The Empire Station Coalition, led by Lynn Ellsworth and Sam Turvey, is fighting to stop an entire community from being evicted because of two New York Governors and Vornado Realty. And as we saw in Brooklyn with the Barclay Center, hundreds of families and businesses will be pushed out to make room for this project. It will be the theft of people’s homes, places of work, neighborhood restaurants, a church that provides a food pantry for the poor, and the dreams of many. And why? To fill the pockets of those that already have enough.
As stated in Forbes Magazine, Vornado Realty owns more than 20 million square feet of Manhattan office and retail space, plus stakes in hotels and malls. CEO Steven Roth, an 81-year-old billionaire, has donated considerable monies to Andrew Cuomo and Governor Hochul. Gee, I wonder why he did that?
Vornado was the developer of the Moynihan Train Hall that converted the 8th avenue Main Post Office into an addition to Penn Station. The once famous Pennsylvania Hotel located across the street from the current Penn Station on 7th avenue is being demolished with plans for taller glass buildings.
Vornado is changing the landscape of 7th avenue to 9th avenue. All the buildings on 31 street between 7th and 9th avenue may be torn down to make room for the new Penn station. Saint John the Baptist Catholic church would be leveled too. An estimated 2300 families will be displaced.
Please call your state assembly rep to help save the community and tell them to prevent this neighborhood from displacement.
But first, watch our video and like it.
Also, please read the statement below from the coalition:
“The Coalition’s Statement of Purpose
We are a coalition of New York City civic organizations working in the areas of transportation, urban planning, small business advocacy, housing, neighborhood livability, and historic preservation. We have come together out of mutual interests and concerns regarding the proposed Empire Station Complex. We are unified on the following points.
1. We oppose the gratuitous demolition of people’s homes and eviction of residents and small businesses. The trauma of such displacement does irreparable harm that cannot be compensated for. We also oppose the proposed demolition of several historic buildings.
2. We support Amtrak’s Hudson Tunnel Project, the Gateway Project.
3. We request that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) halt the proposed Empire Station Complex and Penn Expansion (aka Penn South). With the project stopped, we request that an independent cost-benefit analysis of alternatives is conducted and that a comprehensive through-running near-term implementation plan be developed for New York’s Pennsylvania Station (Penn Station). Through-running should be implemented now and within the existing footprint of Penn Station. The suggestion that through-running should happen in 2080, as suggested by the MTA and Amtrak, and only after a southern expansion of Penn Station and after the creation of additional tunnels should be rejected out of hand.
4. The plan for the neighborhood surrounding Penn Station should prioritize human-scale development within the current zoning envelope. It should be mixed-use buildings that integrate with the historic areas to the north, south, and east and provide multiple spaces for small businesses to thrive while creating thoughtful additions to the public realm.
5. The public and our elected officials have not been given an opportunity to fully consider the benefits of a bonafide through-running operation. This and similar projects should not circumvent local review and must go through New York City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).”
Lynn Ellsworth lynnellsworth0@gmail.com
Sam Turvey turveysa@gmail.com
About The Author
