Why Nobody Can Fix This New York Skyscraper
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- Опубликовано: 10 мар 2024
- This is One Seaport, a luxury tower that was meant to be a symbol of ambition. Now, it's an abandoned eyesore, a multi-million-dollar testament to a construction nightmare. Lawsuits swirl, engineers scratching their heads, and potential residents turn away in disbelief.
How did a state-of-the-art skyscraper mega project end up tilting before it was even finished?
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A nightmare for New York, will this ever get fixed?
its fubar, in my eyes atleast
No. The longer they fight, the more impossible it gets. But trying to go the cheap route in the first place makes the fix much more expensive than if they just went to bedrock all the way around at the start. Now they got the building in the way as well as the half assed foundation in the way. There may not be room enough to work around both, and they may have to drill through some of the concrete they put in place. Which will cost like drilling though solid rock.
All they need to do is change the name of the tower to East Pisa Tower.
No.
It'll get fixed when they tear it down and build something practical on the site.. something drilled solidly into the Bedrock
That $6 million is looking cheep now.
Just only
I was thinking that anyway over the cost of the whole project.
@@geniferteal4178
Like so many companies, Boeing comes to mind! Accountants run the show and look at profits more than quality and safety. Left to engineers they surely would have opted for safety and gone down to bedrock.
You don't know cheap
No kidding. The legal fees alone will prob cost more.
“Caissons to bedrock”. Three words that would have saved the building. I learned those three words 50 years ago in architecture school. Damn.
After battle all are generals.
And it only saved 6 million doing it the cheaper way. In this context 6M isn’t that much money.
Architects are not educated enough to oversee crooked contractors and shady structural engineers > always get a second opinion
@@zell863 Lessons not learned. Or not learned from others experience. You don't have to be a general to be a skillful observer.
@@JosephOlson-ld2td You don't know the right architects. But I agree on a second opinion.
"A scenic esplanade bustling with walkers and cyclists"
Shows elevated highway
It's East Side Highway. Should be torn down ..
Must be a retirement esplanade with seniors either on walkers or wheelchairs.
Yeah but you can see over the top the higher you go.
There's actually a bike path and restaurants and eateries up under that freeway.
Yes, they should have found some ground video instead of the drone stuff to go with that. But it's all in process of being redone with better river flooding control.
The additional $6 million to properly prepare the foundation when spread across the cost of units in that building would probably not have affected the occupancy rate. It's an example of pure greed on the part of the developer and it looks good on them that their gamble failed.
You’re right. There were 99 units and spreading $6M among them would have been just over $60K. But hey. Developers needed that extra profit margin to buy their private island.
@@scottwooledge6387 - you never know this fiasco could have been finaced by your retiremnet fund...
What about the buyers of these condos? Are they still on the hook for the mortgage because the building isn't finished or safe?
This isn't a new concept.. At one point in New York history. Entire buildings were going up in flames because builders were trying to save pennies on light bulbs.
@@elizabethwitt2621 I read that the buyer's deposits were returned. I don't think they would have had a mortgage before taking possession of the units, which no one has done.
Greed Before Safety.
Those ultra-thin skyscrapers freak me out.
Me too - they just look like they don't have a wide enough base to remain upright for long.
it does my head in, how can they build so high with such a comparably small foundations, but they can do it.
Skyscrapers are getting thinner while people are getting fatter.
I watched videos saying they creek loudly during windy days.
They should have consulted SEA where technology of such are a science.
I have discovered that most engineering disasters are caused by some manager going "we could save a bit of money by...." They don't realise that good engineers have already designed the structure to be as cheap as possible, but still meet all of the engineering requirements. Usually the management's cost cutting comes straight out of the structures safety margin.
As an architect I would have gotten fired from this job in the design phase because I would have insisted that the foundation be set in bedrock. I hate cheap clients trying to save a buck instead of doing it the correct way in the first place. Also, these super thin towers defy logic, the structure required to keep them standing is unreal.
