By The Associated Press

NEW YORK - The Museum of Modern Art's proposal for a new 82-storey tower has cleared its final hurdle.

The New York City council voted Wednesday to approve the plan for a 1,000-foot (305-metre) mixed-use tower on West 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. It was the final hurdle for the plan's approval process.

The museum already has its main exhibition space on that block.

The MoMA website says the museum will gain approximately 40,000 square feet (3,700 square metres) of new gallery space - a 30 per cent increase.

The building plan also calls for 150 residential apartments and 100 hotel rooms.

Architect Jean Nouvel designed the tower, which tapers as it rises to a spire.