Governor Andrew Cuomo this week unveiled a multi-billion dollar initiative to revitalize and rebuild infrastructure across New York State. Entitled “Reimagine | Rebuild | Renew,” the 2021 agenda is touted as the largest state infrastructure plan in the country and sets in motion the improvement of state roadways, public transportation, airports, and large swaths of Midtown, Manhattan.
Community Board Five’s Land Use, Housing & Zoning Committee voted in a meeting on Wednesday to advance plans for a massive undertaking in Midtown involving the conversion of Madison Square Garden into a new concourse for Penn Station, and the creation of a new home for the sports facility between two supertall skyscrapers near Herald Square. Initially proposed in 2016 by Vishaan Chakrabarti, founder of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), new renderings give visual context to the plan, to which the city council agreed with the consideration of The Madison Square Garden Company’s acquisition of a shorter extension of its current lease.
After decades of planning and three years of construction, Manhattan’s Moynihan Train Hall finally opened its doors today to commuters. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the 255,000-square-foot redevelopment of the landmarked James A. Farley Post Office Building shines with a grand new hall for Penn Station’s Amtrak and Long Island Railroad service, replete with a 92-foot-high glass atrium that harkens back to the original terminal. The new space, which was unveiled on Wednesday by Governor Cuomo, will help relieve commuter congestion and improve train scheduling and capacity.
The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development has released a request for affordable housing proposals for the north shore of Staten Island. The RFP would use 108,000 square feet of land owned by the city for a mixed-use development with 100 percent affordable housing and community amenities and services.
An Environmental Assessment Statement for 109 East 42nd Street in Midtown East reveals details for the proposed Project Commodore, a 1,646-foot-tall skyscraper on the site currently occupied by Grand Hyatt New York. Developed under the Commodore Owner LLC by RXR Realty and TF Cornerstone, the mixed-use supertall is designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Components include 2,108,820 square feet of office space, a smaller 500-room Grand Hyatt hotel, approximately 10,000 square feet open-air publicly accessible space, and 43,370 square feet of retail including some controlled by the MTA on the cellar, ground, and second floors.
