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New York Times
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Childhood Memories of Connecting Through Cartooning
Through much of my childhood growing up in Rockland County, N.Y., I spent far more time with comic strips and comic books than with other children. The emotional landscape of Charles M. Schulz's 'Peanuts' reflected my own insecurities and loneliness. Later, when I started reading comic books, I was especially drawn to the Fantastic Four, a superhero family whose combustible dynamics felt all too familiar. Like all kids, I was at the mercy of adults, and drawing superheroes gave me a sense of power and agency. My parents saw my growing obsession with comic books as the reason for my poor grades and lack of focus in class. To be fair, they weren't entirely wrong, but as a result, when I shared my own attempts at cartooning with them, their enthusiasm only went so far. When I met Brett in my freshman year of high school, I finally had a friend who loved comics as much as I did. He lived in a small house within walking distance of town, from which we'd race to Mr. Oz News Center Book Store every week on the day the comic book shipment arrived. I'd spend the quarters and dollar bills I filched from my mother's purse to buy the new issues of 'Fantastic Four,' 'X-Men,' 'Marvel Team-Up' and more. We'd be especially excited when the work of one of our favorite cartoonists, like John Byrne or Michael Golden, hit the stands. Brett and I met Mike, another boy our age, by chance in the carriage house of one of the few remaining Victorians on Main Street, where for a hot second someone sold old comics. We all hit it off immediately. Mike lived with his mom and stepdad in a local motel and moved often. He'd either dropped out of high school or never gone to begin with. Together we spent the next three years stoking one another's imaginations and building our comic book collections. We combed flea markets and used-book stores, and once, Brett's dad drove us into Manhattan, where across the street from Madison Square Garden, in a dingy ballroom of the old Hotel Pennsylvania, I attended my first comic book convention. These childhood memories came flooding back as I read two new middle grade books that capture the intensity of friendships forged through shared creative passions and pursuits. In the graphic novel THE CARTOONISTS CLUB (Graphix, 288 pp., $14.99, ages 8 to 12), by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud, four middle school students — Makayla, Howard, Lynda and Art — support and inspire one another while tackling the challenges of making comics. Telgemeier (the Eisner Award-winning creator of the graphic memoirs 'Smile,' 'Sisters' and 'Guts,' and the graphic novels 'Drama' and 'Ghosts') has earned legions of fans with her heartfelt, relatable portrayals of adolescence, and that talent is on full display here as well. When the friends head to the public library to attend their first minicomics convention, their giddy, nervous excitement is palpable. J VS. K (Little, Brown, 240 pp., $16.99, ages 8 to 12), by the cartoonist Jerry Craft and the writer Kwame Alexander, blends prose, verse, illustration and comics to tell the story of two precocious fifth graders whose fierce rivalry drives each of them to greater artistic heights. Both Craft and Alexander are Newbery medalists (Craft for his graphic novel 'New Kid' and Alexander for his verse novel 'The Crossover') and winners of many other awards — yet they still can tap into that heartbreaking feeling of seeing someone else's artistic triumph as one's own failure. Like the members of the Cartoonists Club, Brett, Mike and I were supportive friends. But like J and K, we could also be rivals. I remember meticulously working on a single drawing for several days — the longest I'd ever spent on one piece — hoping that when I finally showed it to Brett and Mike they would have to acknowledge my superior skills. Much to my disappointment, that didn't happen. I respect how both books offer practical instruction for budding writers and cartoonists. McCloud ('Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art') has helped generations understand the power and potential of comics — and the inventive ways in which he and Telgemeier unpack the genre's formal elements are impressive. Craft and Alexander — using playful, metatextual sleight of hand — demonstrate the process of drafting and revising stories. No doubt, these how-to passages will be of tremendous use to readers. But as the books' narratives ultimately make clear, it's the people with whom we choose to surround ourselves who end up being our best motivators and teachers. Though it had been about 30 years since I'd spoken to Brett or Mike, I suddenly felt a need to reconnect after finishing 'The Cartoonists Club' and 'J vs. K.' With a little online searching I was able to find a phone number for Brett and immediately placed the call. As soon as I heard his voice it was like old times. We remembered the names of the superheroes and villains we created, the things we admired about each other's drawings, the cartoonists we loved and carefully studied in preparation for one day becoming professional cartoonists ourselves. Mike, we recalled, was less confident as a comics artist but wasn't without ambition. He figured he might be an inker. I looked forward to catching up with Mike next and asked Brett if he was in touch with him. This is when I learned that Mike had passed away during the pandemic after a long, debilitating illness. As tears filled my eyes I remembered Mike's easy laugh and sweet disposition. I'm glad I was able to thank Brett for being part of my first cartoonists club but sorry I couldn't do the same for Mike. After graduating from high school I'd headed to the Midwest for college, then bounced around the country for the next 14 years. Wherever I lived, I sought out fellow cartoonists for conversation and collaboration. In their company, as in Brett and Mike's, the work I aspired to create — and the life I hoped to build — seemed within reach. These days, as the world feels like a colder and more hostile place, I've come to appreciate my cartoonists clubs more than ever. On Wednesday afternoons, I often check in with cartooning pals on a longstanding Zoom call, and recently I formed a graphic memoir critique group in which four of us share our raw, messy works in progress. I've known and identified with many Makaylas, Howards, Lyndas, Arts, J's and K's over the years and witnessed even the most ardent creative flames weaken or be snuffed out. 'The Cartoonists Club' and 'J vs. K' will certainly inspire kids to write and draw, but to me, four and a half decades removed from junior high, they read like survival guides — a reminder to keep seeking and stoking each other's light, knowing that no matter how dark things get we will burn more brightly together.
