Prince Andrew Unveils New Pennsylvania Station-Farley Complex

[bobtehpanda]

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't there already money set aside in the capital program for a Penn Station expansion (I believe they referred to it as the West End Concourse)

 

Not as much as they're proposing to spend now.

[Lance]

A thought experiment if you will...

 

Following Governor Cuomo's proposal to convert the old Farley Post Office building into a new hub for Amtrak and the Long Island Railroad, the people at the NY Times consulted Vishaan Chakrabarti, who founded Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, for his take on the project and to answer whether or not Cuomo's pitch goes far enough. Chakrabarti says the plan does not and proposes a new terminal in the location of the present Madison Square Garden. However, unlike previous ideas that would build a new train hub there, Chakrabarti's idea calls for re-purposing the existing skeleton of the Garden and converting the building into an open-air station, evoking some of the design from the original Penn Station.

 

Read more: Source

[Union Tpke]

A thought experiment if you will...

 

pic.jpg

Following Governor Cuomo's proposal to convert the old Farley Post Office building into a new hub for Amtrak and the Long Island Railroad, the people at the NY Times consulted Vishaan Chakrabarti, who founded Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, for his take on the project and to answer whether or not Cuomo's pitch goes far enough. Chakrabarti says the plan does not and proposes a new terminal in the location of the present Madison Square Garden. However, unlike previous ideas that would build a new train hub there, Chakrabarti's idea calls for re-purposing the existing skeleton of the Garden and converting the building into an open-air station, evoking some of the design from the original Penn Station.

 

Read more: Source

 

That is an amazing plan! I fully agree that the Garden has to be moved. Under this plan it won't be too far away. I love how the map of NYC is on the ceiling. I still can't believe that the hideous PATH station would cost more than this!

[Via Garibaldi 8]

A thought experiment if you will...

 

pic.jpg

Following Governor Cuomo's proposal to convert the old Farley Post Office building into a new hub for Amtrak and the Long Island Railroad, the people at the NY Times consulted Vishaan Chakrabarti, who founded Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, for his take on the project and to answer whether or not Cuomo's pitch goes far enough. Chakrabarti says the plan does not and proposes a new terminal in the location of the present Madison Square Garden. However, unlike previous ideas that would build a new train hub there, Chakrabarti's idea calls for re-purposing the existing skeleton of the Garden and converting the building into an open-air station, evoking some of the design from the original Penn Station.

 

Read more: Source

Oh please.  They spent several hundred million dollars updating MSG.  Who is supposed to be paying for all of these pie in the sky ideas?  If it's with private funds, sure spend, but with taxpayer funds, we need accountability and an understanding of what we're getting.

[rbrome]

Phase I of Moynihan Station (the West End Concourse) is not just budgeted, it's almost done. 

 

 

Photos of the nearly-finished West End Concourse:

https://goo.gl/photos/THF2UTcsET9Q9J9a7

[bobtehpanda]

Oh please.  They spent several hundred million dollars updating MSG.  Who is supposed to be paying for all of these pie in the sky ideas?  If it's with private funds, sure spend, but with taxpayer funds, we need accountability and an understanding of what we're getting.

 

Other sports teams move to new arenas in less time, and it's not as if the Dolans don't have money. Now that there's a new arena in town, it's a matter of time before the only thing the Garden has going for it is the name.

[MassTransitHonchkrow]

You got me at Prince Andrew @Union_Tpke

 

???? Eric Shields | #MassTransitHonchkrow ????

THE Hudson Valley's essential Fare-blazer ????

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Other sports teams move to new arenas in less time, and it's not as if the Dolans don't have money. Now that there's a new arena in town, it's a matter of time before the only thing the Garden has going for it is the name.

What new arena is that? While the Dolan's have money, a new arena was looked into before hundreds of millons was spent upgrading MSG. It would be crazy to spend that much money to then want a new arena, but if it is private money then sure.

[bobtehpanda]

What new arena is that? While the Dolan's have money, a new arena was looked into before hundreds of millons was spent upgrading MSG. It would be crazy to spend that much money to then want a new arena, but if it is private money then sure.

 

And by the time we actually get to demolishing MSG and revamping Penn, how out-of-date and depreciated is that $1B investment going to be? We have Barclays, MLS is looking to build either one or two stadiums in the five boroughs, etc.

 

The crux of the problem is this: MSG and Penn Plaza's placement essentially prohibit reconfiguring or expanding access to most of the platforms at Penn. Even with the Farley complex, only 20% of the platforms can actually extend that far west to utilize the new space. We won't get any meaningful increase in circulation or access unless that is fixed.

[rbrome]

20%??

 

In fact, eight of the 11 platforms already extend well under Farley. The new West Concourse is under Farley, connects to those eight platforms, and is almost finished. 

[bobtehpanda]

20%??

 

In fact, eight of the 11 platforms already extend well under Farley. The new West Concourse is under Farley, connects to those eight platforms, and is almost finished. 

 

Whoops, read these excerpts from the article and I thought it was talking about the platforms;

 

 

 

 

The present track and platform layout was largely established by 1906 and cannot be substantially changed. Platforms can’t extend farther west because tracks begin their slope under the Hudson River.

 

 

 

 

Critics of this plan will focus on the difficulty of moving Madison Square Garden. But it would be much more difficult to move the center of the platforms serving the station from beneath the Garden to under Farley. This is why under the governor’s plan, approximately 80 percent of Penn Station commuters will continue to use the tracks and platforms under the Garden — which means that any effort to improve their experience significantly has to start with a radical rethinking of that site.

[rbrome]

 

Whoops, read these excerpts from the article and I thought it was talking about the platforms;

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, that's poorly worded. The platforms can't extend farther west than they already do. But most of them don't need to be extended. They're already under Farley. It's not ideal -- they're not centered under Farley, of course, and the northernmost and southernmost ones don't reach -- but most of them do reach. 

 

Check out the diagrams for Moynihan Phase I. (http://esd.ny.gov/Subsidiaries_Projects/MSDC/Data/GPP/GPPAttachmentA.pdf)