Tenants At New LIC Tower Can Control The Color Of NYC Skyscrapers

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — Some Long Island City residents will soon be able to light up the New York City skyline.

Leasing at the Durst Organization's 958-unit skyscraper, known as Sven, launched this week, with rents ranging from $2,922 for a studio to $6,048 for a three-bedroom apartment at the high-rise located at 29-37 41st Avenue.

People who can afford the building's hefty price tag will get the usual host of luxury apartment amenities — like a gym, pool, and movie room — and one light-up perk that's a cut above the rest: Sven residents can illuminate the tops of select Durst buildings across the city's skyline.

Sven tenants will receive a private membership to Spireworks, a mobile app that allows users to control chromatic displays atop certain New York City buildings, including the 300-foot spire on the Bank of America Tower and 4 Times Square, known for its H&M signs. On special occasions users can also control the One World Trade Center spire.

Dan Mogolesko, vice president of residential at Durst told the New York Post that Spireworks gives Sven residents the ability "to change New York's landscape. It’s a really special, intimate experience for the user that all of New York can see," he told the Post, which was the first to report this story.

Since its launch in 2010, Spireworks has always been exclusive — available by invitation only — with black market invites to the app reportedly going for as much as $1,000, much to the chagrin of app creator and digital-media artist Mark Domino.

Domino, who is notably the son-in-law of the real-estate tycoon behind the Durst Organization, told the Post that Spirework's invite program is on pause for now, while Durst pursues other avenues for growth — like residential and commercial tenants.

“It’s not going to double our size or anything — we’re well beyond that — [but] it will definitely bring new interest to all of our lighting installations," he said of the app, which has ballooned to 30,000 users, and expects to add 1,000 to 3,000 more people at Sven.

Sven, which doesn’t have a spire, will offer residents exclusive access to change the colors at the top of its building — which towers over all but one other structure in Queens.

Find out more about Sven here.