Gov. Kathy Hochul announces new plans for Penn Station redevelopment
NEW YORK -- Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA officials announced a plan Monday to build a new Penn Station -- and this one might get some critics on board.
Opponents of the controversial redevelopment plan tried to drown out the governor and transit officials as they spoke of plans for the new West Side transportation hub for 600,000-plus suburban commuters.
"The train is finally rolling down the tracks," Hochul said.
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But if they had listened instead of protesting they would have discovered that officials have heard their opposition to the original Penn Station plan proposed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. It included building up to 10 megatowers of luxury commercial and apartment space that would have displaced many who live in the area.
"Right now, can you tell us what's going to happen to the buildings around Penn Station? If that's being put on the back burner?" CBS2's Marcia Kramer asked.
"We are decoupling two components. We are going to focus on this building, itself, and the immediate environs, beautify the streetscapes, and put in benches and plantings and community gathering spaces, and, really, as we have been asked to do, to save the neighborhood," Hochul said.
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MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said the project will, "turn Penn Station around from being something that is an eyesore, that New Yorkers are ashamed of and are scared about, to something very different."
What was also very different about the press conference was that lawmakers who had opposed the Cuomo Penn Station project were standing four square with Hochul.
"The protesters, as far as I know, are concerned about super-tall towers, about destroying the neighborhood, which includes small businesses, about having their homes demolished. That's not going to happen with Gov. Hochul's plan," state Sen. Brad Hoylman Siegel said. "So this is a good day for the local neighborhood."
"The residents are actually going to be happy in the long run as they realize they're not affected by this and we're going to work with them to make sure that they are protected," Assemblyman Tony Simone said.
The project will allow Metro-North and Amtrak to bring more trains into Penn Station and that, in turn, will reduce the commute times for people coming from the Bronx, Westchester County and Connecticut.