Moynihan Station

69,240 people an hour at 32nd Street & Seventh Avenue entrance

2008-07-17T17:39:07Z

Tri-State Transportation Campaign reports that the 34th Street Partnership's annual pedestrian survey counted nearly 70,000 people entering and exiting Penn Station at 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue. That's 1,154 people a minute!

Anyone who has witnessed the flood of commuters pouring out of Penn Station knows how urgently pedestrian improvements are needed. Tri-State has proposed pedestrianizing 32nd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues (and changing the light cycle at 32nd Street and Seventh, which currently allots cars one minute, and pedestrians only 20 seconds.) Borough President Scott Stringer has suggested widening the sidewalks and striping bike and bus lanes on 33rd Street. Both of these suggestions are easy and low-cost and should be implemented now.

Neither of these improvements, however, will be enough to accommodate the 60% increase in ridership that NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak predict in the next two decades. As part of the Moynihan Station project, the City and the State must pursue a comprehensive pedestrian plan that includes, among other things:

Dedicating two traffic lanes on 34th Street to Bus Rapid Transit (a project that is currently in the works at NYC DOT and NYCT);
Reopening the Gimbel's Corridor, an underground corridor on 33rd Street between Penn Station and Herald Square;
Widening sidewalks on Seventh Avenue from Penn Station to Times Square.

US House passes Amtrak bill, includes possible funding for Moynihan Station

2008-06-12T12:39:32Z

The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly yesterday to give new life to Amtrak by authorizing $14.4 billion toward the development of a high-speed train between New York City and Washington DC. The bill also includes a $2.5 billion grant program that could be used to fund local projects, such as Moynihan Station.

"With a combination of Republicans and Democrats looking to the future, we have been able to just keep Amtrak's nose above water over these intervening years," Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., said. "Today we change that model."

The $14.4 billion authorized is far more money than Congress has ever authorized before. Republicans agreed to that amount in exchange for reviewing proposals by private companies bidding on the construction of the high-speed line on the Northeast Corridor. Private companies would also allow private companies to take over some of Amtrak's less successful lines. The Senate passed its version of an Amtrak reauthorization last year, which would authorize $10 billion in spending, but did not include privatization language.

The White House is threatening to veto any Amtrak legislation that doesn't make the agency more accountable, but both the House and Senate bills have passed by veto-proof margins. Backers of the bill have argued that supporting the national passenger railroad is the best way to address soaring gas prices.

See full articles in the New York Sun and the Observer.

Senator Schumer calls for City and State to focus on Moynihan Station

2008-05-12T17:37:56Z

At a Crain's breakfast this morning, New York's senior Senator Charles Schumer called for the development of the West Side of Manhattan, and argued that Moynihan Station and Access to the Region's Core (NJ TRANSIT's new terminal station at 34th Street) are the first step to getting there.

The Friends have said for a long time that since commercial development proceeds incrementally, a thriving Penn Station area is the key to unlocking the Far West Side.

Municipal Art Society asks: "What needs to happen next at Moynihan Station?"

2008-05-08T13:07:23Z

One of the co-chairs of the Friends of Moynihan Station, Municipal Art Society, will be hosting a public forum on Tuesday May 13, about "What needs to happen next at Moynihan Station?".

Panelists will include: Kent Barwick, president, Municipal Art Society; Richard L. Brodsky, Assemblyman, New York State Assembly; Anna Hayes Levin, chair, Community Board 4; and Daniel A. Biederman, president, 34th Street Partnership. The discussion will be moderated by Charles Bagli, reporter, The New York Times.

Tuesday, May 13, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m., at the Municipal Art Society.

$15, $12 MAS members. Reservations and prepayment required. Purchase tickets online or call 212 935 2075.

