LATEST NEWS

The Spirit

Italian Plan to Revamp Penn Station Picks Up Valuable Ally

April 24, 2023

Vishaan Chakrabarti, founder of Practice of Architecture and Urbanism, calls a new compromise plan by Italian construction giant ASTM–which would remodel while leaving Madison Square Garden atop the terminal–a “great and achievable vision for the…

Crain's New York Business

Neighbors refuse MSG’s request for a never-ending permit

April 17, 2023

Madison Square Garden’s bid for a new, never-ending operating permit should be denied—unless it is shortened to just three years and its owners make a serious plan to move, a community board said Thursday.

Spectrum News

Community board rebuffs MSG bid to stay on top of Penn Station

April 17, 2023

Madison Square Garden faced a tough crowd at Manhattan Community Board 5 Thursday, which voted against a permit allowing MSG to operate permanently above Penn Station. Instead, the board backed a permit that gives MSG…

Commercial Observer

Manhattan Community Board 5 Calls on City to Deny MSG’s Permit Renewal

April 17, 2023

If the New York City Council listens to Manhattan Community Board 5, then Madison Square Garden’s permit renewal may be denied.

Our Town

Penn Station Re-Do: Hochul Ponders Plan That Would Meld Public/Private Partnership

April 3, 2023

With Vornado’s towers plan stalled, Governor Kathy Hochul is now listening to a new plan from an Italian construction giant on how to build and pay for the renovation of Penn Station. The company, ASTM,…

Crain's New York Business

Crain’s Extra: The march of zombies

March 27, 2023

New York gives out lots of tax breaks to businesses, although none are quite like MSG’s.

The New York Post

Hochul admits plan to fund Penn Station redo with towers is in trouble

March 13, 2023

Gov. Kathy Hochul seemingly acknowledged Thursday that she would likely have to find a new way to raise the $7 billion needed to overhaul the Big Apple’s much-hated Penn Station, as her plan to finance…

The New Yorker

The Fight Over Penn Station and Madison Square Garden

March 6, 2023

How the effort to renovate midtown Manhattan’s transit hub has been stalled by money, politics, and disputes about the public good.

New York Daily News

The Penn rehab plan is dead, bring it back to life

March 6, 2023

There are two gigantic problems with that gargantuan plan: the work-from-home shift has nearly obliterated demand for office space; and Vornado itself is in no rush to build the actual buildings.

New York Daily News

Penn upgrade project must be rebuilt from scratch

March 6, 2023

Three years ago, when Gov. Cuomo tried to force-feed a calamitous plan to destroy six city blocks around Penn Station, the justification was that the state needed it to pay for Penn Station upgrades.

Crain's New York Business

New move for MSG? Exec surprises neighbors by suggesting the area could move across the street

February 27, 2023

A Madison Square Garden executive made a startling claim during a public hearing on the arena’s operating permit: the company might be willing to move the Garden after all.

The New York Times

Developer Delays Penn Station Project, Citing Economic Conditions

February 20, 2023

Steven Roth, the CEO of Vornado, said that new construction was “almost impossible” because of tight lending, while remote work was hurting the office market.

The New York Times

Madison Square Garden Wants to Stay Put Forever. It May Not Be So Easy.

January 31, 2023

With its current 10-year license expiring in July, the Garden is asking New York City officials for a permanent permit to run the arena at its site above Penn Station.

Untapped New York

SEE PLANS FOR AN ALTERNATIVE ABOVE-GROUND PENN STATION

January 30, 2023

Three eminent architects have a different vision for the future of Penn Station than what has been proposed in the Pennsylvania Station Area Civic and Land Use Improvement Project (formerly known as Empire Station Complex).

Crain’s New York Business

Urban designer on why MSG must move to make way for a new Penn Station

January 13, 2023

The New York Times

Why New York State Insists That the Penn Station Area Is ‘Blighted’

January 9, 2023

The designation gives Gov. Kathy Hochul authority to transform the Manhattan neighborhood and build 10 skyscrapers there. A lawsuit is challenging her claim.

Crain’s New York Business

Crain’s Custom Content Studio: What does the much-debated Penn Station Redevelopment Project herald for New York?

January 3, 2023

The Penn Station Redevelopment Project has been subject to a blitz of probing questions about its scope, financing and impact on adjacent businesses and neighborhoods. But none of the critiques levied against the ambitious plan…

Crain’s New York Business

Hochul needs new plan to rebuild Penn Station: key State Senator

December 14, 2022

An influential state law maker said a new plan is needed to rebuild Penn Station now that the Hochul administration’s existing proposal seems moribund.

