What Happened to Renovating Penn Station?
This morning’s Crain’s New York Business asked a question that deserves an answer. “What Happened to Renovating Penn Station?”
It’s been more than a year since Governor Hochul offered public comments on Penn Station and said she would welcome private development proposals.
The story noted:
- There has been no follow-through on the governor’s pledge to open up the project to private developers.
- The federal government rejected a state request for a $100 million grant for the station.
- The state is still counting on federal funding.
- The MTA was hostile to a plan by private developer ASTM to pay for station renovations upfront.
- ASTM said they were never granted a meeting by the governor or the MTA to present their plans.
- The governor said she no longer counted on allowing giant commercial office towers to pay a never-defined amount of station renovation costs.
- The governor has kept the state’s General Project Plan, which envisioned the towers, and its threat of eminent domain over six Midtown blocks.
- MTA repairs and renovations to underground Penn connections to subway exits have reportedly continued, along with raising ceiling heights and addressing fire safety issues.
- The governor’s surprise halt of congestion pricing raised doubts about the MTA’s ability to complete the Penn renovations, along with a myriad of other transit projects.
What the story did not include:
- The story alluded to but did not detail, AMTRAK plans that would likely call for ending the new federally funded Gateway Tunnels under the block south of Penn Station where a $12 to $17 billion underground New Jersey Transit terminal would be built—likely requiring the demolition of affordable homes, local businesses and landmark-quality buildings on the block above.
- Opponents of the state’s General Project Plan recently filed an appeal challenging a trial court judge’s earlier ruling that upheld the plan’s constitutionality. The Conservancy, and colleague groups, submitted an amicus brief in favor of the opponents.
LET’S GET ANSWERS: If you haven’t already, please sign our petition asking for an independent review of the plans for Penn Station.