Lovely, downvotes. Guess we don't have too many New Yorkers in the readership here. FYI, you can't shorten the Chrysler Building to 'Chrysler' either. That's a corporation.
No, it's because you're splitting hairs when the message was obvious. They used 'height' not 'elevation', and it is common knowledge that the Empire State (Building) was once the tallest building in the world.
Or did the article headline really mean the empire state BUILDING? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State_Building