As for Cablevision's plan to keep the Garden where it is, Chakrabarti said that if the arena stays put, a big-box retailer could go in its place at Moynihan West. On the other hand, he said, this would compromise the plan to redevelop the current Penn Station—including a larger waiting area and glass skylights that would not be possible if the Garden remains at its present location. He noted that Penn Station currently serves 550,000 passengers per day, or more than the total daily number of travelers who use the area's three major airports, and said the JV sought to rectify the error that was committed when the original Pennsylvania Station was torn down in 1963.

Sirefman said that while he hopes the Moynihan Station project can be completed "in all its grandeur," the Midtown West project would still be able to draw on area transit's "enormous capacity" to bring workers to the area. Part of that capacity would come from the project's proximity to rail lines: Midtown West would include a $630-million platform over Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit tracks, with a pair of office towers built on top. Foundation work on the platform will begin in May or June, he said, while the two towers designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill—one 60 stories, the other 64—are scheduled for completion in 2013.

While Tishman Speyer's Hudson Yards plan includes office and residential components, it also preserves the High Line and includes 13 acres of open space. "It allows you to create an environment you can't create anywhere else in New York City," said Mannarino.