Port Authority to manage the Moynihan Station project with Chris Ward as its director

2008-05-02T18:36:22Z

The New York Observer reports that Governor Paterson is "fed up with the delays" at Moynihan Station and wants to put the project back on track by making the Port Authority the lead agency on the project, instead of the Empire State Development Corporation. In addition, the Governor is expected to announce this afternoon that Chris Ward, managing director of the General Contractors Association and a co-chair of the Friends of Moynihan Station, will be appointed Port Authority Director.

Overall this is good news for Moynihan Station. A move to the Port Authority, especially with Ward at its head, will infuse the project with new leadership and funding. (An ESDC Chair to replace Pat Foye, who resigned last month, still has not been announced.) There is legitimate concern, however, that the Port in the past has sometimes operated too secretively; the Friends will work with the agency and make sure it is held accountable.

NY Times editorial calls for decision-makers to finalize deal

2008-04-01T19:30:31Z

A New York Times editorial published on Saturday called for the major decision-makers involved in Moynihan Station -- Governors Paterson and Corzine, Mayor Bloomberg, Jim Dolan (the owner of Madison Square Garden), as well as Steve Ross and Steve Roth (the owners of Related and Vornado, the developers) -- to meet and hammer out a final agreement for Moynihan Station.

We believe that it is not too late to get Madison Square Garden back at the bargaining table, but the City and State will have to act quickly. We call on the City and State to make Moynihan their top priority after the budget and congestion pricing are finalized, hopefully this week. Active leadership from the public sector, coupled with a enforceable timeline, is our only chance to see this project through.

Full editorial on the jump.
]]> New York Times Editorial
March 29, 2008
Incoming at the Governor's Office

Gov. David Paterson of New York is being bombarded from all sides. The $124 billion state budget is due Monday at midnight. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal for congestion pricing needs to be approved within days. The plan to transform Manhattan's grimy Pennsylvania Station into Moynihan Station, a grand complex, is now in limbo, courtesy of the owners of Madison Square Garden. Mr. Paterson can win these battles, but none are going to be easy.

First, the budget. Like other states across the country, New York is facing a shortfall that is likely to only grow worse as the year continues. Even Albany's most selfish and self-absorbed legislators cannot deny that. The voters certainly know what is happening to the value of their homes and their 401(k)'s.

The agreement that Mr. Paterson has worked out with leaders increases spending up to 4.5 percent. That seems high given the rumbling on the horizon. The new governor should make clear to legislators that any effort to hold out for more would be seen as irresponsible by the voters. He must also prepare the lawmakers -- and the voters -- for more cuts to come as revenues decline.

The second big item on Mr. Paterson's list should be congestion pricing for the city. The Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, has agreed to let the matter go to the floor. Now it is up to Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson to quickly negotiate it into law. If they don't, the state could lose more than $354 million in federal financing at a time when every dollar counts.

The toughest job will be to revive efforts to replace an atrocity known as Penn Station with Moynihan Station -- a glorious new gateway to the city. The Dolan family, owners of Madison Square Garden, announced on Thursday that they were pulling out of negotiations and were planning to renovate the arena.

The timing of the announcement suggests that the Dolans are frustrated with the delays. They may well be taking advantage of what they see as confusion or weakness in the governor's office to bolster their negotiating position. Certainly there is confusion. After the departure of Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his chief administrator on this project, nobody is really in charge of final negotiations on design and funding.

One intriguing option, pushed most recently by Senator Charles Schumer, would be to let the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey take over the project. The Port Authority could fill the leadership vacuum and bring in some of its own finances.

Governor Paterson could show that he is in charge by calling a summit meeting of the big players -- Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey, Mayor Bloomberg, the Dolans, developers and executives of the Port Authority. This high-level group should hammer out a strategy to move forward on this important civic project before it really is too late.

Moynihan Station must be built

2008-03-28T20:14:49Z

The Friends of Moynihan Station urge Madison Square Garden, the City and the State, to return to the negotiating table and continue discussions.

Moynihan Station is the most important transit and economic development project of this generation. It will provide jobs in a time of economic uncertainty, build a great transit facility on both sides of Eighth Avenue for the half-million people who endure Penn Station every day, and stimulate the growth of the West Side into a major business district.

