NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – New York’s next big development fight is brewing around Penn Station, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo is looking to build new skyscrapers and eventually remodel the transit hub.
The Empire Station development looks to accomplish something once thought impossible in New York—fixing and expanding Penn Station.
But the way it would go about doing that is all wrong, according to activists who rallied outside Penn Station on Saturday.
The project calls for as many as 10 new skyscrapers, one as tall as the Empire State Building.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman compared it to the much-maligned Hudson Yards a few blocks away.
“I think it’s misplaced priorities. I think we shouldn’t be subsidizing another Hudson Yards next to Penn Station when we have small businesses that are dying right before our very eyes,” Hoylman said.
The long-term goal of the project is to use the new revenue to expand and remodel Penn Station.
One of the project’s biggest proponents is Cuomo, who the activists pointed out has received substantial donations from the real estate industry. State officials said there is no link.
“The governor wants to basically support a very short list of his campaign contributors to build more commercial space in Manhattan,” said Chris LaCass with the group Save Our Storefronts.
LaCass said the money the governor wants to put into the budget for the project would be much better spent elsewhere.
“$1 billion for small business rent relief,” LaCass said. “That is absolutely crucial.”