They knew the issue right from the start...they collectively used an alternative method...just didn't work out.
@@GSP-76 alternative method means cheaper, cheaper means problems, I run into this all the time, I fight it all the time. Cutting corners means future problems just ask Boeing. Buildings, planes bridges fail because of stupid human hubris.
They took the risk for the 6 million additional return. Now the risk is being realized.
All the high tech computer designs and engineering, but the ones built in the 30s with guys throwing hot rivets are still standing strong.
And slide rules too.
💯💯💯 I used to work in the Empire State Building. It's a work of art.
it is goodfoundation not the rivits. The need foundation to bedrock.
Then go look for yourself 🤥
Well, the ones that didn't get torn down.
greed takes a SMACK here
should have spent the $6mil on the foundations to bedrock. DOH!!!
They opted for this nightmare to save 6 million? That's insane 😂 i assumed the extra cost would be 20-25 million
finally someone admitting that 3 inches is a lot
😆
As my nan always said, add one inch to the end of your nose and everyone will notice. LOL
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Hopefully it's not a grower.
180 Maiden built 40+ years ago never has any of these foundation problems ... because back then, we knew how to build.
The Hyatt regency construction didn’t do so well 40 years ago in Missouri
Back then, the people who built the original buildings in NYC, were from a different time and culture, they had more advanced tech then these dummy architects we have today. These modern architects you see taking credit for the construction of these buildings, were not even on earth when they were built. No contemporary architect will ever be able to emulate any of the Tartarian super structures all over the earth.
@@rb5174Totally different issue. Plus, that was a result of an unauthorised change by the contractor.
@@NOMOone you mean architects are structural engineers in the US?
@DeanStephen
You're incorrect, the change in the walkway supports was authorized by the engineering firm going from single rod supports to offset rods with the tension transmitted through a hollow horizontal support which doubled the load on nut on the upper support rod. It was the largest death toll in US history from a building collapse and kept that title until 9/11. The engineers lost their licenses as did the company which failed. There is one interesting fact about the level of corruption in that the entire inspection process for the building took less than an hour so it wasn't so much inspected as just rubber stamped.
In the building next door 181 Maiden Lane most of the piles are driven to “the “point of refusal” with large pile caps. It has not tilted at all in 43 years.
that buildign is also fat as shit
you would rather have problems in beams and slabs than foundations and columns.
Yup, they screwed up. Saw the cost, went cheap. The cost wasn't even that much 166 feet is done all the time.
This problem reminds me of a similar problem with the Millenium Tower in downtown San Francisco.
The leaning tower of San Francisco.
U Mass Amherst built a 26 story library with brick facade. They didn't estimate the weight of the books correctly. When they started to fill it, bricks under compression started blowing off the sides... Their fix was to wrap the entire building in fence 30' away from the building and make one entrance under a covered roof while only using half the floors. There are entire floors with no access and no books. Other floors are empty except cubicles for people to study.
On the same campus the residential buildings known as, "the towers" were built in swamp land and have continued to sink since they opened. Over the years they have had to remove and lower the stairs at the entrances to accommodate the new depth of the buildings
The information from all of those books that needed a 26-story building to house it could probably fit on a single hard drive today.
26 stories of brick? That's ridiculous!
@@williamgottlieb8723 yeah but a library serves more than just a book storage area, its a third space, a space for people to simply be in like a park, and even then it could house computers with access to said harddrive
Thus being the Big Apple, the obvious questions are:
Which NY City politicians reaped contributions/favors from the developer?
Which NY City building inspectors received favors/jobs from the developer?
Which consulting firms received contracts/favors from the developer?
There is a Kojak episode circa 1975 ish exposing exactly how it gets done!
3 inches ain't so bad... It's All in how you use it!
They can balance this over time choosing the fatties to live on the other side.
Sure
We'll take you word for it.
Excuse me, but no building of just 60 stories, only 670 feet tall, can even come anywhere near "dominating New York City's downtown skyline." It ranks 87th.
