Moynihan Train Hall is an expansion of
Pennsylvania Station
Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated Penn Station) is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to several of its grand passenger terminals. Several are still in active use by Amtrak and other transportation services; others have been ...
, the main intercity and commuter rail station in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, into the city's former main post office building, the
James A. Farley Building
The James A. Farley Building is a mixed-use structure in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, which formerly served as the city's main United States Postal Service (USPS) branch. Designed by McKim, Mead & White in the Beaux-Arts style, the structur ...
. Located between
Eighth Avenue,
Ninth Avenue, 31st Street, and 33rd Street in
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
, the annex provides new access to most of Penn Station's platforms for
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
and
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...
passengers, serving 17 of the station's 21 tracks. The hall is named after
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York in the United States Senate from 1977 until 2001 and served as an ...
, the
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
who had originally championed the plan. The building's exterior resembles that of
the original Penn Station; both buildings were designed by the same architect,
McKim, Mead & White
McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...
, in the
Beaux-Arts style.
The complex was built to alleviate congestion in Penn Station, which saw 650,000 daily riders before the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
in 2020. The $1.6 billion renovation restored the Beaux-Arts Farley Building, a designated landmark, and added a central atrium with a glass roof. Moynihan Train Hall includes retail space, a 320-seat waiting area, and public restrooms. The hall is decorated with three artworks: a ceiling triptych named ''
Go'', a group of photographic panels, and a sculptural group.
The project had been in consideration since the early 1990s, with the first blueprints made public in 1993. However, several previous plans had failed because of a lack of funding and logistical difficulties. Amtrak withdrew as a tenant in 2004, but returned after the Farley Building was sold to the New York state government in 2006. A first phase, involving an expansion of a concourse under the Farley Building, started in 2010 and was completed in June 2017. Construction of the train hall proper commenced in 2017, and it opened January 1, 2021.
Description
Moynihan Train Hall occupies part of the James A. Farley Building, a Beaux-Arts structure designed by McKim, Mead & White alongside the
original Penn Station, and opened in 1914 as New York City's main post office. The building occupies the block across Eighth Avenue from the current Penn Station facilities, and is bounded by Eighth Avenue to the east,
31st Street to the south, Ninth Avenue to the west, and
33rd Street to the north.
The James A. Farley Building is a
New York City designated landmark
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The train hall occupies a portion of the post office's mail sorting hall,
while most of the rest of the building is leased by
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
as office space.
Components
![Moynihan Train Hall waiting room, Apr 18 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Moynihan_Train_Hall_waiting_room%2C_Apr_18_2022.jpg)
The complex was designed by
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...
(SOM). It consists of a passenger concourse underneath a tall glass
skylight
A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes.
History
Open ...
.
A four-faced clock, measuring tall and more than across each of its sides, is at the center of the passenger concourse.
The space contains three permanent artworks.
Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley (born February 28, 1977)["Kehinde Wiley"](_blank)
''Artnet''. Retrieved October 13, 2010. i ...
designed a stained-glass triptych on the ceiling, named ''Go''. Along an stretch of wall,
Stan Douglas
Stan Douglas (born October 11, 1960) is an artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Douglas' film and video installations, photography and work in television frequently touch on the history of literature, cinema and music, while examining t ...
's photographic panels, ''Penn Station's Half Century'', depicts passengers of the original Penn Station.
At the 31st Street entrance,
Elmgreen & Dragset
Michael Elmgreen (born 1961; Copenhagen, Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (born 1969; Trondheim, Norway) have worked together as an artist duo since 1995. Their work explores the relationship between art, architecture and design.
Elmgreen & Dragset liv ...
created a sculptural group, ''The Hive'', that depicts skyscrapers hanging from the ceiling.
The hall also includes of retail space.
Moynihan Train Hall contains passenger facilities for Amtrak, its primary tenant. These include a ticketing and baggage area, a waiting lounge, conference spaces, and a balcony above the hall.
Part of the Moynihan Train Hall project is an expansion of the preexisting West End Concourse under the eastern side of the Farley Building.
