A Regional Rail Center: Moynihan East and West

Although Penn Station is the nation’s busiest train station, it is also surely one of its least attractive or functional. Every day, 350,000 people are forced to experience its congested platforms and stairs, navigate its confusing maze of hallways, find their way to poorly marked subway entrances, and suffer its depressing interior spaces and lack of amenities.

A quick visit to Grand Central across town is enough to be reminded of how uplifting and convenient the traveling experience can be.

Penn Station’s many failures are regrettable because the station lies at the nexus of a regional network that is growing rapidly and expected to continue to grow further. NJ TRANSIT’s (NJT) Trans-Hudson Express, the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) East Side Access, new ​“through” service and other possible transit improvements will greatly increase the number of people traveling from, to and through Penn Station – if the capacity is available.

Fortunately, we have the opportunity to create a great new Penn Station that will meet these challenges. Plans are on the table to transform the historic Farley Post Office building across Eighth Avenue into a world-class intermodal transit facility, relocate Madison Square Garden to the Post Office Annex at the Ninth Avenue end of the Farley Building, demolish the antiquated arena that currently sits over and confines Penn Station, and build a grand new train station on that site.

This new complex would be named in honor of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, whose vision for the Farley Post Office as a grand and welcoming train station initiated the process now underway.

The scope of benefits that could result from a new Moynihan Station Complex is expansive. They can be classified into six major categories:

1. The transformation of Penn Station into the new Regional Rail Center.
2. Creation of great new public spaces and a gateway to New York City and the region.
3. The establishment of a transit-oriented development district following the precepts of Regional Plan Association’s ​“access tree.”
4. A passenger-friendly station design that is uplifting, simple to understand, easily traversed, and that provides capacity for additional passengers.
5. Integration of all of the elements of the district, with improved street level and below-grade circulation systems linking transportation systems and destinations in the district.
6. More efficient, more productive and less costly train operations.

The Venture

A joint effort by Vornado Realty Trust and Related Companies – has been working with Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Development Authority’s Moynihan project team, Manhattan City Planning, Amtrak, NJT, and the MTA’s LIRR, Metro-North and NYC Transit divisions to complete preliminary designs for both the redesigned Farley Post Office building (Moynihan West) and the brand-new train station on the existing Penn Station/MSG site (Moynihan East). This report discusses the proposal in light of the six benefits described above. The Venture’s plans have great potential to achieve these benefits, but care must be taken to make certain that the developers’ plans do not compromise the primary function of the Moynihan Station complex as a grand train station servicing the entire metropolitan region and beyond.