That's like saying some player who's 6'3" dominates the boards in the NBA.
Chuck is about 6’4 so close 🙂
6'3" is pretty tall. I definitely dominate the top cupboards in my house.
considering that the foundation caisons to bedrock was only 6 million, and units sold for over a million... it should have been a no brainer to go for the sure bet and not risk your massive investment.
The builder wanted to pocket that money, that’s the problem 🤷🏻♂️
Hindsight is always 20/20 cheaper.
just because they sell for 1 million doesnt mean its all profit... but now its a loss for sure
3 inches is nothing, Mllennium tower in San Francisco Lean 29 inches on one corner of the building
Until it falls.
The Frisco tower is leaning to the left.
@@jeffarchibald3837all of Frisco leans to the Left. The Extreme Left.
@@xr6lad the extreme left is communism, yet the core of its problems is unrestrained capitalism
Ya just got to love these people that know everything. Go fix the problem then...
It is leaning towards the Millennium Tower obviously.
I thought it was leaning north.
If you are at the exact North Pole, any leaning in any direction, will be towards south.
Imagine if major earthquakes were possible like in San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake!
I rather have a 100 plus acres of land in the country with a modest log cabin any day instead of living there.
I will second that statement. You will not get me up in one of those towers except in a straight jacket and chains.
@@michaelcauser474 lol! 😂
It makes them feel special to be able to say they live in that shithole of a city!
Even the Bible talks about building your house on sand instead of rock.😂
A house. Not a high rise!
The hubris of man knows no bounds.
Good video. There's nothing more expensive than cutting costs. Time in and time out people still make that mistake.
No Thank you.. I wouldn’t go there even to visit
👍
It's a shame. I think the building design is stunning. A great looking heap.
Everybody knows pilings need to go down to bedrock if you build a tower on land created by fill. The owners and engineers on the job were incompetent, crooks, or both. New York had better arrange to remove the structure and do it soon.
Don’t even have to be a civil engineer to know this.
There are some places (albeit not here) where bedrock is more than a mile down. New Orleans is such a place. Driving piles to bedrock in those places is simply not possible.
I actually find comfort in the fact that 3 inches is cause for concern with construction on a building that tall. Sounds like they are on it, unlike another building i know..
its not at full weight either, plus you have to add the weight of residential furniture/belongings etc
Over tIme its no gonna say 3 inches,Subsidence.
I know nothing about architecture or building but it just seems that cutting corners on the FOUNDATION is really not the way to save expense. I'm shocked that any developer would consider it with a building of that size.
The fact that the rather severe issues -- and the causes of those issues -- with the Millennium Tower in San Francisco are very well known makes this here seem even crazier. You'd think someone would say, "We're definitely going to do this the right way and drive piles all the way down to bedrock to avoid something like that from happening here in Manhattan," but apparently not.
Thank you for the great video
Some people won't consider expensive precautions until they are screwed by the shortcuts. Things like this need to happen sometimes in order for others to not be as reckless in similar situations
Neglected and abandoned building: squatters, what are you waiting for?
“Landfill” is the great metaphor for western society.
It may be pricy drilling into bedrock 132 - 166 feet down, but they would have made their money already. They lost hundreds of millions to saved 6 million dollars with that stupid concrete pad idiocy.
Fascinating. (Writing and production are excellent.)
One line from the Wikipedia article stands out: The developer “hired the Italian firm Pizzarotti as general contractor, likely in part because of Pizzarotti's low rates.”
The Esplanade gang has entered the chat.
The Leaning Tower of Pizzarotti
Wait a minute!Tower-Pizza-Leaning.Who saw that coming?
Fact is, this is among the hideous buildings to curse New York’s contemporary skyline. It might fit perfectly well in Miami or even the Upper East Side, but among the array of downtown’s office towers and the Seaport, it’s a blight. It’s gratifying to see the developers take a bath on this one.