Located under the grand staircase of the post office, the concourse was widened to serve nine of Pennsylvania Station's 11 platforms, and new street entrances were opened from the southeast and northeast corners of the Farley Building.
The concourse, which was constructed in 1994 as part of a renovation to the LIRR's section of Penn Station, provides access to the seventeen tracks served by Moynihan Train Hall.
Its walls are decorated with depictions of New York City buildings and landscapes. The West End Concourse expansion, which was completed in 2017, was the first part of Moynihan Train Hall to be completed.
Service
Because of the layout of the platforms, Moynihan Train Hall serves 17 of Penn Station's 21 tracks, which are used by Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Amtrak. Platforms serving the southernmost four tracks, used by NJ Transit, could not be extended to the new facility. Moynihan Train Hall provides access to all LIRR and Amtrak service, with customer service facilities for both railroads. The existing station house continues to provide alternate access to the LIRR and Amtrak, particularly at night, when Moynihan Train Hall is closed.
Plans also call for the facility to serve the
Metro-North Railroad
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...
, the main commuter railroad for New York City's northern suburbs, when the
Penn Station Access
Penn Station Access is a public works project underway by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City. The goal of the project is to allow Metro-North Railroad commuter trains to access Penn Station on Manhattan's West Side, usi ...
project is complete.
The completion of the hall increased the amount of space in Penn Station's concourse by 50%.
The train hall will alleviate congestion in Penn Station, which saw 650,000 daily riders before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
When the hall opened, officials anticipated it to be used primarily by Amtrak passengers, which accounted for about five percent of daily ridership prior to the pandemic. The majority of LIRR, NJ Transit, and
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
customers were expected to continue using the old passenger facilities, which are closer to the adjoining subway stations at
Seventh Avenue and
Eighth Avenue.
Planning
1990s
In the early 1990s, U.S. senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan began championing a plan to rebuild a replica of the historic Penn Station, in which he had shined shoes during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
.
He proposed rebuilding the station in the Farley Post Office building.
At the time, existing facilities at Penn Station were overcrowded and the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
(USPS) was planning to relocate much of its operations from the Farley Post Office.
Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum
HOK, formerly Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum and legally HOK Group, Inc., is an American design, architecture, engineering, and urban planning firm, founded in 1955.
As of 2018, HOK is the largest U.S.-based architecture-engineering f ...
(HOK)'s plan, which was made public in May 1993, called for a 120-foot parabolic arched roof, rising above a passenger concourse within the post office's old sorting room. Moynihan sought $100 million for the project, and U.S. president
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
included $10 million in federal money for the station as part of a bill to provide relief for victims of the
1994 Northridge earthquake
The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a moment 6.7 (), blind thrust earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 4:30:55 a.m. PST in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles.
The quake had a duration of approximately ...
.
However, the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
would not approve any more funding, and the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
only approved $40 million, bringing the total amount raised to $50 million. Opponents, including representatives
Frank R. Wolf and
Harris W. Fawell, said that the funds had not been authorized in Amtrak's budget, and expressed concern that the city and state might not be able to raise matching funds. The $10 million appropriation was used to fund design work, and the additional $40 million was used to buy supplies and renovate existing facilities.
The
Empire State Development Corporation
Empire State Development (ESD) is the umbrella organization for New York's two principal economic development public-benefit corporations, the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the New York Job Development Authority (JDA). T ...
, an agency of the New York state government, created the Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Corporation in 1995 to oversee the purchase and renovation of the building. The corporation, led by a bipartisan group of New York state government officials, initially had $300,000, but raised $670 million within ten years. Officials of the corporation were reviewing plans by 1998, when the
Clinton administration
Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...
included $11.7 million for the project in a budget submitted to Congress. By that March, officials had formed an agreement in which the USPS would retain its operations in part of the Farley Building while giving over another portion to the new train hall. Three months later, the Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Corporation selected SOM and
Parsons Brinckerhoff
WSP USA, formerly WSP, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Parsons Brinckerhoff, is a multinational engineering and design firm with approximately 14,000 employees. WSP stands for Williams Sale Partnership. The firm operates in the fields of strategic con ...
to lead the engineering team that would design and build Penn Station facilities within the Farley Building.
