Madison Square Garden has at least five more years above Penn Station.
The City Council on Thursday extended the arena’s special permit to 2028, leaving the door open for another battle over MSG’s future in the near future. Officials hope the shortened timeline will pressure the arena’s owner and Penn Station’s rail agencies to reach an agreement on the station’s future.
“We’re setting a clock that will help bring all the stakeholders to the table to fix Penn Station now,” Council member Erik Bottcher, whose district includes the transit hub, said ahead of the Council’s vote. Thursday’s vote was expected, given earlier approvals by a Council committee and subcommittee.
The permit is contingent on the creation of a transportation management plan to address the arena’s loading operations and pedestrian access. James Dolan’s MSG Entertainment must submit the plan to the City Planning Commission within six months.
City zoning requires a special permit for any arena with more than 2,500 seats. The Garden has 22,000. In 2013, the City Council approved a 10-year permit.
This time around, Dolan sought a permanent residency at the arena’s location atop Penn Station, which it has called home since 1968.
The Adams administration wanted to grant a 10-year permit requiring public improvements around the arena and assurances that MSG was in compliance with plans to redesign Penn Station. Those stipulations were left out of the shorter permit deal.
The short length of the new permit means MSG will need to go through the city land use review process again in five years, or relocate. MSG Entertainment has adamantly opposed moving the arena.
If it remains in place, MSG Entertainment and Penn Station’s various rail agencies would likely need to reach an agreement that would allow for the station’s overhaul. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority wants the company to forfeit its interest in a defunct taxiway on Eighth Avenue, but MSG Entertainment has maintained that it would not do so without proper compensation.
Of course, the impetus for the arena owner to relocate the venue or reach a deal will depend on whether plans to redesign Penn Station maintain momentum. The state supports the MTA’s vision for the station, but other proposals, including a plan by Italian firm ASTM Group.
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