New York Daily News

Bear market for Penn plan: Big troubles for Gov. Hochul and Vornado’s Midtown redevelopment

December 5, 2022

Steve Roth, CEO of Vornado Realty Trust, was telling the truth on his company’s earnings call Tuesday when he said that Gov. Hochul’s plan for a forest of new supertall towers around Penn Station, which…

CB5 Manhattan

The Heart of Manhattan

December 5, 2022

Manhattan Community Board Five announced that it has launched a community-led plan for the Penn Station area.

THE CITY

Penn Station Neighbors Set Out to Create Their Own Area Plan to Counter Hochul’s

December 5, 2022

Local residents and business owners who oppose Gov. Kathy Hochul’s looming Penn Station-area redevelopment plan and its megatowers are trying a new tack in their resistance: coming up with a proposal of their own.

NY POST

This vision for brand-new Penn Station is what NYC dreams are made of

December 3, 2022

One month ago, I wrote a column praising London and its leaders for the blue-sky thinking that led to the historic preservation of the beautiful new Battersea Power Station. Once a derelict industrial plant, it is now…

The Spirit

Penn Station Development in Disarray

November 10, 2022

The state’s plan to rebuild the neighborhood around Penn Station fell into a disarray reminiscent of the station itself after the biggest property owner in the area retreated from the project.

NY POST

MSG Go? Eric Adams willing to talk about moving the world’s most famous arena

September 26, 2022

Mayor Eric Adams opened the door Wednesday to talks with Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan about moving “the world’s most famous arena” amidst the state’s ongoing Penn Station Redevelopment talks.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Penn Station Plan Makes a High-Stakes Bet on the Future of Office Work

August 29, 2022

In a bid to reshape Midtown Manhattan, Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York State officials are pushing ahead with one of the largest real estate development projects in American history: 10 towers of mostly offices…

New York Daily News

Striking the right Penn Station deal

August 18, 2022

Ah, developers! How do we deal with this curious species? How best to handle them, the apex predators of the private sector, when they venture into the public realm?

NY POST

Gov. Hochul is now just Andrew Cuomo 2.0

August 2, 2022

When Gov. Hochul took office a year ago this month, New Yorkers had high hopes that she would be something new and needed: Big majorities were glad to have a less combative leader who promised “open, ethical…

The Spirit

A ‘Yes, But…’ Vote on Penn Station

July 29, 2022

Governor Kathy Hochul of New York at Moynihan Train Hall on Thursday, Jun. 9, 2022 to announce the solicitation of proposals to renovate Penn Station. Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA ( Marc A. Hermann…

Crain’s New York Business

OP-ED: YES, MSG CAN BE MOVED. AND, YES, MOVING IT IS A GOOD IDEA

July 19, 2022

I’m sure everyone thought I was crazy when I said it. For months I’ve argued that you’d have to move Madison Square Garden to create a wonderful new Penn Station—a transit hub and public space…

NY Post Editorial Board

Penn Station badly needs a redo but the Cuomo-Hochul plan doesn’t cut it

July 4, 2022

Anyone who’s ever been close to Penn Station knows what a hellhole it is. So it’s good that state and transit officials are planning to overhaul the site. Alas, what they’ve presented so far is…

NY POST

State Senate wants answers on Kathy Hochul’s controversial Penn Station redo

June 15, 2022

State lawmakers will hold a hearing next week to address concerns about Gov. Kathy Hochul’s controversial plan to use the tax revenues from 10 new skyscrapers to fund renovations at Penn Station. Senate Finance Chair…

WPIX

GPCA In the News I Alexandros Washburn tells WPIX why the developer’s plan won’t bring Penn Station back to its lost grandeur.

May 11, 2022

New York Newsday

State’s plan to redevelop around Penn Station getting pushback

April 25, 2022

A state proposal to redevelop real estate properties around Penn Station in order to fund improvements inside the LIRR’s cramped Manhattan home is facing major pushback from city leaders and activists, especially given the reduced…

AMNY

Op-Ed | Why the Penn Station plan should build housing, not office space

March 7, 2022

It would surprise most New Yorkers to learn that, by the end of this month, the State of New York is poised to approve the largest development project in the history of New York City….

NY POST

Hochul’s Penn Station revamp will take $5B from city, advocates charge

March 1, 2022

A number of activist groups claim that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Penn Station development plan is a “secretive maneuver” to redirect an estimated $5 billion away from the…

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The blind men and the white elephant: N.Y.’s terrible Penn Station development plan

February 27, 2022

The disqualifying problem with the state’s plan to rezone the blocks across the street from Penn Station is best illustrated by the parable of the blind men and the elephant…

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

We need to move the Garden to save the Garden

January 31, 2022

There’s been a lot of debate lately about the future of Penn Station and the blocks around it. But in every discussion, there’s an elephant in the room that no one wants to address —…

CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS

Scrap Cuomo’s plan, rebuild Pennsylvania Station

September 13, 2021

Aftershocks from the implosion of the Cuomo administration will last for years. In at least one case, make that hundreds of years…