MSG Gets 5-Year Permit As Midtown Pushes For Penn Station Revamp

MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN — A City Council committee voted Monday to renew Madison Square Garden's occupancy permit for 5 years, signaling a possible bright new future for the transit hub underneath it.

The City Council Land Use committee — torn between the demands and desires of the arena's billionaire owners, the MTA, lobbyists, the Governor's office and a developer firm in Italy — delayed for hours the vote on how many years the permit should cover.

It's the shortest permit in the Garden's history.

The seemingly simple question was complicated by its location above Penn Station, which lawmakers would dearly like to renovate with cash help from the Dolan family, billionaire owners of Madison Square Garden.

Penn Station-revamp fans wanted the shortened permit for the Garden, while the Dolans would ideally have liked to see their permit made permanent, but would have gladly taken what it was before 2013: 50.

Among supporters for a new Penn is Midtown Community Board 5 and City Council Member Erik Bottcher, who put the priority on a station that sees 600,000 commuters every day, and Gov. Kathy Hochul who has already released renderings of what Penn Station could look like with sunlight.

While Hochul's plan comes with backing from the MTA, it also would cost $7 billion, a billion more than the bid pitched by Italian developer ASTM.

ASTM would leave Madison Square Garden intact but create a square building around it with a large entrance on Eighth Avenue.

While the Italian firm argues their option is cheaper and would take just 6 years to install, critics argue it's too lenient on MSG owners, with whom they have a reported "understanding."

There's also a group that wants to bring Penn Station back to its former Beaux Arts glory (fedoras not required, but encouraged).

MSG Entertainment called the decision a disservice to New Yorkers.

“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," a spokesperson said in a statement.

"The committees have done a grave disservice to New Yorkers today, 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.”

This isn't the last permit decision City Council must make. The committee's decision needs a final okay from the entire Council, scheduled to vote on Sept. 14.

This story was updated on Aug. 29 to include a statement from MSG Entertainment.