NY should eye eminent domain for Madison Square Garden

NEW YORK May 23 (Reuters) - New York City should explore using the power of eminent domain to take Madison Square Garden to speed long-delayed plans to improve Pennsylvania Station by bringing in new tracks and giving it a much grander entrance, New York Assemblyman Richard Brodsky said on Friday.

But a deputy mayor and the head of a state development agency disagreed at a hearing the Westchester Democrat held, saying they had not considered this step and believed it would fail to bring much-needed clarity and certainty to the plan.

Further, they noted New York City does not want the arena, which is located directly above Pennsylvania Station and where the Knicks basketball and the Rangers ice hockey teams now play, to leave the city.

Madison Square Garden is owned by Cablevisions Systems Corp.