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Madison Square Garden told it has 10 years to move

Henrik Lundqvist

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 16: Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers prepares to tend net against the New Jersey Devils in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 16, 2012 in New York City. The Devils defeated the Rangers 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

In what the New York Times describes as “an eviction notice of sorts,” Madison Square Garden -- the home of the New York Rangers -- has been given 10 years to vacate the premises so that the city can build a new Penn Station.

The arena’s owners, the Madison Square Garden Company -- which also owns the Rangers and NBA’s Knicks -- had wanted an operating permit in perpetuity. However, the Council voted, 47 to 1, for a decade-long limit.

All this comes as the Garden is completing a three-year renovation with a cost of nearly $1 billion.

How this all plays out remains to be seen. As the Times noted in June, “Even with the Council’s nudge, it will take leadership from Governor Andrew Cuomo and from Washington to move the Garden and re-make the station into a safer, more suitable gateway to New York.”