Weekend, August 21-22, 2021 – ONCE THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE BOROUGH, IT IS NOW A PROUD ADDITION

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WEEKEND EDITION

 AUGUST  21-22,  2021

OUR 442nd EDITION

WHEN YOU CAN’T DEMOLISH

A LANDMARK,

YOU MAKE INTO

A CLASSIC ENTRY

The Queens Clock Tower  Postcard

The Long Island City Clock Tower – And Sven, Queens’ Newest Tallest Building

November 18, 2020

BY RICHARD GENTILVISO
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For more than 60 years, the 14-story building built in 1927 at 29-27 Queens Plaza North was the tallest commercial building in Queens. Until it was surpassed in 1990 by other structures, the building with the clock towered over the Queensborough Bridge and the elevated Flushing and Astoria subway lines running next to it.

The Long Island City Clock Tower, as the building came to be known, was purchased by developers in 2014 who, using land and air rights from the clock tower, as well as air rights from an adjacent lot owned by and purchased from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a 77-story residential tower is rising adjacent to the historic Long Island City Clock Tower.

While the Clock Tower’s hands have not moved in decades, it is landmarked and there are plans to renovate and restore the four clock faces below the gargoyles atop the 93-year-old neo-Gothic Clock Tower. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) was asked to approve the replacement of 11 windows on the west façade of the building at a public hearing scheduled for the Community Board 1 virtual meeting on November 17.

The brown-brick landmarked Clock Tower, with castellated clock tower turret, copper windows, and granite shields, will have its glass and iron clock faces restored. The LPC approved the clock restoration plan in October 2019 with the stipulation that the old glass panels be replaced with the same frosted glass as the originals.

“(The Clock Tower) is a real icon for the city and the entire borough,” said LPC Commissioner Diana Chapin in an October 31, 2019 Curbed New York report.

LPC public review and official landmark designation protect the Clock Tower from destruction, but allow construction around it. Construction of the 762-foot residential tower, known as Sven, is concave, and curves partially around the Clock Tower and creating a closeness between the two buildings. The new structure, when complete, will assume the title of tallest building in Queens, supplanting the Citicorp building which stands at 673 feet.

LPC rules set forth the Commission’s application and public hearing procedures, and the rules and standards for work on buildings in historic districts and individual landmarks. The LPC is the largest preservation agency in the nation, it is responsible for protecting New York City’s architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites by granting them landmark or historic district status and regulating them after designation.

Aerial render of Queens Plaza Park looking west towards Manhattan, from The Durst Organization

BY: MICHAEL YOUNG 8:00 AM ON JULY 27, 2021

It looks like construction is coming to a close on Sven, a 762-foot-tall skyscraper at 29-37 41st Avenue and the second-tallest building in Long Island City, Queens. Also known as Queens Plaza Park, the 67-story tower is designed by Handel Architects for The Durst Organization and will yield 958 rental units with interiors designed by Selldorf Architects, including 300 units set aside as affordable housing. Hunter Roberts is the general contractor and Jaros, Baum & Bolles Engineering administered the mechanical systems for the project, which is bound by Northern Boulevard to the east, Queens Plaza North and Dutch Kills Green to the south, and 41st Avenue to the west.

Since our last update in April, the exterior hoist has been fully disassembled from the flat western elevation and the glass façade panels have filled in the exposed gap. Only some minor work remains to be completed around the ground level

The Queens Clock Tower and Sven. Photo by Michael Young

Apartments at Sven are all about the experience. Stylish and thoughtful details, amenities you’ll actually use, a location unmatched in its convenience. In just a few short weeks we’re opening our housing lottery and individuals can apply for the rent-stabilized apartments in our community. 

For those who qualify, it’s an incredible opportunity to live in a beautiful new community at an affordable rate. 

WEEKEND PHOTO OF THE DAY
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SURPRISE FINDING

IN THE MAILBOX ROOM OF THE OCTAGON 

IS A COPY OF AN ANTIQUE MAP OF THE ISLAND.

THIS IS DEFINITELY A FUN ADDITION. JUST LOOK UP AT THE CEILING AND STUDY SOME HISTORY!

THE FULL VIEW OF THE MAP

Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated

FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD

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