8.22.22 - What Penn Station’s $6 Billion Makeover Means for NYC
' For decades, New York City’s Pennsylvania Station has been an eyesore. The Western Hemisphere’s busiest transit hub, it’s a deflating gateway to the the Big Apple for tourists and a daily ordeal for commuters from Long Island and New Jersey. Now it’s poised to get an expensive makeover. That is, if government officials, neighborhood activists, investors and real estate developers can agree on how to carry out a $6 billion renovation that, while a step down from a plan originally put forward by former Governor Andrew Cuomo, would be one of the biggest transportation projects in recent New York history.
1. Who uses Penn Station?
The station is owned by Amtrak, serving as the national rail carrier’s main hub. New Jersey Transit, the Long Island Rail Road and the New York City subway system also use it. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the LIRR and the subways, has plans to create an extension of its Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line to reach Penn Station. Prior to the pandemic, the station served 600,000 daily passengers.
2. What’s the problem?
Built in 1910, it was regarded as a masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts architectural style, with soaring steel and glass giving travelers plenty of light and space.
It was torn down in 1963 and rebuilt in 1968 to make room for the latest version of Madison Square Garden, an act that sparked international outrage and helped create the modern architectural preservation movement. The Garden, a concert and sports arena, was built on top of what remained of the station -- a warren of crowded corridors under low ceilings that more than a few people have labeled a “hellhole.” Tourists flock to Grand Central Terminal across town for photo opportunities; they trudge or scurry through Penn Station if they must. Commuters? Don’t ask.
3. What’s the plan? Ideas for replacing, removing or renovating Penn Station have circulated for decades. The biggest question has been whether to relocate Madison Square Garden to create room for something akin to the original station. That’s what Cuomo wanted to do. A prior budget included $1.3 billion to redevelop Penn Station and the surrounding neighborhood, adding 10 buildings with about 20 million square feet of hotel space, offices, retail and possibly residential units. The plan drew criticism from city and state lawmakers including former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said the money was a giveaway to big developers, particularly Vornado Realty Trust, which owns much of the land targeted for development and was set to be partner for the state’s project. Cuomo resigned in 2021 as the legislature prepared to consider impeaching him over allegations of sexual harassment. After Kathy Hochul, who had been lieutenant governor, replaced Cuomo, she scaled back his plan. '