Governor announces Moynihan Train Hall

Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled plans for the transformation of the James A. Farley Post Office at 8th Avenue and 34th Street in New York City into a world-class transportation hub at a press conference at the Association for a Better New York on Sept. 27. The governor announced the selection of a developer-builder team of three companies, Related Companies, Vornado Realty LP, and Skanska AB to redevelop the Farley building, creating the new 255,000 square foot Moynihan Train Hall which will house both Amtrak and LIRR ticketing and waiting areas, plus 112,000 square feet of retail space and state-of-the-art security.

The new LIRR space will be wider, higher and brighter, and a new concourse connecting Penn Station to the Moynihan Train Hall, spanning all LIRR tracks along 8th Avenue will be built.

In addition the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will redesign both LIRR-connected subway stations – the A,C,E and 1,2,3 at 34th Street.

The governor said last January, Empire State Development, the MTA, LIRR and Amtrak issued a request for proposal (RFP) for the redevelopment of Farley building. RFP responses were received in April and reviewed by a panel of private and public experts from the real estate, construction, design and finance fields.

Related, Vornado, and Skanska have all provided guarantees to complete the $1.595 billion project on time and, as part of the agreement, will pay the state a total of approximately $600 million in recognition to the value of developing the Farley Building. Empire State Development will put in $570 million toward the project and $425 million will come from a combination of Amtrak, LIRR, Port Authority and federal government sources.

RVS will redevelop the entire Farley Post Office building to include approximately 700,000 square feet of office and retail space.

Construction is set to begin this fall, with completion scheduled for 2020.

An RFP for the LIRR concourse was issued on Sept. 27. The construction of the LIRR concourse and the subways should be concluded before or at the same time as the new train hall according to a press release from the governor’s office. Construction of the new LIRR corridor will cost an estimated $170 million. The redesign of the LIRR portions of Penn Station will significantly improve passenger circulation.

Amtrak and Empire State Development will partner on a future RFP to redevelop the Amtrak portion of Penn Station

“New York’s tomorrow depends on what we do today, and the new Moynihan Train Hall will be a world-class 21st century transportation hub. With more than twice the passengers of all JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports combined, the current Penn Station is overcrowded, decrepit, and claustrophobic,” said Cuomo. “This is not a plan – this is what’s going to happen. People are going to walk through this station and recognize that this is New York.”

The Moynihan Train Hall will include shops and restaurants located under a new skylight. The building will increase floor space 50 percent from Penn Station, and service riders on the LIRR, Amtrak and eventually accommodate passengers from Metro-North. A total of nine platforms and 17 tracks will be accessible from the train hall.

The project will use union labor and has committed to fully meet the Governor’s goal of 30 percent of the work completed by minority and women-owned businesses.

The first phase of construction, to create a concourse west of Eighth Avenue, is nearing completion. The concourse will provide direct access to LIRR and Amtrak tracks and will connect the future Moynihan Train Hall to Penn Station underground via 33rd Street.

Commuters, who have been relegated to a basement under Madison Square Garden, will finally see progress after 20 years of waiting. The present station is a mecca for the homeless.

Why 20 years?

Cuomo said there were two “conceptual flaws” with the plans of 20 years ago. The plan was that for the state to buy the Farley building and rebuild it as a train hall, then move Amtrak over, but leave the LIRR in the old Penn Station.

“That was the first premise,” Cuomo said. “Second premise was, there was no plan to fix Penn Station, so what would you have accomplished? You would have taken Amtrak from Penn and -- by the way -- Amtrak owns Penn. You would put Amtrak in a new facility across the street, and you would leave the Long Island riders in the old Pennsylvania Station. Now, I love Amtrak, but that makes no sense. That makes no sense for anyone. Amtrak has about 30,000 riders. Long Island Rail Road has 230,000 riders. Why would we build a new facility, invest all that money, and then the LIRR stays exactly where it was in Penn and we have no capacity to fix Penn? That made absolutely no sense, but that was the deal from 20 years ago.” Cuomo added that the old plan had the state building the new facility. “You know the most important thing in life to know?” Cuomo asked. “It is to know what you don’t know. You know what government doesn’t know? Government does not know how to build.”