Vornado Realty and the Related Companies will unveil plans this month to build a skyscraper larger than the Empire State Building over the site of the current Pennsylania Station, according to the New York Times.
Adding to news reported in mid-June by the New York Sun, the Times indicates that developers are proposing the demolition of the Hotel Pennsylvania (a McKim, Mead and White creation from 1919) for a massive, new commercial structure.
These are just two of the surprising new elements of a now-$14 billion plan that would relocate the train station -- and aim to capture its original, august feel -- inside the James Farley Post Office across Eighth Avenue. A new 20,000-seat Madison Square Garden would move to the western side of the Farley building.
Two issues of focus in the Times article: who will pay for this mushrooming vision, and will the arena-- including ticket-booths for sports and entertainment events, proposed on the site of the current postal sales windows inside Farley -- dominate the space?
“We’re looking for a well-designed, separate and distinct train station,” said Peg Breen, president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, a private preservation group. “We do not want the Garden to swallow the station.”
Not to worry, state officials say. “This is, first and foremost, a transportation project,” [Co-Chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation Daniel] Foye said. “The goal is to create something that is consistent with Senator Moynihan’s vision of a public space that can accommodate 550,000 daily commuters and still have room for growth.”
We'll be interested to hear if folks agree that the plans -- once released -- fulfill that goal. And what do people think about losing the hotel Glenn Miller immortalized in "Pennsylvania 6-5000," and gaining a West Side version of the Empire State?
New York Times: New Grandeur for Penn Station in Latest Plan
New York Times op-ed: Senator Moynihan's Legacy
New York Post: Train 'Wreck,' Fury Over MSG Plans for Station
New York Sun: Developers To Detail $14B Plans Around Penn Station
New York Daily News Editorial: Tall Order for Tall Towers
1 comment:
WTF!!! They should landmark the Pennsylvania
Hotel and not repeat the attrocity the government
has inflicted on this part of the city.
Didn't they learn from the first time! The integrity
of the neighborhood is dependant on these types
of building especially if the architects are Mckim, White and Mead.
There is a reason why the businesses at Grand Central are flourishing and why Penn Station has been stagnant. Who want's to hang out in a building that looks like a mall?
Wake up government!!!
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