New York Times
11-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
A New Pitch to Fix Penn Station: Move Madison Square Garden
Nearly two years after New York's governor, Kathy Hochul, vowed to fast-track the long-overdue redesign of Pennsylvania Station, little has changed for the Manhattan transit hub that she once called a 'hellhole.' Two serious renovation proposals — one from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the other from a private developer — have both been stalled for months, leaving some to wonder if the project was dead. Now, an influential interest group is proposing a different approach: Move Madison Square Garden, which sits on top of the station, across the street and replace it with a much bigger train hall and a park. Expanding the train station, the busiest in the nation, is a pressing issue because construction has just begun on a $16 billion pair of rail tunnels under the Hudson River, the centerpieces of a project known as Gateway, which would double the current cross-Hudson capacity. The added tracks could help solve the frequent delays that cause havoc for hordes of commuters. But they will not relieve the gloom of daily slogs through Penn's claustrophobic subterranean concourses. That's why so many groups have offered up their ideas for improving Penn Station. The latest plan is proposing to pay for the construction of a new sports arena on a site that includes the former Hotel Pennsylvania on Seventh Avenue, in exchange for the right to demolish the current Garden. The new train hall, unencumbered by the arena, could double the station's capacity to 48 trains per hour, provide a suite of new safety and accessibility features and address riders' biggest complaints about the cramped station, said Alexandros Washburn, who is leading the project for Grand Penn Community Alliance. There would also be room to create a sprawling green space, similar in size to Bryant Park, that would effectively serve as a giant backyard for a new 125-foot-tall train hall. 'This is a chance to do it right, once and for all,' said Mr. Washburn, who is also the former chief urban designer for New York City. He added that the plan could be achieved for roughly the same cost, about $7.5 billion, and on a similar timeline as a proposal by the M.T.A. that would leave the Garden in place. The plan would require an as-yet unnamed developer to buy the site of the Hotel Pennsylvania, which was demolished in 2023, as well as several adjacent properties, for about $1.3 billion. The construction of a new sports arena would cost around $2.3 billion, and the new Penn Station would cost another $4 billion. Construction would begin with the new arena, so as not to disrupt programming. The entire project would take about 11 years. But the project faces complex challenges. Much of the proposed site for a new arena is owned by Vornado, the real estate firm that had sought to build up to 10 nearby skyscrapers, mostly dedicated to office space, as part of a plan to fund improvements in the area. The pandemic stalled that plan, and Governor Hochul announced in 2023 that the redesign of Penn Station would no longer rely on revenue from its development. Mr. Washburn said that his group has met with Vornado about buying the proposed site and that they showed interest. Vornado declined to comment. Then there is the Garden, which is controlled by companies led by James Dolan, the mercurial billionaire who has resisted past calls to relocate the arena. Mr. Washburn said the move would benefit the nearly 60-year-old venue because the new site would allow for easier truck access and other modern amenities. A move, he added, could also help Mr. Dolan secure a permanent license for the arena after years of negotiating temporary extensions. MSG Entertainment, which operates the Garden, did not respond to requests for comment. Any plan for Penn Station must satisfy not just those groups, but also the transit hub's owner, Amtrak, the national rail company operated by the federal government. In a statement, Amtrak repeated its commitment to upgrading the station and said it was 'essential that options are evaluated on their ability to meet the transportation needs of the region, and their ability to enhance the Northeast Corridor's critical role in powering the national and regional economy.' A major redesign would also have to be approved jointly by the states of New York and New Jersey, which control the M.T.A. and New Jersey Transit respectively, both of which also run trains into the station. New York is also counting on the federal government to provide billions of dollars for the station's renovation and expansion. Other than about $150 million to help pay for planning the work, none of that federal funding has been secured. Ms. Hochul said last fall that she had sought support from then President-elect Donald Trump. But that was before a dispute broke out this year between their two administrations over the car-tolling program in Manhattan known as congestion pricing. The M.T.A., which Ms. Hochul controls, is continuing the program despite the federal government's order to halt it. A spokeswoman for Ms. Hochul said in a statement that the governor was 'laser focused on fixing Penn Station now' and that the state would solicit proposals from the private sector, but did not provide a timeline. The M.T.A. had previously said that it would reach a critical design goal by last summer, at which point it would revise the budget and solicit proposals from bidders. But that has not yet happened. John J. McCarthy, the chief of policy and external relations at the M.T.A., said the agency had not seen Mr. Washburn's plan but was concentrating on projects that improved the station, like the recent completion of a new Long Island Rail Road concourse. The agency had been critical of a competing plan by ASTM Group, a private developer that would demolish a smaller portion of the arena to make way for major transit improvements. Janno Lieber, the head of the M.T.A., called the plan wasteful, in part because it would pay Madison Square Garden for the privilege. Peter Cipriano, the executive vice president of Halmar International, the developer of the ASTM project, said the company remained ready to compete with other bidders, if given a chance. Yet another plan was unveiled last week by Assemblyman Tony Simone, a Democrat whose district includes Penn Station, and other elected officials. Their plan ruled out taking any private property and focused on constructing more residential buildings centered around a large park on the former site of the Hotel Pennsylvania. Mr. Simone called on Ms. Hochul to reopen the planning process and 'engage the community on a housing-first plan.' Mr. Simone said he had pitched his idea to Vornado, and it had not been rejected.