A new train hall must be built in the Farley building as Senator Moynihan envisioned. But the most significant transportation and economic benefits of the broader project can be realized only if the Garden is relocated.

No, Moynihan Station is not dead

2008-03-11T18:13:44Z

While the news of Governor Spitzer being caught hiring a prostitute is washing away discussion of most else right now, there has been other news in recently - some of which highlights just how much responsibility rests on the governor's shoulders.

After several reports in the past week about a possible break-down of political and economic will, the sense is Moynihan Station is on the brink of being added to the infamous list of "greatest projects never built."

Not so.

The project has been declared dead many times before - most recently in October 2006 - yet it keeps coming back. Why? Because it's a great project. Here New York has the opportunity to build a modern, state-of-the-art train station on the site of the existing "pit" of Penn Station; breathe new life into the historic Farley Post Office building by creating a new train hall in its old mail-sorting room; construct a terrific new Madison Square Garden; and revitalize an entire Moynihan District with 8 million square feet of new retail and office space. Most of all, we have an opportunity build a great train hall for the users of the nation's busiest rail station. ]]> The reason the project has been close to falling apart so many times before is that it is an incredibly complicated deal, with dozens of parties involved and an ever-changing real estate market. Empire State Development Corporation, a state entity, is the lead agency on the project. All of the region's transit agencies - MTA, NJ TRANSIT, Amtrak - are involved, as is the Port Authority. The City of New York will be responsible for shepherding the project through ULURP and making sure the air rights are exercised in appropriate locations. The Post Office operates, and will continue to operate, in the Farley building. The Joint Venture of Related and Vornado, along with Madison Square Garden, also have to be satisfied that the deal is in their financial interest. And overarching all of these particular parties' interests is the clock: as it ticks, construction costs rise and the real estate market becomes increasingly skittish, at least for the foreseeable future.

Lining up everyone's interests in a timely fashion will be something short of a miracle, but it is possible. And it is certainly too early to throw in the towel. A lot of progress has been made in the last year of negotiations, and the issues that remain to be resolved are contained and manageable. The main ones are:

#1 Design and Preservation of the Farley Building
Some changes to the historic fabric of the Farley building will be necessary to accommodate the new train hall and the arena. The roofline of the arena, for example, will necessarily be about 30 feet higher than the existing roofline. The Garden, however, is also seeking other changes to the building that are purely a matter of choice. Most notably, they are requesting that the west wall of the future train hall - now brick - be turned into a large glass wall so the Garden may be seen from the train hall itself. Preservation advocates point out that this is a historic wall, designed by Charles McKim one hundred years ago. (Sidenote: McKim's son-in-law, Charles Dyer Norton, founded RPA; his grandson "Kim" Norton was RPA's president for thirty years.) In addition, there is great concern that with three brick walls and one glass wall, all of the focus in the train hall would be directed toward the Garden, thereby taking away the sense that the train hall is primarily a public space, and not a forecourt to the Garden. Finally, replacing the brick wall with glass would be an expensive addition to the cost of the station, and would preclude the project from qualifying for preservation tax credits. What's the solution? The State needs to step in and support a great train hall design that preserves the integrity of the public space. The idea of a great public train hall is, after all, is the foundation upon which the project has been built.

#2 Location of New Retail and Office Development
As an incentive for building a train station, the developers will be rewarded with the right to build 8 million square feet of office, retail and hotel space. These air rights must be exercised within an area determined by the City, which for now is defined as approximately from 29th to 35th Streets and from Fifth to Eighth Avenues. The complication is that there are few large parcels of underdeveloped land within this area, and the community is justifiably sensitive to the impacts that massive new towers will have on neighborhood quality of life and character. Here, it's the City's turn to step in. They need to be actively working with Community Boards 4 and 5, preservation experts and the Venture to come up with a development plan that is acceptable to all.

