The skinniest skyscraper in the world has completely changed the NYC skyline

New York is officially home to the skinniest skyscraper in the world: Steinway Tower at 111 West 57th Street.

Joining its similarly flashy counterparts on Billionaire's Row, Steinway Tower is 1,428 feet high, including a 300-foot-tall decorative steel crown. That height makes it one of the tallest buildings in the Western hemisphere (within New York, One World Trade Center and Central Park Tower beat it at 1,776 feet and 1,550 feet, respectively).

But it's the tower's height-to-width ratio, 24:1, that renders it the most slender skyscraper in the world.

New York architecture firm SHoP Architects designed the 84-story building, which was built by JDS Development, Property Markets Group and Spruce Capital Partners.

Featuring a total of 60 apartments that residents can move into beginning this week, the residential property also boasts a slew of incredible amenities, including a chef's catering kitchen, dedicated concierge service, an 82-foot-long two-lane swimming pool surrounded by private cabanas, a sauna, a steam room, a double-height fitness center with a mezzanine terrace and a residents' lounge with a huge terrace attached to it.

As impressive as it all sounds, the average New Yorker will likely be more concerned with the way that Steinway Tower has affected the city's skyline. Also known as a pencil tower given its slenderness, the skyscraper style that the architects have invested in is reminiscent of the 1970s Hong Kong skyline, when similar buildings popped up everywhere. Although other major cities have followed, the appearance of the visually stunning pieces of architecture is mostly felt across New York—by many considered to be the skyscraper capital of the world.

As usual, plenty of New Yorkers have been bemoaning the new presence in the sky, calling the super-tall building an eye sore and "odd to look at given its thinness." Although we understand the complaints, we have to be honest: we would gladly live in there for a few years... or the rest of our lives.

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