By:  Hellen Zaboulani

On Monday, the City Planning Department announced its recommendation on Madison Square Garden’s months-long application to renew its permit.

As reported by Crain’s NY, the Department agreed to grant MSG a new, 10-year operating permit allowing it to stay at its current location on top of Penn Station and hold oversized events—but on the condition that MSG fully cooperates with plans to redesign Penn Station.  MSG, whose permit expired, had requested a never-expiring permit.  The recommendation released, adds a requirement for MSG to contrive a plan on how it will make itself “compatible” with the state’s plans to recreate Penn Station. The idea should be presented once plans for that rebuild are 30% complete, department Director Dan Garodnick said during a public meeting on Monday.

The plans for a new Penn Station are themselves in limbo, with competing designs being proposed by the state and by ASTM.  Mr. Garodnick acceded to the uncertainty in the revamping plans for Penn Station. “We know that there are a number of plans being considered, but it is City Planning’s view that New Yorkers cannot wait for those plans for Penn Station to be finalized in order to benefit from these significant improvements to the area around MSG,” Garodnick said Monday.

The 13-member City Planning Commission is slated to vote on the recommendation on Wednesday, which will be the first step for MSG to secure a new permit. The City Council will likely also subsequently vote on the permit, and it could opt to change the terms.

City Planning is mulling other conditions on the MSG’s new permit. As per Crain’s, the city wants to require the arena’s operators to create a plan for truck loading. City officials have been wanting to restrict loading hours so as to limit parked trucks on the already busy 33rd Street.  Also, in talks with City Planning, MSG has agreed to pay for certain public realm improvements, including improved entrances on the corners of Eighth Avenue, new benches and trees, and better signage for the western side.

The state has been trying to get MSG to agree give up property in order to make room for Penn Station’s new train halls.  So far, however, the Garden has refused to tie the renewal agreement with any talk of handing over property.  In a letter to the city in June, the Dolan family, which owns the Garden, MSG argued that its permit-renewal process was not an appropriate place to litigate the issue of whether it will be forced to hand over property.  The city doesn’t really have the power to make MSG sell or hand over property. It can, however, issue penalties for other parts of the new permit requirement, especially if MSG fails to submit a plan for the loading and public realm changes within six months of the permit being granted, Garodnick said.

Per Crain’s, the new permit’s 10-year term was also a source of conflict.  MSG had hoped for an extensive permit.  The decade-long limit was set to encourage the Garden to reach a deal with Penn Station in a timely fashion, and while federal funds are still available, City Planning staffer Stephen Johnson said.  Some had argued for a much shorter permit.