#3 Funding
The cost of the entire station is officially estimated to be about $3.2 billion: $2.3 billion for Moynihan East (currently Penn Station), and $900 million for Moynihan West (the historic Farley building). Funding for the Farley building was secured by Senator Moynihan years ago. As for Moynihan East, out of the $2.3 billion price tag, the developers have committed $550 million. The State has committed $300 million, which he is willing to increase if the City will match his contribution. It is reasonable to expect that the federal government will be able to contribute somewhere between $500 and $800 million. Whatever funding gap is left will have to be filled with larger contributions from the developers, the City and the State. This gap is not insurmountable. Here, an exercise is joint statesmanship is required: the City ought to direct some of the Hudson Yards PILOT funding to Moynihan Station and the State should consider contributing a significant share of the proceeds from the sale of the land originally intended for a Javits expansion, to the project. They should also be pushing the Venture for a larger contribution.

Moynihan Station faces some real issues, but they are by no means insurmountable. Last week's scare persuaded Governor Spitzer to become, in his own words, "personally dedicated to making it happen." He has since met with the developers and the owners of the Garden; he is in active negotiation with Mayor Bloomberg, and laying out a strategy for federal funding. Spitzer's potential misdeeds only bring into relief how important his office is. It would be a double tragedy if any of this essential public business, such as the construction of Moynihan Station, was slowed or stopped by the current scandal.

This article was first published in the March 11, 2008, edition of Spotlight, RPA's newsletter.

State releases first picture of what Moynihan East might look like

2008-03-03T21:33:55Z

The Empire State Development Corporation has been reluctant to make public any renderings of what Moynihan Station would look like, particularly Moynihan East. Finally, a first glimpse of the grand new train station has been given to us. From this birds' eye perspective, it looks great. The devil, of course, will be in the details.

Gov. Spitzer is "dedicated to making it happen"

2008-03-03T16:00:21Z

In a recent interview on NBC, Governor Spitzer describes his dedication to Moynihan Station. We are delighted to see that the Governor is getting personally involved in negotiations with the Venture and Madison Square Garden, and hope that he will help to negotiate a final deal that benefits the public and satisfies all government and private entities involved.

The video can be seen here, and the transcript found here. The transcript is also included below.

PRESSMAN: Governor, we're facing tough times economically. Is the future project--the project called Moynihan Station, that is rebuilding Penn Station using the Farley Post Office between Eighth and Ninth Avenues as a nucleus of this, is it in jeopardy because of the economic situation?

Gov. SPITZER: Well, let me state it this way, first, so people understand, what we want to do, the structure that we're hoping to create is one that would permit us to rebuild Penn Station. I think most of us who use Penn Station either for LIRR or for Amtrak, New Jersey Transit would agree it is not the entry point to New York City that we should have. It sort of has a down emotional effect on people when they enter through Penn Station. We want to rebuild Penn Station.

]]>
Gov. SPITZER: Right, right.

PRESSMAN: ...to me. He said, you know, that we had destroyed a landmark.

Gov. SPITZER: Right.

PRESSMAN: We had destroyed the old Penn Station structure.

Gov. SPITZER: Right, right. And we want to rebuild it so that it'll be magnificent, more iconic. We want to move Madison Square Garden, so that there's a new Garden. We can build a few million square feet of commercial space, which we need. And all of this is a jigsaw puzzle that has to fit together.

It is made a bit more difficult by the current economic circumstances where, obviously, the credit markets are difficult, but it's a three dimensional jigsaw puzzle. We need to work with private developers, the owners of the Garden, several transportation networks. The city and the state are willing to put in a significant amount of capital. We're working very hard. Mayor Bloomberg and I, together, on one side, transportation agencies on another, private developers on the third. We have to make this happen for it to come to fruition. It would be a fitting and appropriate landmark to be named after one of, I think, our great government elected officials in the history of the United States, Pat Moynihan, who was an intellectual. He was--he was also clever. He was witty, he took the long view. This would be the right way to remember him.

