Madison Square Garden has only been given a five year extension by the full City Council on a special permit it needs to continue to sit atop Penn Station. Photo: Keith J. Kelly Finally and Officially: Full City Council Gives MSG Its Shortest Permit Ever at 5 Years Saying it was starting a countdown to force a deal on improving Penn Station, the City Council voted unanimously to give... News 14 Sep 2023 | 10:26
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber (white shirt) seems to be snapping to attention as he listens to a press conference with (from left) Congressman Gerald Nadler, Assemblyman Tony Simone, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and City Council Member Erik Bottcher on how to reconfigure Penn Station. CB5 board member Layla Law-Gisiko (far right) listens in as well. Photo: Office of the Manhattan Borough President Joint Press Conference By Politicos Turns into Debate over Penn Station Plans You would expect a decision as big as rebuilding Penn Station to drive a big debate. What you wouldn’t expect is for government... News 13 Sep 2023 | 10:10
Under the plan pushed by ASTM, The Theater at Madison Square Garden on the Eighth Ave side of the arena would be purchased from MSG and demolished to make way for a new Grand Entrance to the rail hub that serves 600,000 rail commuters daily. Photo: Keith J. Kelly We Are Now the “Only Plan Left Standing,” Says Italian Developer in Wake of City Council Vote on Madison Square Garden The Italian infrastructure company that wants to rebuild Penn Station says its plan is now the only path forward after the... News 01 Sep 2023 | 02:16
Jamie Torres Springer, the MTA’s head of construction and development, says he would use the state’s power of condemnation “if necessary” to force Jim Dolan’s Madison Square Garden to turn over portions of its property that MTA says it needs to renovate Penn Station. Photo: MTA MTA Chief Builder Says He’d Use Condemnation to Grab Jim Dolan’s MSG Property Needed for Penn Station Rebuild The MTA’s chief builder says that “if necessary” he would use the state’s power of condemnation to take property from Madison... News 20 Aug 2023 | 04:26
ASTM senior vice president Peter Cipriani,who is heading up the Penn Station proposal for North American subsidiary of the Italian developer, stands before a model of the proposed $6 billion redevelopment. Photo: Michael Oreskes EXCLUSIVE: Top Exec at ASTM Fires Back at MTA Critic over Penn Station Plans ASTM, is an Italian developer which specialized in partnering with governments to build and run major infrastructure, like... News 14 Aug 2023 | 12:57
Jamie Torres-Springer, President of MTA Construction & Development ( Photo: MTA) MTA’s Pres of Construction Gives Wide Ranging Interview on Penn Station Rebuild Plans It is one of New York City’s most complex public building challenges ever. Improving the dismal Penn Station, with options... News 04 Aug 2023 | 05:00
Travelers walking into the Seventh Avenue entrance to NYC’s Penn Station ( Photo: Danazar via Wiki Commons ) Byford Urges ‘Through Service’ that Would Allow NJ Transit, LIRR and Metro North to Run on One Another’s Tracks The former boss of New York’s subways and buses says the region has a “golden opportunity” to expand commuter rail service... News 28 Jul 2023 | 01:01
Madison Square Garden, Midtown Manhattan, NYC ( Photo Credit: Ajay Suresh via Wikipedia Commons) More Turmoil as City Council Members Push Back Against a New 10 Year Permit for MSG Madison Square Garden should not be given a new permit to operate its arena above Penn Station unless the Garden’s owners... News 19 Jul 2023 | 01:50
Manhattan borough president Mark Levine addresses Community Board 5’s Land Use Committee standing behind a model of the proposed ASTM remodeling of Penn Station that would cost $6 billion. Levine says Garden should stay where it is, but end MSG tax break and pay Garden for property needed to renovate rail hub below. Photo: YouTube CB5 Boro Pres Says End MSG’s $1B Tax Break But Pay Jim Dolan for Property to Fix Penn Station Madison Square Garden has paid no property taxes on its arena since 1982, a largesse from government easily worth $50 million... News 14 Jul 2023 | 01:52
Madison Square Garden said it rejects a Planning Commission idea for it to give up any portion of the arena property at “below fair market value” to help rebuild Penn Station which sits under the world’s most famous arena. But it did express mild support for a plan being pursued by Italian developer ASTM to pay MSG to demolish the Eighth Ave. Theater (above) to rebuild a better Penn Station below. Photo: Keith J. Kelly MSG Blasts MTA, Says Agency Trying to Force It to Give up Land Rights for Peanuts Madison Square Garden accused the MTA and its partner railroads of improperly using the city’s land use process to force... News 26 Jun 2023 | 12:48
The original plan to rebuild Penn Station was dependant on up to ten offices buildings being built around the rail hub to finance the station, but now one of the main real estate developers, Vornado Realty Trust, is halting all but two of the towers putting a wrench into the plan pushed by Governor Hochul. Photo: Keith J. Kelly Penn Station Rebuilding Resembles Game of RISK with Feuds and Alliances Forming Building in New York is never simple. New York is now witnessing the extraordinary spectacle of public agencies fighting to... News 16 Jun 2023 | 05:39
The cover of the new MTA, Amtrak and NJ Transit “Compatibility Report on MSG.” In a united front, the big three railroad concerns now say that MSG is “not compatible” sitting atop Penn Station even though it was a deal with the foundering Pennsylvania Railroad that hatched the current MSG situation. Bombshell Report: After More than 50 Years, Railroads Now Say MSG is “Not Compatible” Atop Penn Station For half a century Madison Square Garden, the fourth arena of that name, has sat atop Penn Station like a dental cap sealing... News Alert 03 Jun 2023 | 10:27
Borough president Mark Levine on May 23 recommended keeping Madison Square Garden on top of Penn Station, endorsing a plan that would demolish The Theater at MSG to make way for an Eighth Ave. grand entrance to the transit hub below. Photo: Keith J. Kelly MSG Should be Allowed to Stay Atop Penn Station, Says Boro Pres in Backing New Plan Proponents for a better Penn Station should abandon efforts to relocate Madison Square Garden and instead focus on winning... News 22 May 2023 | 12:19
Clash of the titans: CB5 wants Madison Sqaure Garden to move to make way for a new rail hub. Construction giant ASTM says its plan would demolish the HULU Theater to build a new grand entrance to Penn Station, but still leave MSG atop the nation’s busiest rail hub. Photo: Keith J. Kelly Fireworks Over Penn Sta.? CB5 to hear from ASTM at public forum at MOMA on 4/24 It could be a clash of the titans. In the most wide ranging discussion yet on the future of Penn Station, Community Board... News 24 Apr 2023 | 09:32
Artist’s rendering of a re-set of Penn Station with a new grand entrance (left) on the Eighth Ave. side. The proposal is drawing attention in the wake of news that Vornado is planning to finish only two of the original ten office towers it was going to build in the neighborhood. Photo: Zhenhuan Xu, ASTM ( Zhenhuan Xu) Penn Station Re-Do: Hochul Ponders Plan That Would Meld Public/Private Partnership An Italian company that builds and operates highways and other public works around the world has suddenly transformed the... News 03 Apr 2023 | 11:12