In Miami with the sea corrosion, all buildings are in danger !
A few years ago a large waterfront convention centre project here in Vancouver was publicly noted as behind schedule in the press, and I happened to remark to a family friend who was an accountant with the crown corporation that was building it, "so, what- they couldn't find bedrock?" And he replied, "how did you know that?"
It seems with these tall, thin towers that going the extra mile with foundation prep would be a no brainer
0:24 If the tower was visibly tilting (to someone's perspective with just their bare eyes), the tower would have collapsed a long time ago. The Millennium Tower in SF has a far more concerning tilt, yet it is not possible to see the tilt with just your eyes.
Millenium tower isn't nearly as skinny (lower aspect ratio) as this building. A small lean is much more likely to be catastrophic especially as the lean is to the North across the narrower part of the building. This building will have to be demoed - and without implosion. That will cost $50+ M. The only question is when that will happen and who will pay for it.
@@danielwalker6653 - if contrcator files bankruptcy and disaprears.. the people that own the lot will have to sell it cheap
I think this is a perfect opportunity for aluminum siding.
amazing in this day and age that stuff like this happens, i’m sure there are plenty of people right here on youtube that saw this scenario unfolding
different story in the wikipedia article about this building, "The developer hired engineering firms WSP Global and Arup Group, which both concluded that the building's lean did not compromise its structural integrity." etc.
The Bush & Cheny Demolition Company could easily fix it. 😅
Thy need to take it down before it falls down.
Trump constructors would underbid, not pay their subcontractors, and then file for bankruptcy while throwing every delaying tactic known to the legal profession. This project is made for the likes of Trump.
@@rdmorris1947 And Biden would just drool and ask to play with his Legos
@@RoadKing65that'll be trump. The guy can't even hold a cup of water with one hand. Just like a toddler
@@Ray__Eare you in the USA totally in denial of what stuff Biden does that us in the rest of the world see on our media. The man is literally senile asking to met peoples that have been dead for years or stopping in the middle of speeches looking lost? Is your media covering for him that much?
I can't imagine yesterday's earthquake helping the situation of this building. This is what happens when you put upfront cost over long-term understanding of do it right means you do it once.
Whatever cost measures to fix the tilt, prevent further tilting, legal fee's and inability to fulfill residence will all be multiple times higher then $7 million to build to bedrock.
Because all new condos built after 2015 cut corners like crazy and use very cheap materials. It's a no-brainer.
I remember when they proposed this building.. I thought they are out of their minds due to the underground
Who would have thought that geology wins EVERY time
The lean can simply be managed through balancing on the opposite side that sways the structure
The Millenium Towner in San Francisco is leaning 10 times as much as it's full of residents. Why is 3 inchs that bad? Do they expect it to continue?
This issue is the definition of trying to pick up penny’s in front of a steam roller.
They tried to save $6m and ended up costing themselves hundreds of millions. Pure greed and stupidity. You’re building a LUXURY tower. Just imagine the other corners they were cutting. I don’t even mean structural/engineering corners, I mean just on the quality of amenity material they were using. I’ve seen a lot of luxury buildings in NYC in my time and their quality has consistently gone down with each decade. It’s the small things, like seams not lining up, grout and sealant cracking, poor building maintenance infrastructure, things like that. But when you’re buying luxury property it’s those little things that matter.
GREED IS WHAT MADE IT TILT! 😂
This is exactly the same problem that happened in Frisco with the Millennium Tower but it has 58 stories and a 28 inch lean measured from the top. An attempt to fix the lean actually accelerated the leaning rate and amount and it has been halted.
Corruption. So many regulations and all that, if you live in New York you know everything is regulated. No one ever would give a permit to build something like that without checking on the foundations. Is so obvious developers just gave a huge chunk of money to the city to get the permits.
I find myself most impressed by whomever repelled down and painted the graffiti on the top 8 floors shown at 9:03.
