News Follies: Was That Really A Story About The New School Building On 14th Street?

New School on 14th + 5th 9/2012 (A Fine)

I caught it last night, a teaser for the WNBC local news at 11, something along the lines of 'is this Union Square building on the verge of collapse?' Then at 11, the story, complete with live reporter in front of the construction site for The New School at 14th Street and Fifth Avenue. 'Concerned neighbors and passersby fear something is terribly wrong'. Really? Have these neighbors ever see the Hearst Building on 57th? Have they ever seen a cantilever before? To me that qualifies as slightly more scary, but not at all if you consider engineering. Yes, the supporting columns are slightly crooked, and that is intentional. So, for that matter are the staircases that jut out like fishbowls. Did anyone call NBC to tip them off that they thought the staircases were falling out of the building? I wonder how much effort it took, and how many people had to be interviewed to find this faux fear? Talk about a non-story!
Crooked Column In Union Square Construction Are No Mistake (WNBC)
Previously: New School Gets Its Zig Zag On (A Fine Blog, April 2012)