What happened to Moynihan Station?

From the NY Times:

The owners of Madison Square Garden have been given an ultimatum: Make life more bearable for the hundreds of thousands of commuters who shuffle daily through the corridors of Pennsylvania Station crammed beneath the arena or face eviction.

The New York City Planning Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to extend the Garden’s operating permit for 15 years, during which time the arena’s owners could either make plans to move or substantially improve the transportation hub.

“The best possible outcomes for the city would be a relocated Madison Square Garden coupled with a rebuilt Penn Station,” said Amanda M. Burden, the city’s planning commissioner.

The vote was the latest chapter in a continuing campaign that has been waged on and off for the last 50 years, ever since the original Penn Station was torn down. The destruction of that elegant station prompted a landmarks preservation movement that has saved numerous historical treasures in the city and across the nation.

Cosmetic surgery for Moynihan Station

From the NY Post:

Officials yesterday approved a $147 million contract to begin work on Moynihan Station — the start of an expected $1 billion face lift that includes cosmetic upgrades but no new tracks at teeming Penn Station.

Construction is expected to begin on Phase 1 by summer, with an estimated completion date of 2016.

That $270 million phase — funded mostly by the feds — will add two street-level entrances and station improvements to make navigating Penn Station easier.
What it won’t do is add new track space to the delay-plagued Penn, the busiest transit hub in North America.

Even the more ambitious and as-yet unfunded Phase 2 — which will bring retail, restaurants and a new Amtrak waiting area into what is now the James A. Farley post office — won’t add new tracks.

Seeking federal funds for local projects

From the Daily News:

The wish list for federal funding of local and state construction projects includes:

- High-speed Amtrak rail lines to Albany from the city and Buffalo.

- The second phase of the Second Ave. subway line linking the Bronx to Brooklyn.

- Completion of the long-planned Moynihan train station as a major transit hub.

- Rapid modernization of the city’s subway system.

- Underground freight tunnel to bring cargo into the region by rail.

- A complete overhaul of the Tappan Zee Bridge.

- Train linking Penn Station directly to JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports.

- An upgraded air-traffic control system at the three airports, cutting down on delays and increasing capacity.

Stimulus funds for Moynihan Station

From the NY Post/AP:

Sen. Charles Schumer says the federal government will award $83.3 million for a project to transform New York City’s main post office building into a rail gateway.

Schumer said Tuesday the funding will come from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

The senator said the project would create thousands of jobs and kick-start development across the west side of Manhattan.

The new station is to be named after the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

It’s intended to increase capacity and restore some grandeur to the city’s main rail center. The Beaux-Arts landmark that was home to the original Penn Station was demolished in 1963. It was replaced by the Madison Square Garden arena.

And now, folks, you know what your federal stimulus money was really designated for - politicians' pet projects. As the Observer points out:

Taken in isolation, this first phase does not seem a project worth the significant money being devoted to it, and now the concern becomes whether the second phase will indeed ever happen.