Our coalition seeks to put an end to Governor Hochul’s scandalous deal for the Penn neighborhood. The plan, which Hochul first endorsed in 2021, would use executive authority to override the public process and build 17 million square feet of expensive office space around Penn Station. Two years on, the continued collapse of the commercial real estate market has halted Vornado’s tower construction and prompted the company to admit that new construction in the area is “almost impossible” for the foreseeable future. Governor Hochul responded to mounting pressure by “decoupling” the fate of the area from the redevelopment of Penn Station—the very justification for the deal—but has preserved the massive real estate handout anyway.

Now, because of Vornado’s inability to build its luxury office towers for the foreseeable future, the surrounding neighborhood sits in limbo while the company waits for better economic conditions that are unlikely to ever materialize. The plan cannot be repurposed, either, since it prohibits any affordable housing from being built on most of the land owned by Vornado: of the 9.4 million square feet of space available for Vornado to develop, Hochul’s plan requires just 180,000—less than 2% of the total footprint—for affordable housing. The deal also provides minimal public space, and includes few considerations for mass transit.

At the same time, New York’s housing crisis continues to worsen. This effect is only more acute in New York City, where the city is expected to build just 11,000 units of housing in 2023, all while the city’s housing stock continues to decline. The site of Hochul’s deal could be used to build thousands of units of affordable housing, but the Governor continues to uphold a plan that hands the neighborhood over to a billionaire developer and blocks progress of what New Yorkers need now.

This means the State must exhaust every possible option to greenlight plans for immediate development of affordable housing—and that includes in the Penn neighborhood. The Governor has the power to do so today. Her current plan with Vornado stands in direct opposition to truly historic and beneficial change for the Penn area and the city’s transit needs. It also means that she can still create an immediate opportunity to revitalize and enrich the broader Penn Station community. Our coalition is demanding that Hochul replace her disaster deal with one that actually delivers what New Yorkers desperately need and want: housing, open space, and new mass transit options for all.