Move over, Manhattanhenge.<\/p>\n
City residents are gushing over \u201cSauronhenge,\u2019\u2019 the newly coined phrase for an astronomical phenomenon involving the sun aligning with the top <\/a>of the \u201cevil\u201d-looking Brooklyn Tower \u2014 looking akin to Sauron\u2019s lair from the flick \u201cLord of the Rings.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Dozens of Brooklynites lined up at the intersection of Dekalb and Vanderbilt avenues in Clinton Hill last week for the perfect glimpse of the stunning sight.<\/p>\n An astronomical phenomenon in Brooklyn has been compared to the \u201cEye of Sauron\u201d atop Barad-d\u00fbr in the flick \u201cLord of the Rings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe rumors are true!\u201d an enthralled commentator wrote in a \u201cLord of the Ring\u201d sub Reddit, which touts more than a million members.<\/p>\n The \u201cManhattanhenge\u201d-inspired<\/a> viewing event gained attention when Park Slope-based urban planner Kevin Clyne decided to calculate when the sun would appear right above the meme-ified black Brooklyn skyscraper <\/a>\u2013 a scene that fans say resembles Sauron\u2019s glowing, fiery eye atop Barad-d\u00fbr.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople talk about that building all the time and sort of how it looks like something out of \u2018Lord of the Rings,\u2019 \u201d Clyne told The Post of the quirky, online fascination with the SHoP Architects-designed tower.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve just always wondered if the sun would ever align perfectly with the top of the building.\u201d<\/p>\n The phenomenon is reminiscent of Manhattanhenge, when New Yorkers watch in awe as the setting sun aligns perfectly with the city grid every once in awhile.<\/p>\n Clyne said the view near his Brooklyn home was always \u201ctoo far south\u201d to tell if \u201cSauronhenge\u201d would ever happen.<\/p>\n A \u201cSauronhenge\u201d viewing event draws a crowd to the intersection of Dekalb and Vanderbilt avenues in Clinton Hill. Kevin Clyne<\/p>\n He said it wasn\u2019t until he moved to Park Slope and \u201cboredom\u201d hit that he figured out the alignment dates \u2013 Aug. 8 to 13 from 6:25 p.m. to 6:35 p.m., to be exact \u2013 using \u201cback-of-napkin\u201d math to calculate the perfect time and place, he said in a now-viral New York Groove blog post.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI thought it\u2019d be a nerdy, niche story that would just get some likes online\u201d \u2014 hardly the response it got, he said.<\/p>\n A Reddit user wrote last Monday, \u201cMy lady and I both saw the article and then decided to walk over [t]his evening,<\/p>\n \u201cThe rumors are true!\u201d an excited Reddit user wrote of the predicted phenomenon. parenthetica_n \/ Reddit<\/p>\n \u201cThere were like 30 people there, it was great.\u201d<\/p>\n Clyne said he almost didn\u2019t attend last Tuesday evening\u2019s viewing, which drew even more people, out of fear his calculations were wrong.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the start of the week, I started getting Instagram DMs from just strangers tagging me in their photos,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize people were going to actually go check it out.<\/p>\n The event captivates the Brooklyn neighborhood last week. Kevin Clyne<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was pretty amazing, how many people turned out with such short notice,\u201d Clyne said.\u00a0\u201cI saw online people commenting like, \u2018When\u2019s it going to be next year? I\u2019m sad I missed it.\u2019 So I think it might end up being a thing from now on.\u201d<\/p>\n The sight has drawn both \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d fans and \u201cpeople just fascinated by \u2018evil\u2019-coded architecture,\u201d according to New York Groove.<\/p>\n The mass fascination with the supertall Brooklyn Tower in Downtown Brooklyn \u2014 the borough\u2019s first skyscraper when it was erected in 2023 \u2014 is undoubtedly owed to how omnipresent it is along the skyline, Clyne said.<\/p>\n Viewers try to capture the stunning sky event. Kevin Clyne<\/p>\n \u201cYou can still sort of see it everywhere,\u201d he said. \u201cI take the train from Grand Army Plaza, and even there, it just sort of looms over the trees. \u2026 It makes itself known, like no matter where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n A Reddit user wrote, \u201cI see the tower directly from my window on Queens [sic]. \u201cI feel like Gondor.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact that the 1,066-foot-tall luxe residential tower at 9 Dekalb Ave. is a menacing onyx hue with battlement-like spires among gray and glass surrounding architecture doesn\u2019t help it\u2019s \u201cevil\u201d reputation, the urban planner said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very divisive,\u201d Clyne said. \u201cThe fact that it\u2019s like, almost pitch black is rare for a skyscraper nowadays. \u201cAnd it does look kind of evil.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t