Robert Yaro

One of the ongoing points of contention between civic organizations and the developers of the planned Moynihan Station complex is whether Madison Square Garden should be allowed to advertise on the Beaux-Arts façade of the Farley Post Office, which would serve as the Eighth Avenue entrance to the new arena. Today, a coalition of 17 organizations and elected officials, under the auspices of Friends of Moynihan Station, softened the hard-line preservationist approach.

The statement of principles (PDF) reads: “A limited amount of advertising as long as it is tastefully designed and managed, as it is in Grand Central.”

The Friends’ Web site actually shows a variety of advertising, including the banners in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Asked whether the banners should be allowed, Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association, said, “The principle is that we are standing in front of a landmark here and the landmark has to be respected. Can there be some temporary signage for special events? Perhaps that’s going to be acceptable.”

Peg Breen, the president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, which has taken a harder line on preserving the exterior but has nonetheless signed onto the design principles announced today, said, “The Garden is going to have opportunities, as I understand it, with kiosks at the corners, mid-block and Ninth Avenue corners. Everyone is going to know where Madison Square Garden is. We want people to know there is a Post Office and great train station inside.”

Is everyone clear on this?

When State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sat down to breakfast with storied financial consultant Fe  read more »

When State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sat down to breakfast with storied financial consultant Fe  read more »

Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association, was never a huge fan of the Freedom Tower—never a huge fan of office space downtown in the first place. But in an interview with us today he went even farther, nudging along the gathering bandwagon of what Reps. Ney and Jones might call “Freedom’s foes”:

“I think people close to the situation understand that the Freedom Tower is the least marketable commercial space down there to the extent there is any demand for commercial space at all.... It certainly should be rethought. There are really questions about its marketability. Certainly the phasing should be rethought. [Towers] Two through Four ought to be built first. The Freedom Tower should be built not until the market is established for office space....

"It’s my understanding that as part of the construction of the PATH terminal, the Port Authority should be in the position to move ahead with the retail space and to expedite the excavation of the bathtubs for Tower Two and that is what they should be doing."

-Matthew Schuerman UPDATE: Jeremy Soffin, vice president of public affairs at R.P.A., called to take issue with the above characterization of Robert Yaro as “no fan of office space downtown in the first place.” We readily agree that Yaro has advocated mixed uses, rather than an exclusively residential or retail district. We had been referring to his recent endorsement of Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal, which would cut the planned 10 million square feet of offices by 14 percent to make way for apartments and a hotel.

On Sept.  read more »