Hochul's Penn Station Plan Falls Short Of Residents' Needs, Empire Station Coalition Says

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A Manhattan coalition said Gov. Kathy Hochul's recently unveiled plan for Penn Station and the surrounding neighborhood is a welcome departure from previous plans, but falls short of what residents need.

Empire Station Coalition leaders credited Hochul for scaling back former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "Empire Station Complex" plan for Penn Station that was criticized by Midtown leaders.

But the 14-member coalition pushed the new governor to focus more on the station itself than on real estate around it.

Residents "are being thrown peanuts, said Lynn Ellsworth, co-coordinator of the Empire State Coalition and leader of Human Scale New York.

"The tweaks to the project do not represent something new and game-changing," she said in a statement. "We are disappointed."

The Vornado Realty Trust planned to develop the project in Cuomo's original plan.

"...the Governor has listened too much to the interests of those closely connected to Big Real Estate and to those lacking vision at MTA and Amtrak," Ellsworth said. "The net effect, sadly, is that the Governor is merely tinkering with Vornado’s project. The upshot? They are still imposing on New Yorkers a second, even larger Hudson Yards project to surround Madison Square Garden. This will not serve commuters and residents of the city.”

Hochul's new plan adds more than 1,800 residential units and reduces the height of several tall buildings to be built around the station — which are intended to raise revenues to help fund the project. The $6-to-7-billion renovation will double concourse space by converting Penn into a single-level train hall and removing the existing upper level to create a sun-filled, high-ceilinged concourse.

Ellsworth and Sam Turvey, also a co-coordinator in the coalition, urged the governor to talk to community groups.

"The Governor is to be credited with taking a closer look at the Empire Station Complex’s unpalatable features but she needs to do much more," said Ellsworth and Turvey in a statement. "There is a once in a century opportunity to make spectacular improvements in the quality of life for the City, State and Region for all its residents. She should spend some time with ReThinkNYC and the like minded groups in the Empire Station Coalition to hear more about the alternatives. The people she has consulted are not thinking in the visionary terms the situation requires.”

Turvey, who is also chairperson of ReThinkNYC, said Penn Station could not be fixed unless the city moves Madison Square Garden and builds an above-ground train station.

“A new, second Hudson Yards for Vornado is not needed to fund improvements to the Station. Spending 7 billion dollars to keep Penn Station underneath Madison Square Garden and to expand tracks to the South of Penn Station is throwing good money after a bad idea," Turvey said. "The underground station, notwithstanding an attempt at flattering renderings, is essentially the architectural equivalent of our present Port Authority Bus Terminal, but underground."

Previous Penn Station coverage:

• New Penn Station Plan Revealed: Hochul Scales Back Cuomo's Vision
• Midtown Leaders Slam Cuomo's Empire Station Complex
• Twin Proposals To Remake Penn Station Unveiled By State
• Embattled Cuomo Pushes Skyline-Altering Penn Station Real Estate Plan As Critics Mobilize