(Photo: Courtesy of Gruzen Samton; courtesy of Jame Shanks)

39. 100 Jay Street
At York Street, Dumbo
Gruzen Samton’s brick-and-glass gorilla, known as “J Condo,” demonstrates Dumbo’s crazy hypnotic power to draw buyers despite the bridge’s rumble. The tower looms over the neighborhood, inciting low buildings to rise up. Here’s hoping its call goes unheeded.

(Photo: From left: Courtesy of Rafael Vinoly Architects PC; Rebecca Sahn)

40. Bronx Hall of Justice
265 East 161st St., the Bronx
A row of small businesses gave way for Rafael Viñoly’s faceted glass courthouse, a spacious, sunlit space where jury duty is less of a trial. The real payoff is in the neighborhood’s rehabilitated image: Crystal palace replaces Fort Apache.

(Photo: From left: Courtesy of New Museum; courtesy of Dean Kaufman/New Museum)

41. New Museum of Contemporary Art
235 Bowery
Simple and inviting on the street, the museum is more aggressive inside, where acres of fluorescent lights give the galleries a bleary, refrigerated feel. Inhabiting a long-vacant lot, Sanaa’s brilliant stack of boxes is perfect in what is—for now—a transitional zone.