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Quote:

Originally Posted by k1052 (Post 9150234)

I know everyone is oohing over the hall but the new departure boards are shockingly good. Just amazing.

Only upgrade would be to display NJT trains that are accessible from the hall but I assume that's a result of never ending turf wars.

NJ Transit backed out of being a "tenant", and also didn't extend the first two platforms (tracks 1 - 4). As a result, those tracks aren't accessible from the main floor, but are from the mezzanine level. But regardless, NJ Transit uses those other tracks, so you can still end up in Moynihan, there just isn't a display screen there.

NJ Transit also has a nice train hall of its own, although much smaller than Moynihan, on 7th Ave, and will be the main user of the expansion south.

Quote:

Originally Posted by manchester united (Post 9150418)

Fantastic hall!! But I am sorry that it is closed 1-5am. Is instead open 24/7 the new 7th avenue entrance? Thanks for the possible reply.

Yes, that is the plan. I don't know if that's to be permanent, or if it's to coincide with the current subway service closures during those hours due to the pandemic. But it's said that it would close between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Grand Central also closes for a few hours. But between those hours, Penn Station isn't nearly as crowded as it is in daytime hours, so I don't think it would affect much.

A little more on the planning for further improvements to the current station as well as the expansion south...

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Newark Penn is similar. Closes for a little bit at night, very late at night. Usually to clean the Amtrak benches from the folks sleeping on them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by k1052 (Post 9150234)

That's the thing with NYC projects. They take eons in some cases to happen, way over budget in some cases (especially with transit or anything MTA/Rail/Bridge related)... but... BUT... they are top notch quality.

Its a suiting station expansion for the future of the neighborhood. Empire Station will be the premier location in time!

Quote:

Originally Posted by manchester united (Post 9150418)

Fantastic hall!! But I am sorry that it is closed 1-5am. Is instead open 24/7 the new 7th avenue/33rd street entrance? Thanks for the possible reply.

not sure about the new entrance specifically, but:

What are the hours of operation at Moynihan Train Hall?

Moynihan Train Hall will be open to the public daily from 5:00 a.m. through 1:00 a.m. Moynihan Train Hall will be closed to the public between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. Between 1:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m., all Amtrak operations will be handled at New York Penn Station including baggage, Red Cap services, access and egress to platforms.

This looks so damn good. Cant wait until they finally fix the rest of Penn.

Amazing, shades of King's Cross station in London.

Just heard the governor wants to expand the High Line to Moynihan. Posted some images of something like that here before.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/n...high-line.html

$60 Million High Line Expansion to Connect Park to Moynihan Train Hall
Gov. Andrew Cuomo will propose a 1,200-foot elevated pathway that will lead to the new Penn Station development, to be financed by public and private funds.

By Mihir Zaveri and Daniel E. Slotnik
Jan. 11, 2021

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For more than a decade, the High Line, an elevated park that stretches for nearly a mile and half through the West Side of Lower Manhattan, has been a symbol of ambitious urban renewal: a sleek, tree-lined walkway created from an old run-down rail line that cuts through once-industrial neighborhoods.

Before the pandemic, it had become a major New York destination for residents and out-of-town visitors alike, drawing about eight million people in 2019.

And now, the park, which showed how the city could reinvent itself and reimagine decaying spaces, is to be expanded.

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Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Sunday that the High Line will be extended to connect to the newly opened Moynihan Train Hall, a project that he said help spur development in the surrounding neighborhoods and boost an economy facing a deep crisis because of the pandemic.

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The new link, officials said, will provide an alternative way to access the new station, which serves Amtrak and the Long Island Railroad. It’s part of a broader package, including the new train hall and improvements sought for Pennsylvania Station, that seeks to improve the experience of taking mass transportation into and out of New York City.

A 1,200-foot elevated walkway will connect the existing High Line at 30th Street to a pedestrian path at Manhattan West, a mixed used development adjacent to the train hall.

State officials could not provide a specific timeline on when construction on the expansion would start or when they expected it to be complete.

Quote:

The state is also eyeing another possible expansion of the High Line to connect it north to Pier 76 on West 38th Street, where Mr. Cuomo wants to turn a Police Department tow pound into another park. The existing High Line travels 1.45 miles from 34th Street south to Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District.

