Moynihan Station, New York Loves Business

FOR RELEASE: IMMEDIATE
10/23/2007

STATE BEGINS PUBLIC REVIEW FOR NEW MOYNIHAN STATION

Release of Scoping Document Launches Initial Stage of Public Review

The Empire State Development Corporation announced today that the State has initiated the public review process for the Moynihan Station project, a sweeping public transit plan to dramatically enhance transportation links in and around Penn Station. The plans are set out in a scoping document that was released to the public today.

The redevelopment includes building a new Moynihan Station within the James A. Farley Post Office, rebuilding the existing Penn Station to improve commuter flow, and constructing a new Madison Square Garden within Farley’s western Annex. This will ease crowds and substantially increase access at Penn Station. Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, Long Island Rail Road, and New York City subway passengers will be able to make connections throughout the larger complex. These public transportation improvements will be subsidized by private development that will serve as a catalyst for commercial growth on Manhattan’s West Side.

The redevelopment’s chief goal is to improve transportation conditions in and around Penn Station, a basement-level maze remaining after the 1963 destruction of the legendary McKim, Mead & White original. The development will prepare Penn Station to meet the needs of the 550,000 passengers who pass through it each day.

When completed, the rebuilt and expanded greater Penn Station complex will enhance the passenger experience via an improved environment at track level and straightforward platform access leading to commuter and rail concourses with wider corridors, higher ceilings, and natural light. Today, Penn Station is America’s busiest passenger transportation facility, handling more passengers than Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports combined.

As the first step of the public review process, ESDC today released an environmental “scoping document.” It outlines plans for the new transportation center and the private development that would accompany it, either in a “Moynihan Station Sub-district” in the surrounding neighborhood, or on the site of the current MSG.

ESDC will hold a public scoping session on Thursday, December 6th, and members of the public are invited to comment on the scope until Monday, December 17th. The public will also have additional opportunities to comment as the project moves forward.

The scope is the first step in a public approval process that will include a General Project Plan and a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, both of which will be available for public comment. The City of New York must also review elements of the project under its Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. A portion of the plan must also be approved by the State Public Authorities Control Board.

ESDC Chairman/Downstate Patrick Foye said: “We invite members of the public to share their thoughts as we work with our partners to shape one of the most ambitious public works projects ever undertaken in New York. The transportation improvements at the new Moynihan Station, and the commercial development that will accompany these enhancements, will benefit the entire State for generations to come.”

New York City Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding Daniel L. Doctoroff said: “New York City’s major train station - the busiest in the nation - should be a grand, world-class gateway that anchors a vibrant hub of commercial activity, and today we’ve taken a big step toward making that happen. The potential for the underutilized area around and west of the current Penn Station has been talked about for decades, and now, with the development of the far West Side and its rail yards, the extension of the number 7 subway line, and the creation of a phenomenal transportation complex all underway, we are on the cusp of transforming it into one of New York City’s most vibrant districts.”

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said: “Today brings Senator Moynihan’s vision for a new gateway into New York City a step closer to reality. Keeping the Big Apple competitive and on the cutting edge means we need state of the art transportation infrastructure. This plan does just that and we need to do everything we can to move it forward with all due speed.”

Alex Kummant, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amtrak, said: “From the moment passengers step on the platform to the moment they see the natural light cascading through the soaring ceilings, we believe this new station – as currently envisioned – will alter the way people experience rail travel in New York. We look forward to working with our project partners, elected officials, community leaders, and riders to ensure the Project’s legacy for the next century.”

MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot G. Sander said: “The MTA is pleased to be working with ESDC and the City on a project that promises to both modernize the nation’s largest rail hub and rejuvenate the strategic western sector of the nation’s largest central business district. The future of Penn Station is critical to the MTA’s aspirations for greater regional connectivity, and this project is an historic opportunity to enhance access to our train levels, enlarge our waiting areas, decongest our corridors, and create a grander space and a new surface presence. We look forward to working with our operating partners to shape the new configuration of the station both east and west of Eighth Avenue.”

Richard Sarles, NJ TRANSIT Executive Director, said: “We are pleased that this critical transportation project is moving forward. The new Moynihan Station and NJ TRANSIT’s new 34th Street station as part of the Access to the Regions Core (ARC) project will give us room to accommodate forecasted ridership growth and provide New Jersey commuters with better access to train platforms and the street. Both projects ensure continued mobility and promote economic growth for the region.”

Port Authority Executive Director Anthony Shorris said: “The Moynihan Station redevelopment will solidify Penn Station’s place in the resurgence of west midtown. Coupled with the ARC tunnel, which will double rail capacity under the Hudson, it stands as one of the region’s most significant investments in new transit infrastructure in a generation. We look forward to working with ESDC and our other partners in and out of government on this project.”

New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn said: “It’s very exciting to hear that the Moynihan Station project is finally getting underway. This redevelopment is a great opportunity to recreate the magnificent cathedral that was old Penn Station, while bringing a major transportation hub into the 21st Century. I look forward to reviewing the project and finding the best plan for New Yorkers, especially those in the neighborhood I represent.”