It is not easy to make it happen, but I just want folks to know I am dedicated to making it happen. The mayor is dedicated to making it happen. The folks, Steve Roth--Steve Roth, the private developers who control some of the real estate are dedicated to making it happen. And the owners of the Garden are working with us. It's not easy, but we want to make it happen.

PRESSMAN: But they seem to be a little lukewarm right now, the owners of the Garden.

Gov. SPITZER: Well, you know, this is one of those--any business transaction is one where people are hesitant until it fits together. When it fits together, suddenly it crystalizes.

PRESSMAN: Charles Bagli in The Times wrote that it's endanger of collapse, the whole project.

Gov. SPITZER: Well, I think that's an overstatement, certainly. It is difficult to make the pieces fit, but we're going to work very hard. If you think about the future, think about the 20 year, 30 year time horizon that we care about, it is essential that we rebuild Penn Station. We need a new Madison Square Garden. We need more commercial space. All of this fits together the right way. There's enormous value created when we do it as currently envisioned. We should be able to finance it. We should be able to get the pieces in order. We're working on it.

PRESSMAN: Your pledge is that it will be built.

Gov. SPITZER: Well, I don't want to pledge that it will be built. That sounds a little...

PRESSMAN: Pretentious.

Gov. SPITZER: ...certain and pretentious. I will pledge that we're working very hard to get it built and that, as I said, we will lead by example in terms of dedicating state capital to get there, in terms of rebuilding a Penn Station that clearly isn't adequate, just as we're rebuilding our major infrastructure throughout the city and the state. We're dedicated to this. Just a couple of days ago I spent hours meeting with the right parties and the people who are involved. You can't pledge an outcome. We can pledge hard work, and that's what I've done.

Newsday editorial: Get Moynihan Station back on track

2008-02-29T19:21:27Z

We had a great editorial in Newsday today. Take a read.

Get Moynihan Station back on track

February 29, 2008

Near the end of his life, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan doubted aloud that New York City could build big anymore. Ironically, it's his proposed namesake transportation hub, Moynihan Station, that's now raising the question.

Because of the down-trending economy and disagreement among principals, many of the city's ambitions seem to be crumbling: the Javits Convention Center expansion, Atlantic Yards, Hudson Yards. If there is one that deserves saving, it's Moynihan Station. State and city officials need to put their shoulders into this project and push.

Building Moynihan Station involves converting most of the historic Farley Post Office into a train station to ease the 550,000-person-a-day traffic across the street at Penn Station. The project would trigger further developments, including relocating Madison Square Garden and erecting offices west of Ninth Avenue.

This is a great deal for Long Islanders. First, commuters will be able to move off trains more quickly. Also, more jobs will be created in western Midtown, eliminating the need for many LIRR riders to backtrack east to Grand Central Station. An easier commute has to be good for Island home values.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer and economic czar Pat Foye met Wednesday with the private interests - the Garden and developers Vornado and Related. All are hedging over how to fill a $1-billion funding gap.

Spitzer has also met with New York's delegation in Washington. But he needs to sell the project by painting a broader vision of how it can become a national economic development boon, rejuvenating rail travel from Boston to D.C. to Chicago. Only then will legislators from Ohio or Pennsylvania vote yes, and help prove Moynihan wrong.

Tri-State Campaign Launches Campaign for Pedestrian-Friendly Penn Station Area

2008-02-22T22:23:53Z

Although the issue of how to relieve pedestrian congestion on the streets around the future Moynihan Station has not yet been fully addressed by the planning entities involved, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a member of the Friends, has launched a campaign to remind us of the importance of this issue.

The campaign, called "Penn for Peds!," calls for opening to pedestrians only 32nd Street between Seventh and Sixth Avenues, a street that is already hardly used by cars. This sounds like a wonderful idea, as is Borough President's Scott Stringer's plan to widen sidewalks and provide bike lanes on 33rd Street from Herald Square to the Hudson River. Both ideas could be implemented now, even before Moynihan Station is built!

