The Municipal Art Society of New York

According to an article [Push Is Growing for U.S. Funding of Penn Station Redo] by Eliot Brown in the New York Sun, Moynihan Station developers Vornado Realty Trust and the Related Companies invested $700,000 into advocacy efforts in the first half of 2007. The article notes:

The developers involved in remaking Pennsylvania Station are pouring money into an effort to elicit federal funding for the development, retaining the services of six Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firms for the project, records show.

In the first half of 2007, developers Vornado Realty Trust and the Related Companies put about $710,000 into the advocacy efforts, according to federal lobbying filings, an amount that comes on top of more than $15,000 in campaign contributions to key legislators that could affect the funding.

The efforts underscore the important role of federal funding for the project, as both the state, which is administering the development, and the developers are eager to see the expected multibillion-dollar costs offset by another party.

The article also cites the political contributions made by the CEO of Vornado, Steven Roth, and the CEO of Related, Stephen Ross to elected officials including Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York.