mowotlarx OP t1_j24g9oe wrote
>The congested, chaotic section of Manhattan near Pennsylvania Station, which teems with tourists, commuters and shoppers, is undeniably drab. Does that make it blighted?
>New York State has decreed that it is, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has recently likened the Penn Station area to “a Skid Row neighborhood.” She was defending the controversial plan to allow developers to build 10 towers around the decrepit train station — the busiest transit hub in the nation — in exchange for some of the $7 billion the state needs to renovate it.
>If New York State officials deem an urban area to be “blighted,” blocks can be bulldozed and people and businesses can be forced to relocate. And new towers — unbound by limits on size and height as defined by the city’s normal planning rules — can rise.
>The state’s authority to make such a determination and move forward with redevelopment is nearly impossible to contest.
>Its ability to intervene was meant to ensure that neglected areas do not languish. But critics say that officials have long abused the power to pry private properties away from their owners, and they accuse Ms. Hochul of continuing the practice with the Penn Station redevelopment project.
You can call Penn Station area a lot of things, but anyone who thinks that area is actually "blighted" is writing that from Ohio.
Rottimer t1_j24qxnw wrote
Yeah it’s a grift to kick the small businesses out and get the state to pay for some of the demo and construction.
Bangkok_Dangeresque t1_j25qz6b wrote
Maybe I need to re-read the proposal, but I don't think the state is paying for any of the private developments. By designating it as blighted, they can permit reconstruction that skirts normal review and zoning to build faster and higher than the ordinary process and air rights would allow. But the developers would be paying for it, and pay the state a fee which would in theory finance a big a chunk of the reconstruction of Penn Station and expansion to Penn South.
rainzer t1_j25x9ux wrote
Cause all the money keeps going to Vornado who in turn intentionally leaves that shit undeveloped and run down to keep getting more money
The article even says as much with the Bloomberg building.
Bangkok_Dangeresque t1_j2600pd wrote
>Cause all the money keeps going to Vornado who in turn intentionally leaves that shit undeveloped and run down to keep getting more money
>
>The article even says as much with the Bloomberg building.
I think you may have misunderstood. Vornado doesn't get payouts from the government for keeping their properties dilapidated. Their endgame is to postpone paying to renovate their buildings while waiting for special permission from the city/state to build something larger on the site.
It's shitty behavior if deliberate (it's not specifically alleged in this lawsuit for these properties). But they wouldn't be the only real estate company ever to rationally decide that there was no point in paying good money to refurbish buildings in the shitty part of town. Certainly not while the floor is falling out of the commercial real estate market.
The upshot is that even if it is bad behavior getting rewarded, the city is still going to penalize them by extracting billions of dollars from the company upfront to pay for infrastructure (rather put the city billions of dollars in debt upfront and have to wait for 20 years to make the money back on tax payments).
earlymountainrain t1_j24nixx wrote
It is blighted though.
kickit t1_j2525cn wrote
do you think building 10 new skyscrapers will fix the congestion lol
Wowzlul t1_j252rq1 wrote
Could definitely help. If people are commuting into office towers directly adjacent to Penn (or even connected to it) they're not walking the streets or taking the subway further into the city.
Same logic that drove redevelopment in WTC/Brookfield.
mowotlarx OP t1_j25g0h4 wrote
Seeing some homeless people who make you feel icky isn't the same thing as being blighted. It's one of the wealthiest areas of the city. Skyscrapers all around. It's nowhere near "blighted."
toejamster9 t1_j25twaw wrote
Most of the people saying it’s blighted have never been to or probably even heard of places like hunts point, or gone across the river to Greenville. That’s blight. In fact, that’s probably closer to a DMZ.
_allycat t1_j24xuyr wrote
So the phrasing is just what they have to call it in order to kick everyone out, tear everything down, and rebuild fancier.
I mean, to be honest, the area sucks as a first impression. Tearing down the old station in the 60's was incredibly stupid and the current building is hideous, confusing, and has not held up. The surrounding area is crowded, compact, dirty, some sketchy figures hanging around, and there's a number of low crappy old buildings. It doesn't scream 'best city in the world' or 'safe' which is obviously what officials want and I don't disagree for anyone wanting that.
I do feel really sorry for all the people and businesses that get effected by this though. It's one of the only times I truly think equity is the answer for fucking up peoples lives. And it is pretty obvious they will just do the same things they keep doing in other areas. Build new office buildings and luxury condos with slightly upscale chain retail on the ground floor. And of course contracts will go to Hochul, Adams, and whoever else's family and friends. I just hope whoever ends up designing the area includes plaza/park space and somewhere for pickup/dropoff for the station... i'll welcome that.
Rib-I t1_j253ci2 wrote
To be fair, it is a bit shit.
SleepyHobo t1_j27g0tv wrote
Let's just hope they don't turn Penn Station into another architecturally lazy, bland, and souless white facade that feels more like a padded cell in a mental asylum quickly stained by people put inside it rather than an actual train station.
Late 19th and Early 20th century architecture in this city is so beautiful and incredible. Now all we get anytime they upgrade something is 10 billion dollars worth of misaligned glossy white panels, glossy (matte if we're lucky) white floors, and white LED lights that bounce off all the gloss and blind you. All of this juxtaposed next to the filthy rat infested, trash littered train tracks.
The white floors really get me. Who's the dumbass that keeps approving pure white for a floor color. Public spaces are barely cleaned so it immediately just turns grimy, permanently.
[deleted] t1_j25o2n9 wrote
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