Penn Station redevelopment should go through
city’s land use process, opponents say
BY MARK HALLUM
The redevelopment of
Penn Station through the
Empire Station Complex
proposal needs an open process
for residents and City Council
to weigh in, according to those
opposed to Governor Andrew
Cuomo’s project.
State Senator Brad Hoylman is
advancing a bill that will require
that both the expansion of transportation
infrastructure and expansion
of Penn Station through
offi ce space development both
in the sky and the surrounding
blocks goes through the Uniform
Land Use Review Process.
“No height restrictions, no
fl oor area ratio restrictions, no
use restrictions, and you know
what your tax dollars are subsidizing
it to the tune of $1.3 billion,
is that right? Let’s add something
else to this mixture, which is that
Midtown Manhattan has a vacancy
rate of over 17%. Does that
make sense? We don’t need 20
million square feet of commercial
offi ce space, We need supportive,
State Senators Liz Krueger, Brad Hoylman and Robert
Jackson (left to right) in front of the Hotel Pennsylvania on
May 23, 2021.
and affordable housing,” Hoylman
said. “If we don’t pass this
legislation, a general project plan
is literally going to bulldoze this
neighborhood without any local,
meaningful community input.”
State Senator Liz Krueger,
chair of the Senate Finance
Committee, explained that she
was perplexed how the governor’s
plan, showcased in January 2020,
seems to offer little in the way of
transportation improvements
PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM
apart from a proposal to expand
a block to the south and increase
capacity by 40%.
“Clearly, we need a better Penn
Station and clearly we need more
ability for trains to go in and out
Penn Station. It’s not all about
the aesthetics. It is about whether
trains can come and go, there are
a lot of different ways for us to
get there,” Krueger said. “When
I was reading the governor’s plan
for this deal, it doesn’t even talk
about doing anything Penn Station,
but just like happens to be
sitting there next to it all.”
But Dan Biederman, president
of the 34th Street Partnership, an
advocate in favor of the redevelopment
plan, does not put much
faith the ULURP process as the
way to go with the Empire Station
Complex.
“There are other ways to participate
other than ULURP. I’ve
noticed that the state has put back
a number of deadlines in response
to the opposition. There was originally
supposed to be some kind of
deadline on April something and
now that’s back to June or July, so
I think the process argument is
a little stretched,” he said. “The
opponents are not experts on the
real estate market… Nobody is
saying these offi ce buildings will
be built this year, the market has
plenty of time to recover.”
If anything, Biederman argued
that transit improvements at Penn
Station will increase demand for
offi ce space in what would be a
convenient location.
“I’ve said this a number of
times, if there’s anywhere that
would be a great place to develop
bulky buildings, it’s right on top
of Penn Station, biggest transit
hub in the country,” Biederman
added.
In April, Matthew Gordon, a
spokesperson with Empire State
Development, issued the following
statement:
“There has been universal
consensus among community
leaders that Penn Station needs
to be overhauled and expanded,
and the surrounding neighborhood
needs to be revitalized. We
are currently engaged in a robust
community process on how to
achieve those shared goals. To
date, ESD has held more than
50 meetings with local elected
offi cials and other community
stakeholders, including a virtual
public meeting attended by 200
people last July. We’ve incorporated
public feedback into
the project at every step — like
adding residential alternatives
for three of development sites —
and will continue to do so as the
process progresses.”
Amazon protesters invade investor’s Midtown lobby
BY DEAN MOSES
A series of rallies were held
across the country on
May 24 outside of fi ve
Amazon shareholder locations
prior to the May 26 shareholder
meetings: Fidelity, T. Rowe Price,
Vanguard, State Street,and Blackrock
who together hold about
21% of Amazon’s shares. The
New York City action took place
at 55 East 52nd Street, the site
of Blackrock — one of the e-tail
giant’s shareholders.
Here Amazon workers and
activists assembled a wall of
empty cardboard boxes outside
the premises in addition to brandishing
signs and a large banner
reading #eyesonamazon. Chants
denouncing Amazon founder Jeff
Bezos rang out, turning the heads
of those entering the property.
The protest asked shareholders,
like Blackrock, to hold the
online delivery service to a higher
standard by increasing worker
rights, cutting ties with police
and ICE, reducing its carbon
footprint, improving working
conditions, and more.
The claims brought on against
Amazon have been cited from
union leaders, workers, and activists
who say that the conditions at
Amazon facilities have only worsened
during the pandemic. As rallies
and protests push these issues
to the forefront, some shareholders
have fi led resolutions challenging
Amazon’s business practices
against marginalized communities.
These abhorrent practices include
over-policing workers, communities,
and small businesses using
surveillance technology.
“Amazon is facilitating the
criminalization and incarceration
of our Black, Brown and
immigrant communities. Last
week after relentless advocacy
from grassroots organizations,
Amazon finally extended its
Protesters inside the lobby of Blackrock.
moratorium on the sale of
recognition to police,” said Aly
Panjwani, Policy and Advocacy
Manager at the Surveillance Technology
Oversight Project, adding
“Amazon must permanently ban
the sale of recognition to police
departments. Stop the development
of broken facial recognition
technology and end the use of all
surveillance technology period.”
Protesters targeted their anger
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
with Amazon at Blackrock, who
they believe is complicit in these
unsavory and dangerous surveillance
practices by remaining silent.
“Blackrock you are complicit!
Last summer you put out
a statement on racial equity and
inclusion. You said you would
develop and launch products
both focused on racial equity and
social justice,” said Panjwani, who
proceeded to list what they deem
as dangerous facial recognition
products such as Amazon ring,
Amazon sidewalk, and Amazon
web services.
Security guards prevented the
group from reaching to the upper
fl oors, however, they were handed
a chart displaying what they claim
are Amazon’s poor business practices,
which they assured they
would hand over to offi cials.
In response to these claims, an
Amazon spokesperson provided
amNewYork Metro with the following
statement: “Amazon is
committed to the creation of
good jobs, a sustainable future,
fl ourishing communities, a strong
economy, and successful small and
medium-sized businesses. Since
2010, Amazon has made more
than $350 billion in investments
in corporate offi ces, customer fulfi
llment and cloud infrastructure,
wind and solar farms, eco-friendly
equipment and machinery, and
compensation to our teams.”
Schneps Media May 27, 2021 3