To read more about Penn for Peds!, visit TSTC's website:
http://blog.tstc.org/2008/02/15/we-have-a-winner-and-that-winner-has-a-name/
http://blog.tstc.org/2007/12/14/the-most-obvious-idea-ever/

State, City, Developers Negotiating Funding

2008-02-12T14:05:35Z

The Empire State Development Corporation, the state agency leading the Moynihan Station project, has made public the results of the initial negotiations between the state, the city and the developers. ESDC recently revised the estimated cost of Moynihan East to between $2.2 and $2.3 billion (excluding the cost of building the retail parts of the station). Moynihan West in the Farley Building will cost $900 million (excluding the cost of building the Garden). This comes to a grand total of $3.2 billion.

Here's who's offered what so far:
- Vornado and Related, the developers, are offering a combined $550 million;
- New York State has offered $300 million;
- It is expected that New York City will match the state's $300 million.

This only adds up to $1.15 billion, leaving $1 billion still unfunded. The federal government will hopefully chip in around $800 million. The remaining $200 million will have to be funded with additional contributions from the developers, the city, the state and possibly New Jersey, since the train station will greatly benefit New Jersey commuters.

Governor Spitzer promises that he is still committed to Moynihan Station, that he will not scale back the plans for lack of funding like he recently did at the Javits Convention Center.

NY Observer Editorial: Spitzer must move on Moynihan Station

2008-02-06T16:03:51Z

The New York Observer published a wonderful editorial in support of Moynihan Station this morning. The gist: Spitzer needs to make the project a bigger priority.

Moynihan Station Running Late

February 5, 2008

If Governor Eliot Spitzer would like to shore up his rocky standing with the public, one master stroke would be to pull the feuding and unraveling forces that surround the plans for Moynihan Station together and get work started on what would turn out to be one of the city's most enduring and impressive public work projects.

As it stands, the vision of Moynihan Station--which currently involves building a new Penn Station within the magnificent Beaux-Arts Farley Post Office building, as well as relocating Madison Square Garden there and building two soaring office towers--is in danger of being dismissed by New Yorkers as another terrific idea that will never see daylight because it is so mired in political, financial and personal turf squabbles. And indeed, the number of players in this game makes consensus about as likely as a bear hug between John McCain and Rush Limbaugh: In addition to the governor and the Empire State Development Corporation, there are the developers, Stephen Ross and Steven Roth; the railroads (New Jersey Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, Amtrak and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority); the preservationists (the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the Municipal Art Society); the Dolans, owners of Madison Square Garden; and the Bloomberg administration.

But overcoming such obstacles is precisely what greatness is made of. It's worth noting that the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan would instantly recognize the delays and red tape that have prevented his gift to New York from being realized. During his last term as senator, Moynihan was a constant critic of the slow, unwieldy and discouraging way in which New York approached public-works projects. He would talk about the short amount of time it took to build the George Washington Bridge, just four years from breaking ground until the first car drove across. The senator couldn't understand why his home state seemed unable to grasp golden opportunities to accomplish large, worthy projects.

Both Moynihan Station and ground zero prove that his analysis remains relevant. And the clock is ticking.

The current Penn Station is, needless to say, an unsightly, slovenly embarrassment. It is the nation's busiest commuter rail terminal, the gateway to New York City for 500,000 riders each day, and yet there is nothing memorable or even agreeable about its dingy, claustrophobic corridors.

Federal money for the multibillion-dollar Moynihan Station project depends on the city, state and the interested parties to get their act together. Governor Spitzer has an opportunity to create a new landmark for the city, and a new legacy for himself.

News Roundup (Dec 15-31, 2007)

2008-01-02T15:08:44Z

- Dec 28, New York Times Editorial, Miracle on 32nd Street
- Dec 26, Newsday Editorial, New Penn Station should serve Long Islanders, too
- Dec 21, New York Metro, 'Operation Santa' may collide with transit hub
- Dec 19, Metropolis Magazine, Madison Square Station
- Dec 17, Gotham Gazette, The big stories of 2007 that did not happen