The busiest train station in the Western Hemisphere was the victim of years of neglect
Photo: Andrés Correa Guatarasma / Courtesy
Penn NYC, the busiest train station in the Western Hemisphere, was the victim of years of decay and neglect. But at the end of the problematic 2020, was finally able to show a renewed face in some of its areas.
The interior of the new Penn Station train hall, integrated into the historic Farley Post Office building at 8 Av , across from Madison Square Garden, was unveiled during an opening ceremony on Wednesday and opened to the public yesterday January 1.
“Moynihan Train Hall” features a waiting area with skylight of 550 thousand square feet and 255 feet in height. After an investment of $ 1.6 billion dollars will serve as a hub for Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road ( LIRR), beside 700 1,000 square feet of commercial and dining space, authorities detailed.
Inside, travelers have access to the huge open room, with escalator connections to the train platforms and the classic area of 7th Avenue, which is still undergoing renovation.
The new great atmosphere with a “sky roof” offers a stark contrast to the dimly lit cavernous underground tunnels that Governor Andrew Cuomo once compared to Dante’s “Inferno.”
“We build this as a statement of who we are and who we think we are and who we aspire to be,” Cuomo said when opening the room on Wednesday. “Is it bold, yes, because that is the spirit of New York and that is the statement we want to make to our visitors, to our children and future generations. ”
In addition to its skylight , the Moynihan room features installations by artists Kehinde Wiley, Stan Douglas and Elmgreen & Dragset. “Wiley’s piece is a trio of stained glass images showing breakdancing against a blue sky background, while the artistic duo Elmgreen & Dragset contributed a model of an upside-down skyscraper hanging from the ceiling,” he described New York Post.
Penn Station was built in the decade of 1960 after the much maligned destruction of its predecessor Beaux-Arts building. The new space is named after the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who in the decade of 1990 came up with the idea of reusing the office building of post office for public transportation.
Before the pandemic, Penn Station attended an average of 600 thousand passengers in business days, according The New York Times.
“Penn Station’s transformation has been talked about for decades, but nobody managed to get anything done, so last year we announced a plan to address the outdated, inefficient and potentially dangerous conditions of the station ”, said Governor Cuomo in 2019.
A whole room “open” to the sky / Photo: Andrés Correa Guatarasma
A historic day in our city.
With the opening of Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station and the new East End Gateway at 7th Avenue and 80 rd Street, @ LIRR customers are finally getting world-class facilities befitting the greatest city in the world.
@ NYGovCuomo got it done. pic.twitter.com/OWlvKtQDKz– MTA. Wear a Mask. Stop the Spread. (@MTA) December 30, 2020
New York’s new # moynihantrainhall brings art (including # photography ) to Penn Station via The @ PublicArtFund – a great organization to get to know if you’re interested in commission opportunities https://t.co/RJ3vfPFqyL via @ nytimes # NYC
– APA New York (@apanewyork) January 1, 142352
The sky is the limit for new Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station https: / /t.co/P1cRkGfUhw pic.twitter.com/3WgK2CNIYC
– New York Post Metro ( @nypmetro)
December 30, 2021
