"I was convinced it would be the best building in New York," Sarina Abramovich, one of the earliest residents of 432 Park, who with her husband bought an apartment for nearly $17 million in 2016, told the Times.
#THE DOWNSIDE LIFE SUPERTALL TOWER CREAKS FREE#
The restaurant has cut back on its hours of operation because of the pandemic and eliminated free breakfast. Now that tab has been raised to $15,000 a year. When 432 Park opened in 2015, condo owners were required to spend $1,200 a year at the restaurant. The insurance surge was partly because of a sprinkler discharge and two "water-related incidents" in 2018 that cost the building about $9.7 million in covered losses, according to a letter from the residential board of managers obtained by the Times.Īnd then there is the matter of the building's private restaurant run by a Michelin-starred chef. The construction manager said in a statement that they "have been in contact" with the developers, "regarding some comments from tenants, which we are currently evaluating".īeyond the structural issues, there are financial ones, said residents.Įduard Slinin, a recently elected member of the building's condo board, wrote a letter to neighbors in 2020 reporting that the building's insurance costs had increased 300 percent in two years. One of the tower's developers defended the building, saying in a statement that it "is a successfully designed, constructed and virtually sold-out project", and that they are "working collaboratively" with the condo board. Their height, however, allowed the developers to build higher than would have been permitted by the city's zoning regulations because their size doesn't count against the building's allowable size. But the floors have been criticized for being excessively tall. They are left open to allow wind to blow through to reduce the tower's wind load.
The plumbing issues prompted one potential resident to back out of a $46.25 million deal after the building experienced a "catastrophic waterflood'', according to the Times.īoth leaks occurred on five-story floors containing only mechanical equipment that are spaced every 14 floors from the top. In November 2018, the building sustained two major leaks, one of which propelled water into elevator shafts, shutting them down for weeks. Residents complained to the Times that eerie creaking and groaning noises often resonate in their apartments, as well as sounds "like a bomb" when the trash is tossed down a garbage chute.Īmong the Park's biggest issues, say residents, is its plumbing, which has caused frequent flooding and extensive water damage. While the building is designed to move with the wind, that swaying also leads to loud noises. In 2019, strong winds led to an elevator stopping at 432 Park, trapping a resident for more than an hour. Slender and tall buildings are more prone to have problems, especially swaying in windy weather, often causing vertical elevators to stop. 432 Park is 15 times as tall as its width of 93 feet. Structural engineers generally consider skyscrapers with a minimum 1:10 or 1:12 ratio of the width of the building's base to its height to be "slender". It has 104 apartments, a 75-foot swimming pool, a screening room, spa, conference room, billiards room, wine cellars and a restaurant just for owners on the 12th floor. Most of the problems may be connected to the building's main selling point - its massive height of nearly 1,400 feet, as well as its pencil-like thinness, described by some as anorexic. The building that cost $3.2 billion is beset by problems, they told The New York Times, which recently profiled their complaints: millions of dollars of water damage from plumbing and mechanical issues, frequent elevator malfunctions, noise, and walls that creak.
Now some residents of the super-exclusive condominium that overlooks Central Park are complaining about construction flaws and surging fees. But inside, it's reportedly a living hell.Ĥ32 Park is one of several major developments around 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan where skinny towers have sprouted up on what has been dubbed "Billionaires' Row". It's one of the most expensive addresses in the world. It was the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere when completed.
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