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| Re: Penn Station (1332469) | |||
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Re: Penn Station |
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Posted by Wallyhorse on Wed Jan 7 03:03:36 2015, in response to Re: Penn Station, posted by MainR3664 on Tue Jan 6 13:49:22 2015. Yes, it was a crime when the original Penn Station was torn down to make way for the current Madison Square Garden and 1 & 2 Penn Plaza, but it was a no-win situation at the time. Tearing it down was TODAY a mistake, but there would have been a very long, rocky road to getting Penn Station to the mid-1990's or so when it likely would have gotten the kind of rehab Grand Central eventually did get.You have to remember that neighborhood was RAPIDLY deteriorating then as were other parts of NYC, fueled in part by corruption but also by a rapidly exploding drug culture that made many parts of Manhattan unsafe to be in after dark. Had the old Penn Station remained, it could have easily turned into a case of "be careful what you wish for" because the old station had a lot of openings that could have easily made it a haven for drug dealers (and a lot more than the re-done, ugly station had). It also would likely have deteriorated through the '70s and '80s when a series of recessions that started with 1969-'70 and continuing through 1990-'91 would likely have taken their toll on Penn Station before it finally would have been fixed up, most likely under Dinkins and Guliani (a lot of people forget the cleanup of Times Square actually started in 1993 under David Dinkins before Guliani was elected). There also was the matter of the Knicks and Rangers. The old MSG on 8th-9th Avenues and 49th-50th Streets was even by 1962 RAPIDLY becoming obsolete, and even if it had been renovated instead of moved, by the early '70s you would have seen Sonny Werblin making a serious effort to get the Knicks and Rangers to move into what eventually was built for the Nets and opened as The Brendan Byrne Arena (in 1981), but in this case opening with the complex in 1976. That would actually have been looked at by many as a MUCH more serious crime than tearing down the old Penn Station much like many consider it a bigger crime that the Giants (since 1976) and Jets (since 1984) have been playing in The Meadowlands. Even if by now the Knicks and Rangers would have moved back to Manhattan and playing in a newer MSG (most likely the one proposed for the Javits Center in 1986), there would have been those who would have been very angry with those who wanted Penn Station saved to the point where the Knicks and Rangers moved to New Jersey. Many people care much more about sports than anything else, and that's why I say that. There would have been a lot of unintended consequences of keeping the old Penn Station even if today it would have been as beloved as ever. |
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