Officials Announce Groundbreaking of Moynihan Station
Gov. Paterson and the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s wife Elizabeth Brennan Moynihan and daughter, Maura Moynihan
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer
Mayor Bloomberg
Federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
Officials announced Phase One groundbreaking of Moynihan Station at 2 pm today at the steps of Farley Post Office. Federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined Gov. Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, and Congressman Jerrold Nadler among others in announcing that vital underground work that will expand the connection from the current Penn Station into tracks under Farley as well as new ventilation and exits will begin shortly. The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s wife Elizabeth Brennan Moynihan and daughter, Maura Moynihan, also took part in the ceremony.
Conservancy President Peg Breen attended the event.
“The long-awaited start of Moynihan Station is welcome news for New York and the whole northeast corridor. Now we need to ensure that the design of the future train hall proves worth the wait,” said Breen.
The Landmarks Conservancy has been at the forefront of the push for Moynihan Station since Sen. Moynihan first proposed turning the landmark Farley Post Office into a train station in 1993.
Phase One is fully funded, including $83.3 Million in Federal stimulus money. It is scheduled for completion in 2016 because track work must be done around train schedules. Work must now begin on the design and funding for the train hall. The hall should combine the best elements of the landmark post office with modern amenities. Work on the train hall can occur simultaneously and is estimated to take four years from the start date.
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.
The Conservancy remains committed to ensuring that a project worthy of New York and the late Senator’s memory is eventually achieved. The Conservancy helped found “Friends of Moynihan Station,” a group of preservation, planning, civic and elected officials, in 2005.