Vishaan Chakrabarti, President of the Moynihan Station Venture, said: “We applaud the State and City, as well as Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, the MTA, and the Long Island Railroad for advancing this extraordinary project. We look forward to working collaboratively with all involved parties to realize this singular opportunity to completely remake one of the world’s busiest transit hubs while revitalizing the blocks that surround the station.” Moynihan Station Venture is a joint venture of Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust.

New York State Senator Thomas Duane said: “A new, larger, more accessible combined Moynihan and Penn Station is the right thing to do for the hundreds of thousands of commuters coming from New Jersey, Long Island, and around New York City. Moynihan Station will be the gateway to the anticipated development on the West Side, and I commend the State, the City, and the Venture for their progress and vision. I look forward to reviewing the scoping document and I thank ESDC for its initiative on this complex, but necessary, project.”

Providing enhanced transportation facilities at the Penn Station complex and energizing the surrounding community was a vision of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Maura Moynihan, co-chair of Friends of Moynihan Station and daughter of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, said: “Today we can be more hopeful than at any time for the fulfillment of my father’s vision. After years of false starts and delays, we cannot let optimism slip. It’s time to build Moynihan Station well and build it now.”

Robert D. Yaro, President of the Regional Plan Association, said: “This is one of the most significant and complex redevelopment projects in the history of the City and the most important civic and infrastructure project of our generation. Moynihan Station will be an economic engine for the region, but we have a lot of work to do. We look forward to working with the State, developers, and the City to ensure the historic integrity of the Farley building is preserved and that the transportation facilities and public spaces are the absolute best they can be.”

Farley’s original 1913 courtyard – used by the United States Postal Service since it was built – will be transformed into a new train hall about the size of the main train hall at Grand Central Terminal. The hall will feature a new arched glass roof permitting daylight into the station. Both Farley’s iconic exterior and the United States Postal Service’s historic postal lobby atop the monumental stairs will be preserved.

Under the plans, a new Madison Square Garden will be built in Farley’s western Annex, which, once operational, will permit the demolition of the existing Madison Square Garden between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The project would be subject to a General Project Plan that would be approved by the ESDC. Also, subject to that General Project Plan, ESDC would transfer more than 2 million square feet of unused development rights from the Farley building to potential sites in the Penn Station area.

Once the current MSG is demolished, Penn Station will be rebuilt into the treasure it once was, with an enhanced experience at track level leading to wider corridors, higher ceilings, and – for the first time in 40 years – natural day light. The scoping document describes the four major principles that will guide the design of the rebuilt Penn Station: (1) passengers will be able to access all levels from all corners of the station; (2) there will be a clearly identifiable central hall and meeting place; (3) passengers will move around more easily in day-lit, wider, high-ceilinged corridors; (4) it will be easier for passengers to reach streets, subways, railroad concourses, platforms and adjacent commercial development. All of the project partners are participating in a Design Task Force that will yield conceptual station plans. Cost estimates will follow a final design.

Under the scope, the New York City Planning Commission would create a special permit for a zoning bonus associated with transportation improvements to Penn Station, building upon provisions of the City’s Hudson Yards Rezoning in 2005. Following the City’s Public Review Process (ULURP), development of up to approximately 5.4 million square feet could be permitted, including a 2.7 million sq ft bonus, provided that MSG is relocated and significant transportation improvements are made.

The scope includes two options for the disposition of this square footage; the creation, by special permit, of a 1.1-million-square-foot, predominantly retail development on the site, and the dispersion of the remaining 4.3 million square feet of development rights into a new zoning sub-district surrounding the Penn Station complex; or the entire bonus and as-of-right development remaining on the Penn Station site in the form of two new towers over a retail and commercial podium. The first option would minimize construction within and over the operating railroad station.

A map of the proposed sub-district is included in the scope. It runs roughly from 35th Street to the north, to between 28th and 29th Streets to the south, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues to the east, and between Eighth and Ninth Avenues to the west.

The project would be completed in two phases. Phase I (2008 to 2011) includes the development of the new train station at Farley, the construction of the new MSG, the redevelopment of the block between 33rd and 34th Streets and Seventh and Eight Avenues, and potential utilization within the sub-district of some development rights transferred from the Penn Station block. One and Two Penn Plaza will remain in place. Phase II (2012 to 2018) includes the construction of a new Penn Station, and the development of the remaining development square footage. The public train station portion of the project is expected to be funded by the private developers and by contributions by the State, City and Federal governments. Preliminary estimates indicate the project is expected to generate billions of dollars in new tax revenues, thousands of permanent jobs and construction jobs

The project is led by ESDC in partnership with The City of New York. Project constituents include Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Long Island Rail Road, the Transit Authority, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the United States Postal Service, Madison Square Garden and a joint venture of Vornado Realty Trust and Related Companies.

Members of the public can review the scoping document at the Empire State Development Corporation’s web site by visiting http://www.nylovesbiz.com/moynihanstation.

In March, the Empire State Development Corporation acquired the Farley building from the United States Postal Service for $230 million.

Empire State Development is New York’s chief economic development agency, encompassing business, workforce and community development. ESD also oversees the marketing of “I LOVE NY,” the State’s iconic tourism brand. For more information, visit www.nylovesbiz.com.

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