An agreement on the general layout was reached in December 1998. At the time, the train hall was projected to open in December 2002 at a cost of $315 million.
David Childs
David Magie Childs (born April 1, 1941) is an American architect and chairman emeritus of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. He is the architect of the new One World Trade Center in New York City.
Early life and education
Chi ...
of SOM presented another design for the Farley train hall.
Childs's design would have involved demolishing the post office's sorting room floor and replacing it with a multilevel concourse that allowed views of the tracks. A skylight would have been installed; the original trusses of the roof would have been preserved, and the remainder of the roof would have been taken apart. An intermodal hall would have extended from 31st to 33rd Street, bisecting the Farley Building.
One wall of the intermodal hall would have included a curved
truss
A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure.
In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
measuring high.
The Farley project was expected to cost $488 million; the city government only offered $25 million, and New York City mayor
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
expressed concerns that the project could encounter cost overruns. Congress provided $60 million in additional funding later in 1999. U.S. senator
Charles Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
had unsuccessfully sponsored a bill that May, which would have formally named the facility "Daniel Patrick Moynihan Station", in honor of his colleague who was retiring.
2000s
By February 2000, the budget had increased to $788 million, of which $188 million would be required for upgrades to existing infrastructure. At the time, construction was expected to start later the same year. In early 2001, the
Staubach Company and
Fraport
Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide,[joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...]
; the start of construction had been pushed back yet again to late 2001. The USPS had pledged a $150 million contribution to the Farley project, but was facing financial problems by June 2001. Following the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
in 2001, the USPS halted funding for capital improvements to its facilities, although the agency maintained that it was still interested. The USPS facility at
90 Church Street
90 Church Street is a Federal government of the United States, federal office building in lower Manhattan in New York City. The building houses the United States Postal Service's Church Street Station, which is responsible for the 10048 (ZIP cod ...
in Lower Manhattan had been damaged by the attacks, and many of 90 Church Street's operations had been moved to the Farley Building. Negotiations resumed in mid-2002. By that October, the New York state government had arranged to buy the Farley Building from the USPS for $230 million, with the USPS vacating much of the building.
Amtrak was intended to be Moynihan Station's main tenant, but withdrew in 2004, citing that it could not pay rent at the new station because of financial shortfalls. State officials continued to search for partners in the train hall development, and had selected two anchor retail tenants by that October. Another plan was presented by
James Carpenter Design Associates, in collaboration with HOK, in 2005. The Carpenter and HOK plan simplified the concourse into a single level and added numerous skylights, reminiscent of the original Penn Station. This plan would have involved turning part of the post office building into a hotel with windows overlooking the interior courtyard.
NJ Transit would have replaced Amtrak as the main tenant. This plan for Moynihan Station would have cost $818 million and contained for rail uses, for retail, and for the post office.
The Empire State Development Corporation selected
Vornado Realty Trust
Vornado Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust formed in Maryland in 1982, with its primary office in New York City. The company invests in office buildings and street retail in Manhattan.
Investments
Notable properties owned by the ...
and
The Related Companies
The Related Companies, L.P. is an American real estate firm in New York City, with offices and developments in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco, Abu Dhabi, London, São Paulo and Shanghai. Related has more than 3,0 ...
to operate the retail space. The project would be constructed in conjunction with the
Access to the Region's Core project, which would have expanded NJ Transit service under the Hudson River. The
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
, a longtime friend of Moynihan, expressed support for Moynihan Station.
The Farley Post Office building was sold to the New York state government in 2006 in the hope that Moynihan's vision would be realized. Support also grew for "Plan B," an expansion of the project's scope, under which
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
, which is directly atop Penn Station, would have been moved to the west flank of the Farley Building, allowing Vornado Realty to construct an office complex on the current Garden site. By 2009, the Garden's owner
Cablevision
Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...
had decided to
renovate its current location instead of relocating the arena. That September, after months of negotiations involving Senator
Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
, New York governor
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A ...
, and PANYNJ Executive Director
Christopher O. Ward
Christopher Owen Ward (born 1954) is an American civil servant who served as executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from May 22, 2008, until November 1, 2011, and as New York City Department of Environmental Protecti ...
