The French Company sold the Hotel Tudor in 1963. It has changed management several times and is today known as Westgate New York Grand Central. The other buildings, except No. 2 Tudor City Place, were purchased in October 1970 by Harry Helmsley, who also bought the parks, announcing his plan to replace them with two luxury apartment buildings. Community opposition was intense, backed by the press. A number of alternatives were suggested, such as transferal of the parks' air rights to a nearby property – now commonplace, but then novel – but for various reasons, none was feasible. The controversy continued for years.