Man, 18, critically hurt in Queens wreck MSG eyes move across 7th Ave.
Few details on funding as venue’s permit nears expiration
Madison Square Garden brass suggested the World’s Most Famous Arena could relocate across Seventh Ave. if a new permit deal can be reached.
MSG Executive Vice President Joel Fisher, in a meeting last Wednesday with Manhattan Community Board 5 about the company’s permit to run the building, said a move to the block now occupied by the Pennsylvania Hotel might work.
“Well that would probably satisfy us,” said Fisher. “But ultimately, who’s going to pay for that? Where is the money? That plan hasn’t come to us. But that would satisfy being right on top of a transportation hub.”
The Garden’s 10-year permit to operate the building expires in July, with officials filing an application for a special permit to run the facility in perpetuity. As for a new Garden east of the current incarnation, the price tag for redeveloping the new space was estimated at a minimum of $8.5 billion.
“This was certainly, for us, the first time that we’ve heard MSG express that they would consider this option,” CB5 Chair Layla Law-Gisiko told Crain’s New York Business.
Earlier this month, MSG issued a statement saying the permit had nothing to do with moving the home of the Knicks and the Rangers. Mayor Adams promised the city would be “a hard negotiator” in its dealings with the Garden.
The existing permit, which allows MSG to operate with attendance above 2,500 guests, expires July 24.
Transit advocates, along with City Councilman Erik Bottcher (D-Manhattan) believe the process could offer a chance to relocate the arena while creating room for a new Penn Station on the current Garden site.
Only days after the board meeting, Dolan and other MSG officials blew off a City Council hearing on Dolan’s use of facial recognition technology to ban his perceived enemies — attorneys involved in litigation against the Garden, among others.
The combative Dolan repeatedly defended MSG against critics of the policy to police the arena and bar certain guests from attending, including one attorney who was a long-time Knicks season ticket holder.