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NYC proposes 10-year extension for MSG's permit, wants venue to help upgrade Penn Station
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Stephen Nessen
Published Jul 10, 2023
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Nicolas Economou/Getty Images
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Jul 10, 2023
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Madison Square Garden would be allowed to sit atop Penn Station for another 10 years under a proposal laid out by city officials on Monday.
The Garden’s current 10-year operating permit expires this year. Until 2013, the venue operated on a 50-year permit issued in 1963, when the old Penn Station was demolished.
As part of the new permit, the Department of City Planning wants to force the Garden to make aesthetic upgrades to its surrounding area. The proposal would also require the venue’s owner, James Dolan, to work with the MTA on its planned $7 billion overhaul of the transit hub — even if that means giving up some property.
DCP Director Dan Garodnick told reporters the proposed permit extension would require Dolan to work with the MTA once the plans for Penn Station’s reconstruction are 30% complete, a milestone he said would be reached in one or two years.
"It's obvious that any improvements to Penn Station will require use of property that is owned by Madison Square Garden, no surprise there," Garodnick said. "Department of City Planning believes that MSG will need to convey additional easements or other property interests as necessary to allow for the rehab of Penn Station. And the development of new train entrances to Penn Station. And also a mid-block train hall."
A rendering of public realm improvements city officials would like to force Madison Square Garden to make as part of the venue's permit extension.
City Department of City Planning.
City officials also want the Garden to invest in improvements to the streets and public spaces around the arena, like updated signage, more public seating, bike racks and consolidated areas for truck deliveries.
DCP documents also show the proposal would require the Garden to install new signs on the venue’s Eighth Avenue entrance that “inspire a sense of civic pride that enhances a sense of place by incorporating significant design features.”
Gardonick, who Mayor Eric Adams appointed to the job in January 2022, said the proposal would not affect the venue’s property tax exemptions, which amount to a break of more than $42 million a year, according to a report published by the city Independent Budget Office earlier this year.
“We don’t take a position on that,” said Garodnick. “That’s a matter of state tax policy.”
Despite recommending the city approve a new 10-year permit for the Garden, Garodnick said the venue could “still be asked to move to another location, “if a proposal to do so does come together.”
Layla Law-Gisko, chair of the land use committee on Manhattan’s Community Board 5, said the venue should have only been given a three-year permit.
“A 10-year special permit for MSG is not suitable for the fast-paced progress in Penn Station planning,” Law-Gisiko said.
The DCP is scheduled to vote on the proposal Wednesday. After that, the City Council has 50 days to make a decision on whether to approve or modify the permit.
If it passes the Council, the mayor would have five days to issue a veto or else it lapses into approval.
UPDATE: DCP approved the proposal to extend the Garden's 10-year permit by a vote of nine to one.
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new york city
manhattan
transportation
Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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