The Turkish House (also called Turkevi Center) is a , 36-floor

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

located at 821 United Nations Plaza ( First Avenue) in

Turtle Bay, Manhattan Turtle Bay is a neighborhood in New York City, on the east side of Midtown Manhattan. It extends from roughly 43rd Street (Manhattan), 43rd Street to 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street, and eastward from Lexington Avenue to the East River's w ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States, across from the

headquarters of the United Nations , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004 (cropped).jpg , image_size = 275px , caption = View of the complex from Long Island City in 2021; from left to right: the Secretariat, Conference, and General Assembly buil ...

. Turkish House serves as the headquarters of multiple Turkish diplomatic missions in New York City, as well as a center of Turkish cultural activity.

Description

Turkish House, designed by

Perkins Eastman Perkins Eastman is an international architecture, urban design, planning, strategic consulting, and interior design firm. Headquartered in New York City, the firm is led by founding Principals Bradford Perkins (architect), Bradford Perkins and M ...

, is 35 stories tall and measures from the ground to the roof. The building contains about of usable space, of which is used by the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations and the Consulate General of Turkey in New York City; the rest is residential space. The curved facade is an allusion to the

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

on the

flag of Turkey The national flag of Turkey, officially the Turkish flag (), is a red flag featuring a white crescent and star on its emblem, based on the 18th-century Ottoman Empire flag. The flag is often called "the red flag" (), and is referred to as "the ...

, while the top of the skyscraper is shaped like a

tulip Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different colour ...

, the national flower of Turkey. The first 36 floors contain of commercial space. The tower has an

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

and office floors for the UN mission as well as the

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

. Outdoor terraces are located on the 5th, 11th, and 16th floors. The building also has a prayer room, meeting rooms, and exhibition space. Beginning on the 20th floor are apartments, some of which are used by Turkish diplomatic missions. The total residential space is , with each unit averaging about . Two duplex apartments were planned. A fitness center, shared terrace space, and a parking garage are available for residents.

History

The

government of Turkey The Government of Turkey () is the Central government, national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential system, presidential representative democracy and a Constitution of Turkey, constitutional republic wit ...

hired Cresa Partners in 2012 to demolish two existing buildings in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, facing the

, and to construct a new building housing a Turkish consulate on the site. The Turkish government filed plans for the tower with the

New York City Department of Buildings The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is the department of the New York City government that enforces the city's building codes and zoning regulations, issues building permits, licenses, registers and disciplines certain construction ...

in March 2016. After Cresa announced in September 2016 that it would no longer work on the Turkish consulate, the Turkish government sued Cresa that November. Construction commenced in September 2017. The building was largely completed by May 2021. New York City building inspectors issued a violation to the building in mid-2021 after a glass panel fell ten stories from the facade, and just before the building's official opening, building inspectors reported that there were numerous major problems with key mechanical systems such as sprinklers and fans. Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

formally opened the center on September 20, 2021. The structure had cost US$291 million. At the time of the building's completion, it was the most expensive Turkish diplomatic building ever built, and Turkish citizens criticized the cost as extravagant. In addition, the building's fire-safety system was not complete for 18 months after the building opened. Multiple windows of the building were broken by Recep Akbıyık on May 22, 2023. The attack on the building was condemned by

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

spokesperson Matthew Miller. Akbıyık was arrested by the

New York Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

in May.

FBI investigation into Eric Adams's 2021 mayoral campaign

In 2023, the FBI and

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York The United States attorney for the Southern District of New York is the United States Attorney, chief federal law enforcement officer in eight contiguous New York counties: the counties (coextensive boroughs of New York City) of New York County, ...

began an investigation into whether New York City mayor

Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer who has served as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City P ...

had improperly persuaded

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...

(FDNY) officials to allow occupancy of the building despite alleged problems with safety there. News media reported that Adams had threatened to fire FDNY officials in August 2021 if they did not approve the building's fire-safety system. In 2024, Adams was indicted on federal criminal charges, including allegations that Turkish nationals indirectly bribed Adams to assist with issues related to the Turkish House. In February 2025, the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

department instructed federal prosecutors to drop all charges against Adams.

References

{{Turkey–United States relations 2021 establishments in New York City 2020s architecture in the United States Buildings and structures completed in 2021 Diplomatic missions in Manhattan Diplomatic missions of Turkey First Avenue (Manhattan) Modernist architecture in New York City Office buildings in Manhattan Skyscrapers in Manhattan Turkey and the United Nations Turkey–United States relations Turtle Bay, Manhattan

Description

History

FBI investigation into Eric Adams's 2021 mayoral campaign

See also

References