The renovation of Penn Station, the busiest US passenger rail facility, shouldn’t include a proposed new $2 billion entrance, according to the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
(Bloomberg) — The renovation of Penn Station, the busiest US passenger rail facility, shouldn’t include a proposed new $2 billion entrance, according to the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Janno Lieber, the MTA’s chief executive officer, is trying to steer public officials away from developing such a “grand” entryway on 8th Avenue that would require purchasing and then demolishing a 5,600-seat theater in Madison Square Garden. The MTA, which runs New York City’s subways, buses and commuter rails, estimates the proposed entrance would cost about $2 billion, Lieber said Wednesday during a monthly board meeting.
The new entrance is included in a draft proposal to modernize Penn Station put together by a subsidiary of ASTM Group, an Italian consortium that designs and builds transportation infrastructure and also manages toll roads. Former MTA head Pat Foye is now chief executive officer at ASTM North America, which is pushing the plan.
ATSM didn’t respond directly to a query on whether they agree with the MTA’s $2 billion estimate for the new entry. The firm’s design, construction and finance details are expected to come in June.
Penn Station serves six subway lines, MTA’s Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit while Amtrak uses the connecting Moynihan Train Hall, a new terminal that opened in January 2021.
About 70% of people exiting Penn Station are leaving on the 7th Avenue side of the terminal while 15% are exiting at 8th Avenue, Lieber said during the meeting. Renovating Penn Station shouldn’t include the proposed entrance given its cost and the fact that travelers and commuters can use the new Moynihan entryways at 8th Avenue, he said.
“It makes no sense to invest a couple billion dollars, most of which will go to Madison Square Garden,” Lieber said.
Officials estimate modernizing and expanding Penn Station will cost $7 billion, with the federal government covering half that amount and New York and New Jersey splitting the remaining costs. Earlier plans included rehabilitating the surrounding neighborhood with new office towers, but with more people working from home, Governor Kathy Hochul has had to scale back those proposals.
“ASTM’s plan is the full realization of the governor’s vision, incorporating and exceeding the objectives of the 2021 master plan,” ASTM spokesperson Chester Soria, said in a statement. “Commuters and neighbors deserve an ambitious and realistic plan for the full block that addresses the needs of the station’s various stakeholders.”
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