Despite Controversies, Cuomo Keeps Pushing for Massive Empire Station Complex Plan

"Even amid multiple scandals, a weakened Gov. Andrew Cuomo is trying to railroad through a city-changing land deal that would reshape Manhattan’s skyline," report Josefa Velasquez and Rachel Holliday Smith.

The governor first proposed the plan in question, called the Empire Station Complex plan, in 2016, but the idea has gained momentum in 2021. Still, Gov. Cuomo faces one big obstacle for the plan in getting a $1.3 billion bond deal to fund the project through the New York State legislature.

Gov. Cuomo's push is hinging on "an almost irresistible carrot," according to the article: "the dream of finally fixing everyone’s least favorite transit hub — Penn Station."

The project would include the development of ten large buildings, according to the article, by 2038 in an area dubbed "The Penn District." One of the buildings, called Penn 15, would be comparable to the size of the Empire State Building, according to early project renderings. In all, the development would add 20 million square feet of development—larger than the record-breaking 18-million square feet of development added by the Hudson Yards development.

The article reporting the status of the Empire Station Complex plan is presented in context of an ongoing controversy about Gov. Cuomo's conduct toward women while in office.