New generation of skinny skyscrapers alters NY skyline

NEW YORK: Super tall, super skinny and super expensive: a new generation of New York skyscrapers, some taller than the Empire State building, are altering the world´s most famous skyline.
And it´s not just the masonry that´s soaring to new heights. The prices have also gone stratospheric: three apartments sold recently for more than $100 million a piece.
Half a dozen buildings are planned or under construction in Central Park south, affording views across the park. Others are concentrated around Madison Square Park, or still further south.
“There really is a new type in skyscraper history that is just beginning to appear,” said Carol Willis, historian, founder, director and curator of The Skyscraper Museum.
They “will proliferate in the next five to 10 years and really change the character of the Manhattan skyline,” she added.
The buildings are between 50 and 90 storeys high. Their architects are sometimes international celebrities.
Those who buy are multi-millionaires from across the world who considers a “trophy apartment” in the sky an investment or chic pied a terre. Many residents do not even live in New York full time.