How can anyone defend the area in and around Penn Station? It’s the left armpit of Manhattan. The right armpit is Port Authority. Both areas are disgusting, they smell like piss, they don’t feel safe, and they are overrun by mentally ill and homeless people who are victims of our terrible health care system. That sounds pretty blighted to me.

Grand Central doesn’t have these problems as much because the city planning was smarter and there is a lot of development around there. Hopefully the city will persuade developers to build housing in the Penn Station area so that there can be a little bit more of a neighborhood vibe.