Madison Square Garden may get a new lease on life from the Bloomberg administration – a permanent one.
The City Planning Commission will on Wednesday consider a proposal from commissioner Amanda Burden that could effectively turn a 15-year extension of MSG’s lease into one with no expiration date, Capital New York reported. The proposal contains a loophole that allows MSG to remain atop Penn Station in perpetuity, if it comes to an agreement with the three railroads beneath it to make infrastructure improvements.
Prominent planners were irked by the city’s move, arguing that moving MSG was essential to revitalizing Penn Station. Of particular concern to them was that the city’s permit in perpetuity proposal wouldn’t be subject to a public review process, known as ULURP.
Raju Mann, the director of policy and planning at the Municipal Art Society, told Capital New York that the proposal was “a gift to Madison Square Garden.” [Capital New York] – Hiten Samtani