MSG Permit Up For Council Vote Thursday, Long-Term Fate Left Up In Air

NEW YORK, NY - Madison Square Garden may be staying for the time being, but its long-term fate on Eighth Avenue remains to be seen.

The City Council is poised to approve a five-year permit - unanimously passed during a land use committee meeting last month - for the 22,000-seat arena during a 1 p.m. vote on Thursday. You can view the full meeting agenda here.

The five-year permit would be MSG’s shortest in history. Its 10-year permit expired earlier this summer.

The complex’s owner, James Dolan, sought a permanent permit for the arena this year, but council member Erik Bottcher, whose jurisdiction includes Madison Square Garden, argued the permit issue is a temporary resolution in the persistent issue of revamping Penn Station underneath the venue.

“The Council cannot determine the long-term viability of an arena at this location,” Bottcher said last month. “Therefore five years is an appropriate term for this special permit.”

It’s unclear how many years the council will settle on for the permit, or other provisions that may arise before a final vote. In July, the City Planning Commission recommended a 10-year permit for the venue, predicated on MSG’s cooperation and funding for cosmetic improvements outside the arena. The City Council will also require the development of a transportation management plan for the permit, per THE CITY.

In June, the MTA, Amtrak and NJ Transit called the arena's loading operations "incompatible" with a Penn Station renovation; the entities called for MSG to "collaborate on property swaps," The Real Deal reported.

Others have defended longer permits for the famed venue: “It is city planning’s view that New Yorkers cannot wait for those plans for Penn Station to be finalized in order to benefit from these significant improvements to the area around MSG,” Dan Garodnick, director of the Department of City Planning, said in July.

But the ultimate fate of Madison Square Garden begs the question of its aging downstairs neighbor, which council members and varying agencies have widely differing opinions on.

One group, ReThink Penn Station, is suggesting a massive overhaul of the train tracks below to facilitate what they call a true regional rail system, all while greatly increasing the currently tapped-out capacity. Both of those elements would require moving Madison Square Garden to its fifth home, adding a huge expense and burden.

It’s not a thought that the Dolan family hasn’t considered.

At a recent community board meeting, a Dolan staff member noted options to relocate the arena: a new space in Hudson Yards, perhaps, or the vacant Hotel Pennsylvania, per Crain's New York Business.

“A short-term special permit is not in anyone’s best interest and undermines the ability to immediately revamp Penn Station and the surrounding area,” Madison Square Garden said in a statement to several publications last month. “The committees have done a grave disservice to New Yorkers … in a shortsighted move that will further contribute to the erosion of the City — that’s true now and will be true five years from now.”

The City Council will vote on the permit at 1 p.m. You can livestream the meeting here.