During his 2016 State of the State address last Wednesday, New York City Governor Andrew Cuomo quipped that his massive $100-billion infrastructure projects are ambitious enough to make the late Governor Rockefeller jealous.
In his speech, Cuomo touched the redevelopment of Penn Station and the Javits Center plus the addition of a "Third Track" to the Long Island Railroad.
The governor described the current situation of Penn Station as "miserable" and "un-New York." He also joked about US Vice President Joe Biden not getting the change to compare the station to a third world country.
"The tallest buildings, the longest bridges, the deepest tunnels -- they never said quit. Now, it's our turn my friends," Cuomo challenged New Yorkers. "We must provide the daring and vision for the next generation."
The governor also announced a $20 billion plan that will provide 100,000 new affordable housing units in New York over the next five years. The plan will also include 20,000 supportive housing units over the next 15 years.
Over the past few weeks, Cuomo has announced several ambitious projects such as the $3 billion redevelopment of Penn Station and the James A. Farley Post Office, or known as Moynihan Station. The huge project, which earned the name Empire State Station, would construct a new transit hall in the post office that would connect to Penn Station through a series of underground tunnels. The governor recently announced that the state is now open for new proposals for the long-delayed project, putting the current developers Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust out of work.
Cuomo's proposals have a theme in common. They all concentrate on public infrastructures that have been talked about for decades because they lack overhauling. His proposed expansion of the Javits Center, which costs $1 billion, builds on years of complaints from New Yorkers that the space is too small.
