Opponents of Controversial Penn Station Plan Laud PACB Result, No Approval on New Towers

ALBANY, NY (07/27/2022) (readMedia)-- Following a report by the NYS Comptroller released today that raised serious questions about Governor Hochul's General Project Plan for Penn Station, the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) today did not approve the plan, effectively shelving the plan until important funding and other questions demanded by advocates, lawmakers and the State Comptroller are answered by the State. Trains Before Towers – the coalition of New Yorkers and advocacy organizations opposed to the controversial plan – applauded PACB member Sen. Leroy Comrie for his position that the PACB should see further details on the plan before voting on it - specifically saying that he will not vote in favor of any "above-ground buildings in this project footprint until we have secured necessary federal approvals and the fair share of funding from the federal government and New Jersey." The result effectively shelves a decision on the construction of 10 skyscrapers around Penn Station.

The coalition also applauded the Senate Leadership, especially the Manhattan Senators Liz Krueger, Brad Hoylman and Robert Jackson for their continued leadership and for sounding the alarm on this issue.

The Penn plan, which would usurp City land use authority, would enrich billionaire developer Steve Roth of Vornado without any guarantees the scheme will fund desperately needed improvements at Penn Station. Last month, federal, state and local elected officials called for the State to halt the plan, pointing out that many questions remain about the project's necessity and financing. Roth is also a major donor to Gov. Kathy Hochul's campaign.

"Thanks to Senator Comrie, effective advocacy, the local representatives of Penn Station and Comptroller DiNapoli, this train wreck of a plan has been stopped in its tracks. Today the PACB did not vote to approve huge new towers around Penn Station and said it will not until serious questions the State has ignored from elected officials, budget watchdogs, government agencies and elected officials demanding basic information about the financing of the plan are finally answered. This plan – which is a massive corporate giveaway to a campaign donor – is a real estate deal in search of a transit plan," said Diana González, campaign manager of Trains Before Towers.

Senator Leroy Comrie said, "Today my colleagues and I on the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) are being asked to vote on a PILOT agreement between the City of New York and the State as part of a critical redevelopment project at Penn Station and the surrounding areas. Today's vote is only on the PILOT agreement between the City and the State. It is the first step towards building a framework for a multi-decade redevelopment plan. Today's vote is not the final say on this massive undertaking. Future review and votes will be required, both by the PACB and the MTA Capital Program Review Board (CPRB). To be clear, while I will vote yes on today's resolution, I will not vote in favor of any future PILOT agreements for individual above-ground buildings in this project footprint until we have secured necessary federal approvals and the fair share of funding from the federal government and New Jersey.

• This project, which is critical to the future of both transportation and development, needs to be a truly future forward thinking endeavor which meets the needs of the 22nd century.

• System connectivity and allowing through-running are critical components to ensuring federal support and investment in what will be one of the largest infrastructure projects in our State's history.

• Regional considerations must be developed so essential workers can access NYC from throughout the East Coast

• New York State should take bold steps to lead the nation to an interconnected high speed rail future now.

I thank my colleagues, including Senators Krueger, Hoylman, and Jackson, for their advocacy on behalf of their constituents, and I thank our Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins for her leadership. I vote yes on today's resolution."

In a joint statement following the vote, Senators Krueger, Hoylman and Jackson said, "Today's PACB vote was limited in scope, and merely confirmed the financial agreement between New York City and New York State regarding potential future PILOT agreements. It was necessary to help the state secure critical federal funding for fixing Penn Station -- something that everyone agrees is long overdue. What today's vote did not do was establish any deals with any real estate developers for the blocks surrounding Penn Station. Any future deals will have to return to the PACB, and we will continue fighting alongside the community to ensure that those deals are not just corporate welfare for developers. That means much more guaranteed affordable housing, and no unnecessary tax breaks that reward developers for building projects they wanted to build anyway. It also means real transparency and community input, prioritizing the needs of existing residents, and ensuring that the public realm, the neighborhood, and the city as a whole see significant benefits. Throughout this project, thanks to the tireless advocacy of community members, a bad plan has been made incrementally better, with the inclusion of more services for homeless New Yorkers, more guaranteed affordable housing, more public realm benefits, and more protections for existing residents, among other improvements. There is still much further to go to make this project a win for New Yorkers, and we will continue to stand with the community as new aspects take shape. The state and the city have an opportunity to make transformative change that will impact generations of New Yorkers, today and into the future. It must not be squandered."

Background

Earlier this year, the City's Independent Budget Office released a report, raising serious questions about the financial viability of the project and whether there were enough details to gauge the plan's impact. The IBO report also concluded that while the State would collect payments from Vornado, the City would lose out on property tax revenue that it would have earned in a standard rezoning process. All of the elected representatives of the Penn Station area (federal, state and local) oppose the project. A majority of the city's Senate delegation have also voiced opposition to the plan. The Senators specifically voiced concerns about how much Vornado will receive in subsidies and other State-sponsored benefits as part of the plan and how much the City stands to lose in property taxes, urging ESD to halt the plan until there are "??explanations provided and agreements made associated with the cost, design, scope, bond liabilities, and other aspects of the project that remain unknown." Good government groups including Common Cause, Reinvent Albany, BetaNYC, League of Women Voters and NYPIRG have also voiced opposition to the plan.

About Trains Before Towers

TBT is a coalition of community organizations, transit advocacy groups, preservation organizations, affordable housing advocacy groups, and good government organizations dedicated to improving the transit infrastructure at Penn Station.