The Rise and Rise of New York's Billionaire's Row

Amazing how the swaying is avoided. It is worth watching just to see how that works. Thanks Ximon.

Reminds me of the tuned mass dampers quickly installed in the upper floors of the Citigroup Center years ago when a major storm warning was announced. Citi feared the building might topple and kept the whole thing secret.

The tuned mass damper was part of the original design (first in the US), though they did rush to install an emergency generator for the control system. The building was also rewelded (bolts were substituted for welds initially specified) just before the storm.

It's a great story, highly recommended reading:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/05/29/the-fifty-nine-story-crisis

http://www.theaiatrust.com/whitepapers/ethics/study.php

Thanks for the correction, Aaron. Yes, a great story. I worked on Park Avenue after 9/11 when they reinforced the support columns for the Citigroup Center. Also in secret. Hope I got that one right!

It will be interesting to see how some of these buildings fare financially in years to come. Coops actually do have an advantage over condos when it comes to foreclosures in that:
1) Coops can limit financing, and
2) Maintenance is in first lien position whereas common charges are in second position so arrears get wiped out in a foreclosure.
We have already seen a significant foreclosure in One57 even without a substantial market downturn. The presence of large units with higher than usual percentage of common interest in these buildings make each foreclosure have a more significant impact on a building's annual income.
In addition, I doubt these buildings budgets are adequately accounting for the types of extraordinary maintenance projects which they will need at some point in the future (like what occurred at 55 Liberty St).