The owner of the Empire State Building said the height of a proposed tower near the skyscraper would forever alter the skyline of New York City.

Anthony Malkin took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times asking the City Council to reject or amend the current proposal for 15 Penn Plaza.

The full City Council is scheduled to vote on the project tomorrow.

The 67-story tower would rise only 34 feet less than the Empire State Building.

Mr Malkin told a council zoning committee that his building is the "number one favourite building in the US".

David Greenbaum is president of the company planning to erect the competitor. He told the committee that 15 Penn Plaza would provide critically needed office space in midtown Manhattan.

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