8. 375 Pearl Street
When looking at the New York City skyline from Brooklyn, a building one’s catches attention at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. The windows at 375 Pearl Street are not original and up until 2016, the building was almost completely windowless. Previously, the building was a phone line switching center operated by Verizon and had no need for windows because the building’s main purpose was to house technical equipment. But that changed after the building was sold to new owners who wanted to convert the building into housing offices and a data center instead.
After receiving a new facade with a glass curtain wall, the building now houses a number of private companies and city agencies including the NYPD, the Human Resources Administration, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Sanitation. Mayor Eric Adams and Phil Banks, his deputy mayor for public safety, reportedly have secret offices within the building as well. As a mayor who is known to seek privacy, Adams can work without contact with City Council members or reporters in this secure, windowless building.