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Quote:

State officials estimate the connector between the High Line and Moynihan Train Hall would cost about $60 million, though that figure could change.

Mr. Cuomo said one-third of it would be financed by the state; another third would come from Brookfield Properties, the developer of the mixed-use development next to the train hall; and the remainder would come from nonprofit groups and other private organizations.

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https://gothamist.com/news/long-over...st-walkthrough

"Long Overdue": Visitors Marvel At New Moynihan Train Hall In First Walkthrough

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BY STEPHEN NESSEN, WNYC
JAN. 2, 2021

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The public got its first chance to walk the halls of the new Moynihan Train Hall across from Penn Station Friday, two days after officials cut the ceremonial ribbon to the mammoth, $1.6 billion train hub.

For some visitors, the stop was merely intended to gaze at the enormous hall complete with an enormous skylight roof and Art Deco clock. Many were spotted craning their necks to take in the open skylight, pivoting their hips taking scenic, panoramic photos. Others searched for fresco portraits created by Kehinde Wiley, which are prominently displayed at the 33rd Street entrance, or the spacious and modern Amtrak lounge on the upper floor.

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Self-proclaimed train and travel nerd Christian Keesee, 59, from the Upper East Side was one of the first people at Moynihan Friday morning, declaring it a true gem for the city.

“This is a New York station made for New Yorkers, it’s fantastic,” he said. “The light, we need that, I don’t like being underground. I like being above ground, I like the sunshine, the seasons, I think it’s fantastic.” His partner Larry Keigwan, 48, added, “Long overdue, so amazing, it feels appropriate for the new year, and it’s inspiring, I really really like it."

Jess Allen, 45, from Chelsea, brought her 6-year old son Wolf to see the train hall. Overlooking the 225,000-square-foot space from the upper level, where a food court is expected to open later this year, Wolf marveled at the open space.

“The one thing is, it’s very very big, and it doesn’t get crowded like the small station, Penn Station,” Wolf said.

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With few people traveling Friday by train, children as young as 18 months scooted across the squeaky fresh marble floors. Tim Mulligan, 27, from the Upper West Side, brought his toddler to see Moynihan.

“It gives us something to be proud of and excited for when you’re coming into Penn Station, and that’s something that’s been missing for a long time,” Mulligan said. “I honestly dread coming to Penn Station, but now I’m looking forward to have a reason to take the train so I can experience it for real.”

https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/1/10/22...han-train-hall

Homeless Feel Unwelcome at Gleaming New Moynihan Train Hall as They Stick to Penn Station

BY JOSE MARTINEZ
JAN 10, 2021

Quote:

When a homeless man who goes by “Kush” first stood outside the new Moynihan Train Hall and peered in, he quickly realized he would be avoiding New York’s newest transit showpiece.

“I’ve seen it from the door and I know it’s not for me,” Kush said. “It’s very visible that it’s not for me, so I sleep somewhere else.”

Just after midnight last Tuesday, “somewhere else” was across Eighth Avenue in a corridor with several other homeless people on the upper level of Penn Station, alongside a shopping cart stuffed with garbage bags of aluminum cans.

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Inside the famously grungy rail hub, homeless New Yorkers told THE CITY that the Jan. 1 opening of the sparkling train hall for Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road customers doesn’t change a thing for them.

The hall closes daily between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. — the same hours of the overnight subway shutdown. The space has no public seating, except in areas limited to ticketed passengers.

“It’s a way of ostracizing,” Kush said. “It’s like they say, ‘Oh, not those people.’”

Quote:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state officials have touted Moynihan Train Hall as a transformative gateway to the city after decades of train travelers crowding inside the low-ceilinged Penn Station, which replaced the Beaux-Arts hub infamously demolished in the 1960s.

But advocates for the homeless say Moynihan Train Hall’s hours and seating limitations are designed to stem the migration of those who take refuge in the station across the street.

“I think it’s just another example of places being unwelcoming to actively homeless people or people who appear homeless,” said Giselle Routhier, policy director at the Coalition for the Homeless.

Quote:

The overnight closure of Moynihan Train Hall, which opened to praise of its design and skylit marble waiting area, is not an unusual one at transit facilities.

Grand Central Terminal is closed between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Lower Manhattan’s Fulton Center closes during the hours when there is no passenger service in the subway. Union Station in Washington is off-limits to the public from midnight to 5 a.m.

