding declarations of intent. No funds are collected on this page.
The Pledge
Toward an Eight Hundred Million Dollar Civic Buyout
The Plan
Four Acts to Restore the View
The Record
What Stands at 262 Fifth, and What Was There Before
The Public Ledger
Pledgers of Record
A Note from the Conveners
A skyline is a civic inheritance. It belongs to no one developer and to every citizen who looks up. The Empire State Building has carried this city through depression, war, blackout, and storm. Its silhouette, viewed from the south along Fifth, is among the most photographed compositions in the world. We will not let it be quietly fenced off by a single tower of luxury condominiums. Sign your name. Hold the line.
— The Skyline Trust, in formation