, Amtrak agreed to return as a potential tenant. In exchange, some aspects of the design were changed, and Amtrak was to take a part of the retail revenue.
Construction
Phase 1
![Moynihan Train Hall - Phase 1 Penn Station - Interior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Moynihan_Train_Hall_-_Phase_1_Penn_Station_-_Interior.jpg)
![New LIRR PO entrance 2017-06 jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/New_LIRR_PO_entrance_2017-06_jeh.jpg)
Some $169 million provided by federal and state sources was already in place when a
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant arrived in early 2010.
This money was used to pay for the $267 million Phase 1; most of the remaining funds came from $83.4 million of stimulus money from the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...
. Phase 1 consisted of the two fully-designed elements of the plan: an extended underground West End Concourse for the Long Island Rail Road and two entrances to the existing Penn Station platforms through the Farley Building on Eighth Avenue.
A
groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...
ceremony took place on October 18, 2010.
In May 2012, the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
(PANYNJ) announced that a $270 million contract for the first phase, including the concourse expansion under 8th Avenue, had been awarded. The $147.7 million construction contract for the expansion of the existing concourse was awarded to
Skanska
Skanska AB () is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden. Skanska is the fifth-largest construction company in the world according to ''Construction Global'' magazine. Notable Skanska projects include renovation of t ...
USA Civil Northeast.
The work consisted of adding stairs, escalators, and elevators to the concourse.
The West End Concourse was projected to be completed in September 2016, and was projected to meet that schedule as late as one month before that deadline. However, the opening was delayed because the New York state government decided to upgrade digital information boards and other technology in the concourse just before it was completed. The West End Concourse finally opened in June 2017.
Phase 2
Phase 2 consists of the new train hall in the fully renovated Farley Building. In December 2011, Amtrak said that it would likely be unable to afford increased operating costs if it should re-locate. The unsuccessful application left the project unfunded. The agency redeveloping the building was being folded into the PANYNJ in the belief that it can better handle and oversee reconstruction as well as provide or secure money.
When it was first proposed, Phase 2 was expected to cost up to $1.5 billion. In January 2016, New York governor Cuomo announced plans for a combined Penn-Farley Post Office complex, a project estimated to cost $3 billion. SOM announced in a press release that it had decided to resume work on the train hall. At that time, the project was renamed Moynihan Train Hall. By September 2016, Phase 2 was expected to cost $1.6 billion. The project was to be built by Skanska AB, and the retail space would be developed by The Related Companies and Vornado Realty.
The companies signed a contract in June 2017.
Vornado and Related leased the building for 99 years, and in exchange, contributed $630 million to the hall's construction.
Public sources raised the remainder: $550 million from the New York state government, and $420 million from Amtrak, the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a federal grant.
Blue Bottle Coffee stand in Moynihan Station, seen in 2021In August 2017, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the train hall. The work involved the restoration of the Farley Building's facade, protected as a city and national landmark.
State officials aimed to complete the project by the end of 2020, under the leadership of Moynihan Station Development Corporation president Michael Evans. The state continued to push for a timely completion despite last-minute requests and budget issues, and the stresses of the project may have led Evans to kill himself in March 2020. In spite of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Moynihan Train Hall was completed by the end of that year.
An
opening ceremony
An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event. for the hall was held on December 30, 2020.
Upon completion of the project, New York governor
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
called it a "monumental accomplishment".
The train hall opened to the public on January 1, 2021, two days after the opening ceremony. By early 2022, many of the shops in Moynihan Train Hall's food hall had opened.
In addition, Amtrak opened a
craft brewery
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
within its portion of the hall in January 2022.
In May 2022, the project received the
American Council of Engineering Companies' Grand Conceptor Award, for the year's most outstanding engineering project. In June 2022,
Open House New York
Open House New York (OHNY) is a cultural nonprofit organization that holds annual Doors Open Days. It was founded in 2001 in New York City.
