EDC’s Pinsky defends Brooklyn skyscraper landmarking decision

Seth Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, defended the city’s decision to uphold the designation of Brooklyn’s Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District at a panel discussion this morning in Midtown, the New York Observer reported, saying it would not prevent landlords from attracting modern tenants to the designated buildings.

“Just because the buildings there are old doesn’t mean they can’t be made into technologically advanced properties,” Pinsky said. “Google paid almost $2 billion for an old Port Authority [of New York & New Jersey] industrial building. Just because it can’t be torn down doesn’t mean it’s doomed to remain obsolete.”

Despite strong Real Estate Board of New York opposition, the City Council’s subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritimes Uses voted early this week to uphold the district designation. It had been the source of controversy for more than a year, the Observer noted, with high-profile property owners in the area, like SL Green Realty, joining in the fight to prevent it.  [NYO]