NEW YORK CITY-Days before it’s due to be considered by a keyCity Council subcommittee, Vornado Realty Trust’s plan to build a67-story office tower on the current site of the Hotel Pennsylvaniais drawing protest from one of its future neighbors. That would beEmpire State Building Co. LLC, which is none too pleased about theproposed tower’s proximity to the landmarked Fifth Avenueproperty.

In a letter dated Wednesday to Council Member Mark Weprin, chairof the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, the principals ofEmpire State Building Co. and Malkin Holdings assert that theproposed height and mass of Vornado’s 15 Penn Plaza, located about1,000 feet southwest of ESB, “will permanently damage the beautyand distinction of the city’s skyline, our city’s and country’spublic face to the world.”

The letter, under the signature of chairman Peter Malkin andpresident Anthony Malkin, continues, “This is not about banningtall buildings in the city, but about observing and preserving thevery historic uniqueness and beauty of the city’s skyline by notallowing a massive building made possible only through waivers andbonuses in such close proximity to a landmarked building to defileand destroy ESB and our skyline.”