Good afternoon, I’m Brian Fritsch, Communications Director for Regional Plan Association. For over 100 years, RPA has used its position as a research, planning, and advocacy organization to conceive of and help to advance long-range plans that promote the health, equity, sustainability, and prosperity of the Tri-State region.
Having worked on transportation, public realm, and regional planning issues surrounding Penn Station for many decades, RPA is strongly supportive of the City Planning Commission’s plans to renew Madison Square Garden’s Operating Permit for only a limited time and their proposed zoning text amendments.
More important than the question of the length of the extension, though, is a guarantee that MSG will be a supportive partner of the MTA, Amtrak, and NJ Transit’s plans to revitalize the station, including likely selling or contributing parts of their current physical holdings. This could include the mid-block taxiway between the arena and 2 Penn Plaza, the Theater at MSG, and other spaces that impact the public realm, especially around the arena’s entrances and exits and its freight loading practices. We believe MSG should not get a permanent renewal of its operating permit until an upgraded Penn Station is firmly started to address the station’s many flaws, in part delivered with MSG’s cooperation and financial support.
As the busiest transportation hub in the Western Hemisphere, Penn Station is pivotal to reaching our region’s environmental goals and keeping our region economically competitive. Transportation is the number one driver of carbon emissions in New York and New Jersey, and improved transit options are essential to reducing those negative impacts as the region grows and changes. Even under our most conservative assumptions about economic growth and work from home, RPA has projected that trans-Hudson travel will be at or above pre-pandemic levels by the time a renovation of Penn Station could be completed. It will increase by at least 15% by 2050, and possibly by as much as 32%. We must plan for that future now and support the Gateway Program, the Penn Station Access Program and upgrades to Penn, including an expansion of the station.
For those with a keen memory, in 2013 RPA submitted similar testimony as to why it was appropriate for MSG to be granted a temporary extension on their special permit as opposed to a permit in perpetuity. While much has changed over the past decade, including the pandemic and the opening of Moynihan Train Hall across 8th Avenue from MSG, the core of that statement remains the same.
Perhaps our biggest internal shift in thinking since that time is the assumption that MSG must necessarily move in order for Penn Station to reach its potential. We no longer believe that to be the case. We’ve now seen a number of plans that would allow MSG to remain in place while delivering a safer, more accessible, reliable, and unified station. None of these plans work, however, without MSG being a willing partner with the transportation agencies and larger regional community as plans are created to renovate and expand Penn Station. Limiting the operating permit will help support that goal.
Penn Station upgrades - necessary and long overdue - will be mostly funded by taxpayers. Because MSG is a venue dependent on this public transportation hub to fill seats, this taxpayer funding will benefit MSG for decades. But instead of MSG helping subsidize this project, taxpayers continue to instead subsidize MSG. MSG’s property tax exemption – in place since 1982 – has cost NYC roughly $875 million (adjusted for inflation) and is currently a $43 million-a-year staggering example of corporate welfare. MSG must contribute financially, as well as politically, to renovating Penn.
MSG creates a significant obstacle to improving the station below it. But whether this obstacle is insurmountable depends entirely on MSG and its willingness to be a good neighbor. This ULURP process is a unique opportunity for the city to hold them accountable as a partner. With an unparalleled investment in infrastructure at the federal and state levels, it’s highly unlikely we’ll have a better chance to fix Penn than we do now. We must invest now.
Thank you to Chair Riley and the committee for the opportunity to testify today.