Organization
Open House New York (OHNY) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that hosts educational pro ...
conferred its 2022 Open City Award to the Moynihan Train Hall Team, which includes primary client
Empire State Development
Empire State Development (ESD) is the umbrella organization for New York's two principal economic development New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporations, the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the ...
in a public-private partnership with
Vornado Realty Trust
Vornado Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust formed in Maryland in 1982, with its primary office in New York City. The company invests in office buildings and street retail in Manhattan.
Investments
Notable properties owned by the ...
, architect
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...
,
WSP USA
WSP USA, formerly WSP, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Parsons Brinckerhoff, is a multinational engineering and design firm with approximately 14,000 employees. WSP stands for Williams Sale Partnership. The firm operates in the fields of strategic con ...
(construction management),
Skanska USA (construction),
Severud Associates
Severud is a multinational structural engineering consulting firm headquartered in New York City, with additional offices in London and Paris. The firm has worked on over 12,000 projects around the world.
History
Severud was founded in the year 1 ...
(structural engineering),
Jaros, Baum & Bolles Jaros, Baum & Bolles (JB&B) is an American MEP (Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) and consulting engineering firm founded in 1915 by Alfred L. Jaros, Jr. and Albert L. Baum. The firm is best known for high-rise projects, including One World Trad ...
(MEP/FP/IT/Telecom), Langan (civil/geotechnical engineering) and several other specialty designers and contractors.
High Line extension
On January 11, 2021, Cuomo announced a proposal to connect the
High Line
The High Line is a elevated park, elevated linear park, greenway (landscape), greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the West Side (Manhattan), west side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's ...
linear park, two blocks west, to the Moynihan Train Hall. The connection would include a spur, which would run along 30th Street and
Dyer Avenue
Dyer Avenue is a short, north-south thoroughfare in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, located between Ninth Avenue and Tenth Avenue. It is primarily used by traffic exiting the Lincoln Tunnel. Dyer Avenue runs bet ...
to
Manhattan West
Manhattan West is a mixed-use development by Brookfield Properties, built as part of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment. The project spans 8-acres and features four office towers, one boutique hotel, one residential building, of retail space an ...
, across Ninth Avenue from the train hall. At the time of the spur's announcement, it was estimated to cost $60 million, but was not funded.
As of September 2021, the project was funded and was projected to be completed in early 2023.
Criticism
The Moynihan Train Hall has been criticized in some quarters for its lack of public seating in the main areas.
Only the ticketed waiting areas contain seats, so passengers in the main hall sometimes sit on the floor while waiting for trains.
In the year after the Moynihan Train Hall opened, several politicians, including U.S. representative
Jerrold Nadler
Jerrold Lewis Nadler (; born June 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who since 2013 has served as the U.S. representative for , which includes Manhattan's west side and parts of Brooklyn. A member of the Democratic Party, he is in ...
and Manhattan borough president
Mark Levine
Mark Andrew LeVine is an American historian, musician, writer, and professor. He is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine.
Education
LeVine received his B.A. in comparative religion and biblical studies from Hunter ...
, advocated for the MTA and Amtrak to install seats in the main portion of the hall.
The hall's lack of large central signage, and the fact that it did not actually increase track capacity, have also been criticized.
See also
*
Gateway Program (Northeast Corridor)
The Gateway Program (originally Gateway Project) is the planned phased expansion and renovation of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) rail line between Newark, New Jersey and New York City, New York. The right-of-way runs between Newark Penn Station ...
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Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad
The New York Tunnel Extension (also New York Improvement and Tunnel Extension) is a combination of railroad tunnels and approaches from New Jersey and Long Island to Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan.
It was built by Pennsylvania Rai ...
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Transportation in New York City
The transportation system of New York City is a network of complex infrastructural systems. New York City, being the most populous city in the United States, has a transportation system which includes one of the largest subway systems in the wo ...
References
Further reading
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External links
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Moynihan Station Development CorporationMoynihan Train Hall, Amtrak
{{Portal bar, New York City, Trains, Architecture
2021 establishments in New York City
2020s in Manhattan
Amtrak stations in New York (state)
David Paterson
Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)
Empire State Development Corporation
Hudson Yards, Manhattan
Pennsylvania Plaza
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings
Transport infrastructure completed in 2021