Hello,

Recently, Governor Hochul’s plan to allow Vornado Real Estate to build 10 massive towers around Penn Station ran off the rails.

Vornado Realty CEO Steve Roth — a major Hochul campaign donor — finally admitted on his company’s quarterly earnings call what we already knew: that the towers will not be built anytime soon because demand for office space is low.

This admission comes a week after opponents to the State’s controversial proposal filed an Article 78 action to block the plan, citing blatant violations of state laws and procedures, and several months after State senators also sounded the alarm on the plan’s financial viability. Now Roth has proven all those concerns correct by backing away from the plan, showing that we cannot rely on megatowers we don’t need to pay for the Penn Station we need and deserve.

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Yet, Governor Hochul said she still wants to push her plan forward.

As a reminder, Hochul’s Penn plan has:  

• No guarantees for transit improvements
• Barely increases the city’s affordable housing stock
• Diverts millions of dollars in property taxes from the City, which pays for schools and public safety. 

What this plan DOES guarantee is that taxpayers will be left on the hook for a big bill when the towers don’t reap the tax revenue needed to fund Penn improvements, as the City’s Independent Budget Office said earlier this year.

Let’s demand a better Penn Plan that centers commuters, local businesses, and economic justice — not billionaires who are mega-donors to the Hochul campaign.

Best,

Trains Before Towers Team