'Exhilarating' Views from New Observation Deck 1,200 Feet Above NYC

A man records a video from the observation deck of the still under construction One Vanderbilt tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, May 11, 2021. (Reuters)
A man records a video from the observation deck of the still under construction One Vanderbilt tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, May 11, 2021. (Reuters)
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'Exhilarating' Views from New Observation Deck 1,200 Feet Above NYC

A man records a video from the observation deck of the still under construction One Vanderbilt tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, May 11, 2021. (Reuters)
A man records a video from the observation deck of the still under construction One Vanderbilt tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, May 11, 2021. (Reuters)

A new skyscraper in New York's midtown Manhattan that towers 150 feet above the Empire State Building transports visitors in glass elevators up the sides of the building to an observation deck high above the city.

The 1,401-foot (427 m)-tall skyscraper, dubbed One Vanderbilt, is a $3.3 billion development adjacent to Grand Central Terminal.

It is the fourth-tallest in New York City, after One World Trade at 1,776 feet, Central Park Tower at 1,550 feet, and 111 West 57th Street at 1,428 feet. Its observation deck, Summit One Vanderbilt, is a four-level, 65,000-square-foot space atop the skyscraper.

The Empire State Building, built in the 1930s, is 1,250 feet tall.

"Visitors will have the opportunity to take those glass elevators that were fabricated in Italy by a gondola maker... to a height of over 1,200 feet for vistas of New York City that are really unparalleled," said Marc Holliday, chairman and chief executive officer of SL Green Realty Corp.

"When you sit up here and you look out at this vista, there's no better shot of downtown, the Empire State Building... it's just very exhilarating."

The observation deck will open to the public on Oct. 21.



Japan's 400,000-follower 'Insta-gran' Dies Aged 97

(FILES) This file picture taken on January 16, 2018 shows Kimiko Nishimoto posing next to a picture of her on the sliding window of her house in the western Japanese city of Kumamoto. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)
(FILES) This file picture taken on January 16, 2018 shows Kimiko Nishimoto posing next to a picture of her on the sliding window of her house in the western Japanese city of Kumamoto. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)
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Japan's 400,000-follower 'Insta-gran' Dies Aged 97

(FILES) This file picture taken on January 16, 2018 shows Kimiko Nishimoto posing next to a picture of her on the sliding window of her house in the western Japanese city of Kumamoto. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)
(FILES) This file picture taken on January 16, 2018 shows Kimiko Nishimoto posing next to a picture of her on the sliding window of her house in the western Japanese city of Kumamoto. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

A Japanese great-grandmother with 400,000 Instagram followers who shot to fame for her goofy self-portraits after taking up photography aged 72 has died, her son said on Thursday.

Kimiko Nishimoto, who died this week at the age of 97, told AFP in a 2018 interview that "you can take photos no matter how old you get".

"Wherever it is, in your house, outside, or in your bed, you can do it. That is the nice thing about a camera," she said.

Dubbed the "selfie queen" by Japanese media, Nishimoto's posts showed her in various candid poses -- from riding a broom like Harry Potter to imitating an off-duty sumo wrestler on their fifth beer of the night.

"Our mother always created her work with a smile," a post from her son Kazutami Nishimoto said on her Instagram account.

"We are deeply grateful to everyone who visited her photography exhibitions held across the country, to those who shared warm words of encouragement through Instagram... and to all who supported her warmly throughout her journey."

Nishimoto's son teaches photography classes, which his mother started taking in retirement.

"Though she began photography at the age of 72, she was blessed with countless encounters, which enriched this third chapter of her life tremendously," he said.

Nishimoto appeared on national television as her online following grew and was interviewed by major news outlets.

But her more out-there visual scenarios were also the cause of some confusion over the years.

One snap -- showing her wrapped in a garbage bag, as if she had been discarded -- drew criticism from people who didn't know she was involved in its set-up.

"It's not like ideas just suddenly pop into my head but wherever I go I think about what it would be fun to dress up as in that place," she said in 2018.