The new building would sit on the site of what’s now Madison Square Garden, whose lease comes to an end this coming June. It puts the station, the nation’s busiest with 600,000 daily users, ahead of speculative real estate development for which there is little or no demand. It puts the public - not real-estate companies - first, with an open-to-all, street-level lawn as large as Bryant Park and an exciting array of community amenities. The original station’s colossal Concourse would be reconstructed in an airier form, as much as today’s technology allows. More than a much better station, his plan opens up optimistic possibilities for the mostly charmless West 30s between Seventh and Ninth avenues. His dream is to reflect the style and spirit of the original, beloved McKim, Mead & White masterpiece opened in 1910 that was unconscionably demolished in 1964. The 21st Century Unlimited A vaulted, glass-enclosed main concourse in the new Penn evokes the original McKim, Mead & White architectural style. This street-level green space between Seventh and Eighth avenues would provide a needed breath of fresh air for the nabe. Washburn’s idea comes from a different planet. It’s a terrible, corrupt $22 billion scheme nobody wants - unless you’re one of the governor’s wealthy real-estate donors. Hochul gets her way, is to tear down the surrounding neighborhood, destroying hundreds of people’s homes by eminent domain and constructing giant new office skyscrapers in their place. Right now, our government’s plan for a “ New Penn Station,” if Gov. Under architect Washburn’s Penn Station plan, MSG would move out of the complex and be replaced by a classic building with a central towering atrium that inspires awe instead of horror. The endless, ongoing, inch-by-inch “transformation” of entrances and corridors has only made the underground maze harder to navigate than before. Even with construction work going on now to improve it, the transit hub remains a subterranean horror show. They are so inspiring I wanted to share them with you, here in these pages. Washburn told me he has a Big New York Idea.

He’s long advocated for “rebuilding Penn Station as the magnificent cathedral it was,” as he wrote in a 2021 essay. Not long after, I heard from Brooklyn-based architect Alexandros Washburn, a passionate lover of the city who was Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s head of design. We can’t even finish rebuilding the World Trade Center, let alone transform a decayed, machine-age structure into a gleaming modern gem for vibrant public use. I also lamented that, when it comes to dreaming big, New York City has run out of steam. Once a derelict industrial plant, it is now a multipurpose miracle of shops, parks and Apple’s European headquarters, all breathing fresh life into the city. One month ago, I wrote a column praising London and its leaders for the blue-sky thinking that led to the historic preservation of the beautiful new Battersea Power Station. Tower at 111 Wall Street epitomizes crisis of NYC's commercial real-estate market Saks Fifth Ave opening Japanese omakase counter this month Rudin's 3 Times Square in NYC lures in new tenants after $25M upgradeĬBS chief confirms potential sale of broadcast center as major developers show interest Meanwhile, those who support alternative visions for the future of Penn Station have put forth some intriguing renderings.Chelsea Piers field house, fitness club set for grand opening in Brooklyn In recent months, support for the plan has waned and developer Vornado has said their work on the project is currently paused. That plan has since been given a new name under Governor Hochul, the Pennsylvania Station Area Civic and Land Use Improvement Project. Under the current redevelopment plan, first put forth under former governor Andrew Cuomo as the Empire Station Complex Project, several landmarked eligible buildings would be sacrificed to make way for 10 new office towers. Today, as plans are put forth for the redevelopment of the area surrounding Penn Station, buildings in the neighborhood are once again at risk of demolition. The Railroad company did not pay relocation expenses. The last building they kept standing and operating was a pub so the construction workers had somewhere to drink. The workers were methodical with their demolition plan. The Pennsylvania Railroad had to demolish 500 buildings and displace roughly 6,000 people in order to build Penn Station.

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