When you teach your kids about building a good foundation ( start) to every project in life 🤣
Take the developer to the cleaners over this, sue the shareholders personally for the demolition
0:20 The other tower in the picture is also 'not standing straight and leaning', so it needs to be fixed or demolished as well.
Three inch lean may not be that bad. The Millennium Tower in SF. Has 14 in lean and it got slightly worse after the attempted fix
yes, but a lot of the weight has not even been added nor have all windows been added which both would add to the foundation stress so the whole thing is probably going to be brought down. sad
Millenium Tower anyone?
Keep in mind also the city of New York had to approve the engineering of this building for the permitting. They are partially responsible as well. They should've never taken this risk and made the developer pay for the proper engineering.
Stupid cost cut, thanks for the video
The fact they call this lean 'unforeseen' after knowing they weren't anchoring to bedrock is astounding to me. Anyone who has dealt with foundation issues in their home (myself included) or even built small structures (shed, outbuildings, etc) on soft ground would have predicted this as a potential outcome.
The tree with deepest roots remains standing after the storm.
3" is not too much of lining. Edit second like in case of Millenium tower of SF after battle all are generals. Structural engineering is not an exact science. You do the best what you can. They tried something new and it didn't work.
The city should be.
Responsible for approving the blueprints and the designs.
Great idea - the know-all, efficient, competency of government bureaucracy is the solution to all problems in life
Curiously there is no mention of a thorough geologic survey to assess the suitability of building a high-rise tower on anything less than bedrock. From the information provided in this short documentary, it seems obvious the engineers were cutting corners to control cost. The fact that the building began to settle unevenly before it was completed is telling. The design specifications were clearly deeply flawed. I'm a geologist and this is what happens when a building is poorly designed and under engineered. I've read the book about the construction of the Brooklyn bridge written by Stephen Ambrose. That structure which crosses the east river stands as a testament to robust engineering accomplished well before scale models or computer modeling was even a pipe dream. It was the world's longest suspension bridge for twenty years.
It would have only added $6 million to the total to have a sturdy foundation? Sounds like they could have afforded to do that.
But they were saving money.
🤔 I wonder how all of those high priced lawyers are making out?
I guess the builders forgot about the leaning tower of pizza
They can't fix New York, so what's one lousy skyscraper...?
Can they attach it to the big building next to it to help hold it straight?
No. It would throw all the math that went into that building clean onto the next page. Wind shears, loads every equation which went into that building would then be mute.
It's gotta come down.
Anything important to you in life- its important it has a solid foundation.
Better you learn from their mistakes on their dime than destroy two buildings.
We need to know more! Tell us the progress on this building.
The only thing that makes buildings in New York not frightening to be in is the fact that you know it's literally drilled into the Bedrock.. the actual hard, solid granite crust of the Earth which is exceptionally strong and stable in New York.. the stability of the ground is part of what makes New York city so special..
( that and the fact that you can drink water out of your faucet anywhere in New York City with total confidence. New York City's water wins taste test over bottled)
As for tap water in NYC, don’t look into the roof top tanks that supply water pressure. They’re a cleaning nightmare.
@@NickCBax I was at a wedding not too long ago and I was absolutely shocked to see a wood water tower on a roof. I had no idea that they were still using wooden water tanks
@@scoopydaniels8908 Yup.. And some of them have dead animals, excess algae, bird poop, and the like floating in them..
I don't know, recent 4.8 magnitude earthquake was quite noticeable.
Actually, no. The schist bedrock in NYC is slowly rising since the end of the last ice age when the weight of the ice was removed.
Millennium tower has a competitor now
As an automotive tech. I'll tell you. Engineers think and act like they're the smartest people around who make no mistakes in their design. Until as a tech i point out how they lack common sense. This building for example, we accounted for the twist, we didn't account for weight distribution. Something related to me, when this condition occurs by the customers complaint, replace this part. Me, how do you duplicate? Them, you can't but it a known issue for a year.
