Lavish residential skyscrapers prompt concern over shadows

The construction of a new luxury residential tower that will surpass the current tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere in height has prompted New York City to reconsider its policy on megatowers.

The current high-rise champ rises 1,400 feet above Manhattan. The concern is over whether the long shadows skyscrapers cast over Central Park are harmful enough to restrict their height.

Other cities have studied the impact the shadows cast by high-rises have on the public’s enjoyment of public parks. The Washington Post reported that San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Toronto also have struggled to find a balance between building taller in an effort to fit more housing into crowded urban spaces with the need for sunlight below.

Though New York’s latest residential skyscrapers are targeted for the wealthy, such rules could impact tens of thousands of affordable housing units in the proposal stage.