New Penn Station Comes a Step Closer

By KECIAH BAILEY

In January Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a grand plan to transform Penn Station and the historic Farley Post office into a “ world-class transportation hub.”

To facilitate the next steps of the new Moynihan and Penn Station development plan, officials presented contracts to be approved for financing at the Empire State Development board of directors meeting on Thursday.

“Anyone who has been in Penn Station lately knows it’s maybe the only thing in New York City that hasn’t changed in the last 50 years except the number of people that use it.” President and CEO of Empire State Development, Howard Zemsky said.

Plans include revamping the former James A. Farley postal facility into a train hall for both the LIRR and Amtrak, surrounded by shops and restaurants and expanding access over into a new and improved Penn Station, linking both as one complex.

The presentation of contracts represented a significant step in a plan that has been many years in the making. Former New York Senator Daniel Moynihan, who died in 2003, first proposed the project with a similar vision more than 25 years ago.

Previously called the Moynihan Station, Governor Cuomo adopted the project and changed the name to the Empire Station Complex. Under his plan, the new station would feature significant passenger improvements including natural light, increased train capacity and less congestion, and improved signage to dramatically enhance the travel experience.

“There are more users of Penn Station than all of the airports in the Metropolitan region combined,” Zemsky said. “This gives you a sense of how important and impactful this is to New York and New Yorkers and travellers of all kind,”

Zemsky said Penn Station was designed to accommodate a quarter million users a day but now it accommodates more than 600,000.

“It is exciting to see Moynihan phase 2 be part of the governor’s broader Empire Station vision” President of the Moynihan Station Development Corporation, Michael Evans said. The state’s Moynihan Station Development Corporation is overseeing the project.

According to state officials phase 2 of the Farley Post Office development includes the construction of ticketing facilities, waiting areas, retail amenities, and access points to tracks and platforms.

Officials said Phase 1 of the construction was underway and should be complete by September 2016. The bidding process for developers for the next phase of the project should be complete by April 22nd.

The project estimated to cost $3 billion is a joint entity by Empire State Development Amtrak, MTA and Long Island Rail Road.

Photo: View from new train hall courtesy of empire state development.