Also me, spends 20 min on vehicle, figures out how to force duplication of complaint. Them, how?
Me, by active test of this part, it is closest to this series of parts, use and build up clogs the first of the series of ports in the failed part you said to replace.
Service bulletin two days later.
First class lever solution is needed here. The center of mass is away from the center that is why it leaning to the north. They need to counterbalance the building since it's heavy on the north side
The thing that caught my eye was the tagging at the top of the building 9:01. I’m here in Chicago and sometimes you just catch tagging some where and wonder how in the hell did they get up there. Definitely looks like they must have repelled down this building at night and went back to skyscraper window cleaning the next morning.
Perhaps, also If you'll notice there is vertical structural truss work on either side (for elevators?) which can be hooked on to in various ways...
That's awesome observation. We call it vandal here in NY.
@@bigradwolf5001 stop it! I’m sure some New Yorkers refer to it as tagging as well. That’s a pretty common term for it.
Ha ha I saw the tagging/spray paint.. that would have took a few minutes to do
There are exposed beams/rebar towards the top. I've actually hit this specific site before, its pretty sketch to get to the very top ledge where they are fastened into the concrete. I'm assuming they got up there and rappelled down, wicked stuff. And for those in the know, its called tagging in NYC.
Not the first developer that tries to save money by not going down to bedrock with piles and runs into trouble!
I’m just a small builder, but how many times in the past have I said “ Never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over again,
I’d rather live in Brooklyn or Queens for a 10th of the price with a view of the city skyline over paying millions to live in city with a view of Brooklyn, Queens, SI or Jersey.
Yes you would.
Brooklyn and Queens are cheaper, but NOT at 1/10 of Manhattan price.
I’d rather not live on the east coast AT ALL. It’s disgusting.
Why would anyone wanna live there? It looks like a miserable existence.
Now folks, which is the correct scenario, the One Seaport's Developer used Boeing as their design Consultants, or Boeing used One Seaport's Developers for it's 737 Max programme?
Notice how the depth of the bedrock is reflected in the heights of the buildings in the graphic at 4:30. Tall at the southern tip of Manhattan, then much lower and then tall again you go north.
A building in san Francisco has a similar but worst tilt as well.
That was a fearless graffiti artist at 09:00 !
I sure do love the historic waterfront over the modern nasty towers.... Sad to see so many such areas being gentrified...
They could have saved themselves 6 million headaches when they just embedded the foundation into the bedrock.
Hard to believe a building designed like a sail made out of concrete could perform so poorly in the wind.
NEVER BUILD ON FILL! See the Marina district in San Francisco after the 1989 earthquake
Doesn’t matter, nobody is gonna wanna live in New York City in the next year or two. Mad Max.
Who would want to live there and be trapped in that tower....no thanks...
I'm not sure how the "unforeseen tilt" wasn't easy to foresee. I'm no engineer and even I know better. Trying to save six million dollars turned out to cost them far more in the long run. I'm honestly surprised that Manhattan doesn't require such heavy highrise buildings to have piles driven all the way down to the bedrock. You'd think that would be something that was very strictly enforced, especially when you consider the soil most of those buildings sit on.
This tower was just down the road from our apartment building on Pearl Street while visiting NYC last summer. My kid & I noticed & chatted about odd design & the tilt. We thought it was part of some innovative design 😂😂 But my kid did say "looks really scary & ready to topple over"
Respect to whoever sprayed the graffiti at the top.... 😂
What I see, engineers and architects are taking too much risk in developing these very tall buildings, ratio height 15 - 1 is extreme.
The original WTC, the new WTC, the World Financial Center and every building in Battery Park City are built on landfill.
None of them are leaning or sinking due to unstable soil. The developers for all of those buildings had the correct foundations engineered and built.
The disaster at 161 Maiden is happening because the developers tried to build a foundation that was much less expensive and inferior.
I bet you CDI (Controlled Demolition Inc.) could fix it quick!