Among the city’s newest transit halls, the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, which opened in 2016, and the Fulton Center, which opened in 2014, have been criticized for a lack of seating in public areas.

Quote:

Additional seating at Moynihan Train Hall is planned once retail areas are completed, said Matthew Gorton, a spokesperson for Empire State Development Corporation, the state authority that oversaw the building conversion.

Gorton said the 255,000-square-foot train hall closes for maintenance and cleaning overnight — when 30 LIRR, NJTransit and Amtrak trains arrive and depart from Penn Station.

The decision to permanently close Moynihan Train Hall for four hours each night was made, Gorton said, by representatives from the Empire State Development Corporation, Amtrak, the MTA, the U.S. Postal Service and Vornado Realty Trust, which is developing 120,000 square feet of retail space inside the building.

Penn Station stays open around the clock, a draw for those without shelter, with many people spread out on floors or congregating near the turnstiles after the subway closes.

“On one side of the street, it’s alright for us to be there,” said Nolan Gonzalez, 33, a homeless man who was resting by the turnstiles closest to the newly remodeled subway entrance at 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue. “On the other side, it’s not alright.

Of the new Moynihan Station, he said: “Ultimately, this isn’t our house.”

This is ridiculous! Train station are not and should not be homeless shelters. Politicians need to address this issue and build some sort of housing and mental health facility since most of them have serious mental issues.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mimol742 (Post 9156965)

I agree, train stations shouldn’t be looked at as a place to accommodate the homeless. And I can remember when it wasn’t allowed at Penn. As the saying goes, that’s why we can’t have nice things.

• Video Link

^ where are those state troopers cuomo is always sneaking into town? let them and homeless outreach deal with it.

so moynihan hall looks like the renders to me.

no complaints, job very well done, on time and on budget.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnyc (Post 9157415)

Some preliminary renderings of what the expansion could look like...

https://patch.com/new-york/midtown-n...ent-cuomo-vows

Midtown West To Be Transformed In Major Redevelopment, Cuomo Vows
Gov. Andrew Cuomo laid out an ambitious plan Thursday to transform Midtown West through new housing and revitalized public transit.

Nick Garber
Jan 14, 2021

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Hundreds of units of affordable housing, an expanded Penn Station and a revitalized Port Authority Bus Complex are in store for the west side of Midtown in the coming years as part of an ambitious redevelopment, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.

The project will "form a new, vibrant, exciting district" covering an L-shaped, 140-acre area of the neighborhood, according to Cuomo, who announced the plans as part of his State of the State address.

Quote:

-14 new building sites being made available to create up to 1,400 units of affordable housing and 20 million square feet of retail

-Empire Station Complex, a major expansion of Penn Station that would add 40 percent more capacity through eight new tracks, as well as two new cross-river train tunnels through the Gateway Project

-Expanding the Javits Convention Center by 50 percent, or about 1.2 million square feet

-Replacing Port Authority Bus Complex with a new facility that adds commercial space and removes bus traffic

-A 1,200-foot extension of the High Line elevated park, running eastward through the Manhattan West housing complex and connecting to the new Moynihan Train Hall

-A second High Line extension heading north and connecting via a pedestrian bridge to Pier 76 on the Hudson River, which will become a public park once the NYPD abandons its tow pound there

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Another look at the renderings, which remind me somewhat of the JDS proposal. Whatever eventually gets built will somewhat resemble this as well, as have all of the renderings the governor has shown.

The JDS version...

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Renderings from the governor's proposal, which is more streamlined...the most important factor is that it will be open to daylight.

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Cuomo's New Deal

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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/a...rain-hall.html

Moynihan Train Hall Becomes a Destination: ‘This Gives Us Hope’
Pandemic-weary visitors are finding uplift in the new station, with its soaring expanses of glass and light. “Perfect quarantine activity,” one says.

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By Cara Buckley and Sean Piccoli
Jan. 21, 2021

Quote:

They whistled at it, paraded in it, posed against it, and, for a few moments, forgot themselves. They came to instill civic pride in their kids and remind themselves of all that New York could be. And they left with the satisfaction that comes when your city does something monumental, and does it right.

