The Municipal Art Society and the Regional Plan Association together announced Thursday that they have launched a public campaign to overhaul the beleaguered facility and reconsider the location of Madison Square Garden.
Considered by many to be an outdated transportation hub, the station is ripe for restoration but there are several issues with getting the upgrade done. Chief among the challenges is the Garden's location. Its spot directly above Penn inhibits the flow of ample light, air and space into the station, according to the announcement.
Adding to the issue is the permit status of MSG. The concert and sports arena was granted a special land-use permit in 1963 for 50 years. That deal expired in January but under a standard practice of the City Planning Commission, a new permit—which has been requested by the facility's ownership—would grant the Garden's owners rights to the site above Penn Station in perpetuity, according to the announcement.
Instead, the two groups suggest MSG be granted a 10 year lease. “This would give the metropolitan region sufficient time to consider the best options for both Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, including a number of potential alternative locations for the arena within Manhattan,” the announcement states.
The idea isn't a radical one either. It was first put forth by Community Board Five last month, according to the New York Times.In the next several days, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer will make his recommendation on extending the Garden's special permit.
Meanwhile, the MAS has put forth a “design challenge,” according to a spokeswoman, asking design firms to redesign “not just Penn Station or MSG but the whole area surrounding the facilities. The West Side deserves better.”
In addition, the Times reports, there is no shortage of proposals to revamp the space being considered. The Postal Service, which has been suffering financially for some time, is reportedly looking to sell off city properties, the paper reports. It owns several on the West Side, including the Morgan General Mail Facility, a processing and distribution center that spans a two-block site—from 28th to 30th Streets, between 9th and 10th Avenues—making it a perfect spot for a new arena, the Times says. One plan envisions constructing an extension of the High Line spur from 10th Ave. at 30th St. to Penn Station, which would pass by the Morgan site. A new Garden there, in an area still very convenient to mass transit, could become the catalyst to much leisure and commercial development, the paper notes.
Calling Penn Station “a daily public shame on the city,” the Times, other media organizations and civic officials clearly aren't going to tolerate nothing being done to upgrade Penn Station.
“As New Yorkers have learned over the past 50 years, a major transportation gateway and a major sports and music venue can't provide their customers with a high-quality experience while sharing the same site,” says Robert Yaro, president of the RPA. “That is why neither facility meets the needs of our great city.”
“New York can have both a world-class train station and a first-class arena,” adds Vin Cipolla, president of the MAS, in the release. “Pursuing these projects would kick-off a redevelopment plan for Midtown West, bringing 21stcentury infrastructure, a greatly improved public realm, thousands of jobs and incredible economic opportunity."
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
