[NYC4Life]

Updated 10/18/2010 09:19 PM
Officials Break Ground On Long-Anticipated Moynihan Station Project
By: John Mancini

http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beat...ation-project/

The mayor, governor, and other officials broke ground Monday on the long-anticipated Moynihan Station project, on the 100th anniversary of the long-gone original Pennsylvania Station. NY1's Transit reporter John Mancini filed the following report.

Monday's birthday party for Pennsylvania Station was bittersweet, as it marked the 100th anniversary of a place that no longer exists, as the first classical-style building was unceremoniously demolished in 1964.

"There's a part of me that wishes someone would come along and take away what we're standing in right now and say 'OK, we made a great mistake. Let's start from scratch and rebuild it,'" said author Lorraine Diehl. "It's tantalizingly sad in a way, because I wish that everyone here who didn't see the building would have at least one opportunity to walk through it."

That dream is not coming true any time soon, but at Eighth Avenue, officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for a project to transform Farley Post Office into an expanded Penn Station that will link the subway system and Amtrak trains in a massive new facility.

"With newer subways, and wider passageways and a modern security upgrade, it will create a safer and more comfortable experience for all travelers," said Governor David Paterson.


The current exterior of the Penn Station.

The improvements are also expected to ease access for people with disabilities.

The $257 million concourse project, which received $83 million in federal stimulus money, will have the Farley Post Office entrances feed a complete Moynihan Station, which is named for late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. The west-end concourse is expected to ease congestion for all rail and subway passengers at the nation's busiest terminal.

"We're also, for the first time, going to have direct access from that platform into Moynihan Station. So all of that work is needed to be done in advance of the second phase of building the grand inter-city train hall," said Timothy Gilchrist of the Moynihan Station Development Corporation.

No one banked the additional hundreds of millions dollars needed to complete the whole station, whose design echoes the station demolished in 1964.

Riders who battle the Penn Station crowds every day say they welcome any relief.

"Rush hour, when I get on the train to go home, it often takes five or 10 minutes just to get from station level to platform level. It's ridiculous," said a commuter.

The new entrances are expected to be completed by 2016, but there is no estimate for when the entire Moynihan Station will be finished.

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