With its soaring expanses of glass and light, the new Moynihan Train Hall, which rises behind the colonnades of the Beaux-Arts James A. Farley Building across from Penn Station, has achieved the near impossible: It has left New Yorkers, 10 months into a harrowing pandemic, feeling transported and inspired.

On a recent weekend day, it also gave them something to do.

“Perfect quarantine activity,” said Mara Golden, who lives in Brooklyn, as she took in the sweep of the main concourse from a balcony last Saturday. Alongside her was her friend Samantha Stahl, who lives in Long Island City. Neither woman had gone out much during the pandemic, but had made an exception for the train hall, which Stahl said looked like an indoor park.

“This is our field trip,” Golden said. “Netflix, home, Moynihan, thank you.”

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Clara Lipson and her husband, John Ricker, arranged to meet up at the hall with two of their friends from the West Village, Alba Gallo and Sigrid Esser, for a special outing. As they stepped into the main hall, the friends, who are in their 60s and 70s, slowed to a stop, their chins tilting up. As they took in the great space, they murmured approvals to one another behind their masks.

Lipson said she found the hall, with its massive exposed steel trusses, architecturally beautiful, and a welcome nod to old New York at a time when stark glass slabs are rising all over town.

“It’s like an icon of the city,” she said. “Already.” Then announcements for departing trains and their destinations came booming over the broadcast system, echoing throughout the hall. Gallo shook her head.

“The announcement is always … ” Gallo began.

“So loud,” Lipson finished.

“You cannot understand a word they are saying!” Gallo said.

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Train announcements aside, the hall has been met with accolades. “It delivers on its promise, giving the city the uplifting gateway it deserves,” Michael Kimmelman, The Times’s architecture critic, wrote. A week after the opening, one Amtrak police officer was overhead calling it “the coolest place in New York right now.”

Across the hall from Lipson and her friends, Ben Manna, who is 24 and lives in Queens, was strutting back and forth. He was sporting a white hoodie from a clothing line he had just started up, as his friend John Padoginog, 25, from Long Island, took photos and video. They had spotted the hall on Instagram, and were drawn to it because they wanted to shoot Manna and his wares in a place that had clean lines and modern architecture. There were also few other public places in New York, let alone one of its transit hubs, that were as pristine. “This is pretty much the cleanest place in the city right now,” Padoginog said.

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David Levinson Wilk and Irene Schneeweis arrived from Brooklyn around midday with three kids in tow — two of them theirs, plus a friend — and the express purpose, Levinson Wilk said, of showing the youngsters great public works.

The couple’s older daughter, Luisa, is an aficionado of New York history, and wanted to see this new chapter of it for herself.

“A lot of cool things come from here,” said Luisa, who is 10. “So I thought it might be cool to see the transition of an old post office, transformed into a new nowadays train station.”

Her verdict? “I love it,” she said.

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Even in a pandemic, the hall has already become a destination for out-of-towners. Stevan Sandberg, a lawyer who lives in Rhode Island, carved out time to make a pit stop there on his drive to Washington. David Prieto, 32, a tourist from Colombia, was drawn to it after seeing photos on Instagram. Beneath “The Hive,” an art installation by Elmgreen & Dragset near an entrance on 31st Street, he took painstaking selfies of himself by carefully balancing his smartphone on the tip of his shoe. “It’s perfect, it’s beautiful, especially for a train station,” Prieto said, in Spanish.

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Some of Saturday’s visitors remembered the original, glorious Pennsylvania Station built by McKim, Mead & White, which was torn down in 1963 to make way for Madison Square Garden. Larry Rubin, 80, who paid a visit to the new hall with Sandy Davies, 79, said he passed through the old building when his family took him to Florida by train when he was a kid.

Rubin, who toted a long-lens camera to the new hall for the occasion, remembers the great heights of the old Penn Station, and the sense of “permanence and an optimism” he felt inside it. The new Moynihan Hall may not be quite as grand as what was lost, but Rubin said it was an indisputable improvement to the underground Penn Station across the street.

“To come into New York and come into this,” Rubin continued, “as opposed to coming to that warren, that basement across the street, I mean just the atmosphere — it’s so much better coming here.”

Over and over again, people said the opening of the new hall was perfectly timed.

“This gives us hope for when this period is over,” said Leeworth Robateau, 23, an artist who walks dogs for a living. “It seems like New York is preparing itself for a new world.”

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