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New York City developers (and beloved local crackheads) William L. and Arthur W. Zeckendorf have agreed to pay $430 per square foot for the rights to the "unused" air at 60th Street and Park Avenue, located above the Christ Church and the Grolier Club (sorry, church-goers — you weren't really using that air anyhow). The Zeckendorfs plan to then transfer their air slightly to the west on 60th Street, where they'll then be able to bypass zoning laws and build a 35-story apartment tower.

While air rights are nothing new, the price paid by the Zeckendorfs is record-setting and, as such, outrageously absurd. But remember that the ends justify the means: by selling prime air at a high price, it ensures that most people can't even afford to breathe on the Upper East Side. And if that's what it takes to keep the ugly, poor folk away from the pretty ladies and delicate doormen, then we must support it.

$430 a Square Foot, for Air? Only in New York Real Estate [NYT]