State lawmakers will hold a hearing next week to address concerns about Gov. Kathy Hochul’s controversial plan to use the tax revenues from 10 new skyscrapers to fund renovations at Penn Station.
Senate Finance Chair Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) said the June 24 hearing will address the “many questions that have arisen about the financing of the package.”
Hochul’s plan, which she inherited from her predecessor Andrew Cuomo, would overhaul the subterranean transit hub while building new commercial towers, pedestrian improvements and new residential units. Several properties would be seized through eminent domain.
But the plan’s financing has not been made public — and watchdogs worry that Hochul’s plan to allow developers to make “payments in lieu of taxes” will rob city coffers of up to $5 billion in tax revenue.
Opponents believe the “PILOTs” would would effectively give developers a tax rebate.
Krueger, whose district will encompass much of the project area when new boundaries go into effect in January, said she is not necessarily opposed but has “endless concerns.”
Senate Finance Chair Liz Krueger says the hearing will address “many questions” the Senate has over the project’s financing. AP
Watchdogs worry that the plan will sap NYC of $5 billion in tax revenue. New York Governor's Office“This is a giant set of projects that conceivably will take 25 years to be completed,” she said. “There’s legitimate concerns on all sides, and there will be no perfect answer because there’s no perfect way to do this.”
Hochul last week announced that Mayor Eric Adams and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy would back the plan — but did not provide details about negotiations between the three executives regarding the project’s funding.
The board of Empire State Development, which is helming the project for the state, is expected to vote on the project in the coming months.
