It's game on for the owners of Madison Square Garden, as they lobby New York City to renew the special permit needed to continue operating.
But there are some, including members of City Council, who want to deny them that permit, and have the Garden move somewhere else in order to fully fix Penn Station and the transit woes there.
NYC's City Planning Commissioner Chair Dan Garodnick said that they will "carefully evaluate how far Madison Square Garden can and will go to accommodate the public infrastructure right below it."
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Garodnick wants the arena's owners to play ball with transit advocates — and so does the Metropolitan Transportation Administration. The transit agency said Monday that any new deal for the famous Garden "must at minimum ensure that MSG will provide space and resources necessary for the reconstruction of existing Penn Station."
In a statement, an MSG Spokesperson said that they are "working closely with all relevant agencies."
The owner of Madison Square Garden, James Dolan, has emphatically stated that they will not be moving the arena. Renderings released Monday show that MSG officially plans to stay where it is.
However, it's part of a complex that is about to be renovated (to go along with the age-old promise of finally fixing Penn Station). One neighborhood group insists the arena is in the way of progress.
"I think Madison Square Garden needs to move if we are ever going to get our transit right," said Samuel Turvey of Rethink NYC.
Mayor Eric Adams has said in the past that he likes the arena right where it is, but also wants the city to get a good deal.
Those in favor of moving the Garden point out that it has moved before: It used to be located in Madison Square Park, further east. Now, advocates are calling for it to be moved west, to Hudson Yards. That move could cost billions of dollars.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine will get to weigh in during the coming weeks. On Monday, he told NBC New York "We have to see how viable it might be to get the Garden moved. And that one of the things we will learn in the weeks ahead.
"We truly value MSG as an institution, as an economic engine, we have to make sure it's right for the neighborhood, the borough and the city that it continue to operate at that location," Levine said.
