Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Siffin Proposed Dual Mega-Media Towers, Guest Blog by Beatriz Baldan

This column is reprinted with permission from the Urban Environment League Blog.

The examples Developer Mark Siffin uses to justify his twin LED Media Towers, Times Square, London, Tokyo, etc; don't pass muster. None of these places, as well as many other major cities, have the intrusive impact that his project will have. Let me give you some examples:

In Time’s Square for example the signage is confined in an area that goes from 42nd St to 45th St flanked by 7th Ave on the west and Broadway Ave on the East. With the renovation of 42nd St., the signage has extended along 42nd Avenue between 7th and 8th Avenues. In either case no sign is above any building height.

On the other streets surrounding this area the only other signs are the theater and hotel marquees. And on Broadway Ave as well as 7th Avenue beyond 42ns ST South and 45th St North there are no more illuminated signs. It can be seen in the photos that beyond these limits are dark.


Times Square facing south


Times Square facing north
(hit read more)

Tokyo, Same thing happens; the illuminated signage is restricted to a restricted commercial area, and never going above existing structures.


London, Piccadilly Circus-The illuminated signage is restricted to the Piccadilly Circus surrounding buildings and not to all of the building, because no signage is allowed on buildings of historical significance.


Paris at dawn, no visible signage and the tallest structure still is the Eifel Tower


I can go on and on, no mayor cities on the world have the signage Siffin has proposed to do. All these places have their own character and history like we do, Miami is a great place, we have our own character, and we do not need, in my opinion an oversize advertising icon to pollute our city. Miami is not Las Vegas.


And just as a comparison, the Washington Monument with 555 feet high, it is about the same height, once these LED intermittent light structures are in place. These full blast illuminated structures three times and twice wide each than the Washington Monument, is what we will see in the night Miami Skyline if this project gets build.

Flatrion Building, NY, at 287 Feet height is roughly 100 feet shorter than the proposed signs. Now, imagine this full blast and with intermittent lights all night.

When we want to be inspired or at peace, and we do indeed need these, we go to a museum or a walk in the park, etc, and we do not want to be intellectually or other wise bombarded with advertising.

Can you imagine a multi screen advertising hanging from the Arch du Triumph in the Champs Elise, or in the Roman coliseum? I think not; well; we need to think of our public spaces with the same respect wherever they might be, keeping our environmental space in a way that inspires us, because it is our home.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another "sign" of the Great Miami Clusterf@#k.

Anonymous said...

not much shocks me here in Miami anymore... but this, ... this is about the most stupid thing I've ever heard. I really hope these don't go up. This is going to be near the Miami end of the Venetian Causeway or near to the Miami Herald building right? So why aren't the folks that live on venetian up in arms about this? How can we let this happen?

Expensive corruption said...

How much is The Miami Herald/McClatchy making out of this land deal?
What kind of money is at stake here to induce the lack of news coverage on this item - purportedly the most full-blown Miami icon to be built in recent history?
What kind of money does it take for our newspaper to withhold negative news about the Mayor and Commissioner Sarnoff - the champions of this deal?
"We" seem to have sold out - let's at least find out for how much.

Anonymous said...

The stench of back room secret deals is real smelly...

Anonymous said...

It will make a great advertising vehicle for Sergio Pino to hawk his next sprawl project.

Anonymous said...

"City Light Pollution Affects Air Pollution
Excess light at night can contribute to air pollution, according to a study by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado" - IDA International Dark-Sky Association

http://www.darksky.org/mc/page.do;jsessionid=39735668433C814614C332D1C83D3B79.mc1?sitePageId=119791

Anonymous said...

The 50 story LED advertising towers are disgusting. The ads, which, can be changed every eight seconds will be visible for 20 miles. No one within 20 miles will escape the distraction.

The 50 story LED billboards are only proposed as a scheme to bail out a developer who is overpaying for vacant land.

How much corruption surrounds this scheme?

Anonymous said...

Visual Pollution.

Speculator Mark Siffin wants to distract every resident and every driver within 20 miles so he can sell ads.

bd said...

This was my "two cents' worth" written last summer. I still can't get over the awfulness and absurdity of the project

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/24/1744439/big-changes-with-little-thought.html#.

And apropos of the "anonymous" comment on light in cities, above...we already have seen what too much light did for the poinciana trees on South Miami Avenue (they didn't bloom). We
don't really know what it means for migrating birds. And I'm sure there are many many other environmental issues well beyond the urban, human, architectural and aesthetic ones.

Anonymous said...

Pure naked corruption.

Anonymous said...

Why should the public have to pay because one man agrees to buy property for $230 Million that is now worth only $50 Million? Why should the public have to be subjected to visual pollution for the next 100 years because one man made a stupid decision?

The Federal Government should step in and stop this fiasco.

Anonymous said...

This is just another taxpayer funded bailout. Another rich very well connected man using weak elected officials to give him a financial benefit no one else gets.

Why do the residents always get screwed?

Anonymous said...

Are the Feds investigating?

Is it true promoter Mark Siffin is trying to buy influence in Tallahassee to get the ugly 50 story billboards approved?

Anonymous said...

Yes. Mark Siffin hired some of the usual suspects.