We should respect history, not destroy it. At any rate, the principle behind this country is that anyone is free to hold whatever beliefs are sacred to them, without fear of recrimination. In fact, it is the very reason for the founding of Gravesend. The original settlers were Anabaptists driven out of Massachusetts by the Puritans. The Gravesend colony championed true religious freedom, inviting Quakers and other disenfranchised groups to settle there.

The practice of religion is fine as long as those involved recognize that they have no right to expect others to live as they do.

*chews on his vitriol*

Consider this. Before the building on the corner of East 17th and Z was built the St Mark tower was visible south of that location on Avenue Z. From an aesthetic viewpoint that’s a loss.

But this is nothing new. Along Ocean Avenue are apartment buildings that rival the height of those on East 17th that date back to the late 1920s.

Again, I try to keep some sense of perspective here.

“There are several conflicting definitions, but it seems that it generally refers to buildings that are three stories or less. A few alternative definitions I found are at http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081024072812AA86M3j.”

Local, I’ve seen your definition elsewhere as well. From here on in, if it has an elevator – no matter how many stories it is, I’m calling it a high-rise. If not, it’s a low-rise. Chances are, everything from now on will be a high-rise. That is, unless someone can offer another term altogether so I can avoid repeating “building”, “construction”, and “property” – which is probably why I started using “low-rise” and “high-rise” anyway.