The City Planning Commission is withholding its support for Gov. Kathy Hochul’s massive Penn Station development plan over questions about the project’s financing and insufficient benefits for both transportation and “the public realm.”
As the commercial development project stands, the plans for new above-ground public space consist mostly of wider sidewalks — with very little space for biking or public gathering or sitting, commissioners said in a letter Friday to the state’s Empire State Development Corporation.
“There continue to be unanswered questions related to financings, transit improvements and the public realm,” the letter said, calling on ESD to “identify further public realm improvements… that optimize place and movement by improving circulation.”
Hochul revealed plans in November to renovate Penn using tax funding from 10 new commercial skyscrapers, cutting their size by 7 percent compared to the original plan put forward by her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo.
Despite the smaller scale, Hochul still intends to push the project through a “General Project Plan,” which allows the state to tear down privately owned buildings without going through the city’s usual zoning process.
Hochul had previously pegged the project cost at $7 billion, but the letter from City Planning said the true price tag is between $30 billion and $40 billion.
Financing the massive project — which the state has insisted would be backed by private money from the new construction — should be figured out before the project moves forward, city commissioners warned.
The commission nevertheless “supports the goals” of the project and is “pleased to see efforts to plan and design a fittingly significant district for Penn Station and its environs,” the letter said. It advised the state to increase transparency and public input for the MTA and Amtrak’s “master plan” discussions for the future of Penn Station.
Manhattan Community Board 5 land use chair Layla Law-Gisiko, a state Assembly candidate and outspoken opponent of the plan, said the commission was right to withhold its support, which is customary for the project to advance.
“The letter is pretty clear — they see some value in the framework that ESD is pushing through, but the execution is not garnering the support of the City Planning Commission,” Law-Gisiko said. “Let’s be clear: There is no Penn Station component in this project. The Penn Station project is being undertaken by a separate agency, and these plans are not being made public.”
The Planning Commission does not yet include appointees of Mayor Eric Adams. Its letter was first reported by Crain’s New York Business.
Sources said Vornado Realty Trust, which would helm most of the development, is pleased that the commission “supports [the] overarching goals” of the proposal.
Hochul’s office deferred to ESD for comment.
“Empire State Development appreciates the NYC Department of City Planning’s ongoing partnership in shaping the Penn Station Area General Project Plan as well as its thoughtful review of Governor Hochul’s revised plan,” ESD spokesman Matthew Gorton said in a statement.
“We are encouraged by the Commission’s support for our collective goal, and as is routine with all projects, we are going to continue to work with the Commission as we finalize the plan for the long-overdue revitalization of the area around Penn Station.”
A City Hall rep said the Adams administration “looks forward to continuing to work with the state to ensure the area around Penn Station is transformed into the world-class transit hub New Yorkers deserve.”
“The city supports the state’s proposal for substantial new density along with transit and public space improvements around Penn Station, an area long overdue for upgrades,” City Hall said in a statement. “The City Planning Commission offered thoughtful input as part of an ongoing, collaborative process aimed at making the plan the best it can be.”
Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogan
