BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Democrat Tony Simone, successor to Richard Gottfried as District 75’s New York State Assembly Member, spoke to Manhattan Community Board 4 (CB4) in that capacity, when the Full Board met on Wednesday, February 1. (Full Board meetings always devote some time atop the evening’s agenda to hear from elected officials or their representatives.)

Simone’s opening remarks painted a scene of domestic tranquility while offering a cautionary tale regarding the acoustic repercussions of living in a NYC apartment. “My husband’s cooking,” said Simone, “so excuse the noise.” Regarding his off-and-running work in Albany, the Assembly Member noted, “I’m fighting for good cause eviction and other measures to ensure that tenants are protected in Community Board 4.”

Of the plan first put forth by former Governor Cuomo and continued with ill-advised zeal by Governor Kathy Hochul—in which Penn Station would be upgraded with speculative revenue generated by a sweetheart deal allowing Vornado Realty Trust to raze the nearby nabe and construct several office towers—Simone said, “Many of us agree the current plan is unacceptable. It is a development plan, and I’m fighting for it to be an infrastructure transportation plan… I’ve already spoken to some of the governor’s staff. The current plan is too reliant on private development and one commercial developer.” Simone noted he and his team are “looking at creative ways to push the governor and others to change the current plan… Because in the end we want a great Penn Station, but we don’t need 10 office towers by Penn Station.”

At the tail end of his remarks, Simone invited the public to his Inauguration and Community Celebration on Saturday, March 4, at Hudson Guild’s Fulton Center (119 Ninth Ave. btw. W. 17th & 18th Sts.). Doors open at 2pm, and the program runs from 2:30pm to approximately 4:30pm. It’s free and open to the public. To attend, please RSVP via bit.ly/SimoneInauguration, as there is limited capacity. To access Assembly Member Simone’s online presence, click here. For the Hudson Guild website, click here. To view Simone’s remarks to CB4 (starts at 14:00 minutes, ends at 21:30 minutes), click here.

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