Madison Square Garden May Move Again

With all the discussion about a new, gleaming West Side Stadium for the Jets has definitely sparked a competitive spirit in the Dolans beyond just trying to knock down the Jets' bid: The NY Times says that Madison Square Garden officials have been investigating the possibility of moving to Eighth Avenue and 31st-33rd Streets - right at the soon-to-be Moynihan Station at the Farley Post Office! Madison Square Garden has been long lamented as being a just-okay venue for basketball and hockey, and the Dolans had claimed they would renovate MSG, versus move to a new site as the city had previously suggested (which was the city's way of trying to keep them from opposing a Jets' stadium bid). When you look at Madison Square Garden's history on Wikipedia, the venue has moved a number of times at the whim of its various owners; the NY Times article notes that one developer tried to move it to the West Side railyards 18 years ago - with a structure to be designed by Frank Gehry! - but that was scuttled because it was felt that would be too far. Well, it still is. If MSG moved to the Farley Post Office/ Moynihan Station, Penn Plaza would be turned into even more high-end apartments and offices. But before anything can happen, the city has to approve these plans, which would make for an interesting meeting, the Mayor and the Dolans; if only Woody Johnson could be in the mix.

What we're curious about if MSG does move, will the developers also pay to develop a roomy underground passageway from the Seventh Avenue subway lines to the Farley Post Office? And this means the elephants will have to walk further! Gothamist supposes that's already part of the plan, but it becomes more critical if a venue attracting 20,000+ people moves. And Gothamist is reminded of the Coffee Talk with Linda Richman segment where Linda says, "Madison Square Garden: Neither a square...nor a garden...DISCUSS!"