[mrsmartman]

New skyscrapers near Penn Station are a good idea

It's the ideal way to finance the station's reconstruction.

Originally Posted by City and State NY

In most cities, a politician fearing the transformation of a neighborhood into a forest of skyscrapers would describe it as being turned into Manhattan. That convenient metaphor was unavailable to New York state Sen. Liz Krueger, however, when she wanted to inveigh against legislative proposal from Gov. Andrew Cuomo that, in an early version, would have enabled the state to take over the planning of redevelopment around Penn Station, bypassing municipal control entirely. So instead Krueger said, rather confusingly, “I don’t want Singapore in the middle of Manhattan. And I certainly don’t want one person up here to be deciding whether or not we’re going to have Singapore in the middle of Manhattan with no community participation or process or local government role.”

The final legislation passed as part of a budget bill late Friday night is far less ambitious, declaring every New Yorker’s least favorite train station “antiquated, substandard, and inadequate to meet current transportation and public safety needs and present(ing) an unreasonable safety risk to the public.” It calls on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Empire State Development to “coordinate and consult with community leaders, business groups and federal and city government to design a solution.”

The law will facilitate a potential eminent domain claim against Madison Square Garden, strengthening the state’s hand in negotiations over the acquisition of the 5,600-seat Hulu Theater beneath the main arena. Cuomo wants to use the theater area for a new grand entrance to the station on Eighth Avenue, as part of a larger renovation. The governor says that such a claim will not likely be necessary, but it provides additional leverage in bargaining. The Penn Station budget amendment also calls for the allocation of unspecified funds to ESD for redevelopment planning...

Penn Station | littlenySTOCK/Shutterstock