Gov. Cathy Hochul left her $33 billion Penn Station-area redevelopment proposal — which would cost $306 billion to fully build — out of her stateside address, prompting critics who wanted to build a new station that would be less expensive and Want a less destructive way.
The Penn scheme did not appear either in the governor’s 267-page “Achieving the New York Dream” agenda featuring “147 Bold Initiatives” that was released with the speech.
The “dream” list included several transit and MTA-related projects, such as the Metro-North Penn Station Access Project to build new stations in the Bronx. Since the whole point of the so-called “Empire Station Complex” is supposed to be to build a better Penn Station, its omission from Hochul’s agenda was curious.
Chuck Weinstock, an attorney representing neighborhood groups and others who oppose the proposal, quipped, “She might be the only person in the state who isn’t talking about it. Maybe she’s starting to understand.” is that nobody wants this thing.
Hochul’s spokesman, Justin Henry, did not explain why he did not mention the project in the speech or the “Dream” report. “Rebuilding Penn Station is a priority of the Hochul Administration as reflected in the aggressive timetable for reconstruction and the steady, steady progress on the project since Governor Hochul took office,” he said.
plan which he inherited from his predecessor Andrew Cuomo Several blocks of allegedly “demolished” properties in the Penn Station/Madison Square Garden area will be demolished, including occupied apartment buildings and historic churches, to make room for eight massive office towers, most of which are owned by Vornado Realty. Will be made by the trust.
But its prospects dimmed after recent comments from Vornado chairman and Penn-area developer Steven Roth that the time was not right for new ground-up-development.
was the latest black eye revelation, Reported in Crain’sthat the Empire State Development Agency approved it without looking at cost and revenue projections by Ernst & Young, which the ESD hired to crunch the numbers.
Weinstock called the state’s admission that he ignored “damaging” data.
Meanwhile, all three of the prestigious architects will be showing alternative plans at Cooper Union on January 26. They are PAU firm head Vishan Chakraborty, independent architect Alexandros Washburn and Richard Cameron, head of Atelier & Co.
Washburn’s proposal First featured in The Post in December.
On a lighter note, a Story of different cranes on a court case related to the project E-mails between ESD, Vornado and their spin doctors at two different PR firms dug up how-to Minimize “negative” coverage of posts,
“We think we have [Steve Cuozzo] An unidentified person from PR firm Berlin Rosen posted in August 2021 to report a story working as an anonymous person for Vornado Suits and ESD officer Holly Leicht.
My position since then: I’ve described Hochul’s plan as “a boon,” “horrible,” “corrupt,” “a fraud” and “a nightmare.”