Opponents to State's Controversial Penn Station Plan Respond to Vornado Backing Away From Penn Deal

NEW YORK, NY (11/01/2022) (readMedia)-- According to a report from Crain's, today Steve Roth – CEO of Vornado Realty Trust and megadonor to Governor Hochul – said the company will not be putting up the 10 towers of commercial office space meant to fund the upgrades to Penn Station anytime in the near future. These towers are necessary not only to finance upgrades to the station, but also to qualify for federal funding for the station, putting the entire project in jeopardy.

"Finally, we agree with Steve Roth about something: this is the wrong time for a plan to build luxury office buildings. Unfortunately, ESD's plan to finance improvements to Penn Station relies entirely on these empty office towers, so Roth's announcement that Vornado won't build means that a new Penn Station isn't happening. It's time for the Governor to scrap its disastrous plan and send ESD back to the drawing board. We need a plan for Penn that has real financing and will actually fix Penn Station," said Diana Gonzalez, Trains Before Towers campaign manager.

Last week, opponents to the State's controversial proposal to build 10 megatowers around Penn Station filed an Article 78 action to block the plan, citing blatant violations of state laws and procedures. The plaintiffs also note that the project would primarily benefit Steve Roth of Vornado - a major donor to Governor Hochul's campaign - and that the State is attempting to move forward with it despite the direct objections of Senator Leroy Comrie, who has said he will not approve the current plan in his oversight role on the Public Authorities Control Board until financial questions are resolved. The complaint is available here.

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.

Ahead of the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) vote this summer, NYS Comptroller released a report that raised serious questions about Governor Hochul's General Project Plan for Penn Station. The PACB effectively shelved the plan until important funding and other questions demanded by advocates, lawmakers and the State Comptroller are answered by the State. PACB member Senator Leroy Comrie said 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, because PACB approval requires a unanimous vote.

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.