Federal Government Awards $83M to Begin Phase One of Moynihan Station Project
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced recently that the Moynihan Station project has been awarded an $83.3 million federal TIGER grant, which will allow the first phase of the long-awaited project to move forward.
“Congratulations to Sen. Schumer for securing $83 million in stimulus funding to begin the Moynihan Station project,” said Conservancy President, Peg Breen. “Hopefully this will be the first step to ensure that Moynihan Station is finally constructed, which will benefit the economy and rail passengers by creating a modern train facility within beautiful Farley Building.”
Amtrak, having signed a Memorandum of Understanding with New York State, has been awarded the grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which marks the final component of financing for the first phase of the project.
Phase One—estimated to cost approximately $267 million—includes building two new entrances to Penn Station’s platforms from West of Eighth Avenue through the corners of the Farley Building, doubling the length and width of the West End Concourse, providing 13 new “vertical access points” (escalators, elevators and stairs) to the platforms, doubling the width of the 33rd Street Connector between Penn Station and the West End Concourse, as well as other critical infrastructure improvements including platform ventilation and catenary work.
Construction should begin before the end of the year and be completed by 2015. The first phase is a necessary pre-requisite to Phase 2, which will include a new train hall in the Farley Building.
The Landmarks Conservancy has supported Moynihan Station since the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan first proposed turning the landmark Farley Post Office into a train station in 1993. The Conservancy helped found “Friends of Moynihan Station,” a group of preservation, planning, civic and elected officials, in 2005.
We continue to work with State officials and the Friends of Moynihan Station to make sure that Moynihan Station is constructed and that the landmark building is protected.
