By Philip Newman
The first phase of the long-delayed Moynihan railroad station is in sight with a $270 million project to provide greater access to railroad passenger platforms and passageways.
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey said it will provide two new entrances to the Farley Post Office on 8th Avenue in Manhattan with new stairways, elevators and escalators.
And the project will make it easier for Long Island Rail Road commuters to get to their trains.
“There’s going to be more access points, there’s going to be less crowding on the subways and Long Island Rail Road and other platforms and, frankly, it will be a safer experience,” said Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye.
Work was scheduled to begin later this year and be completed within four years. The complete Moynihan station, costing more than $1 billion, is to be finished in 2016.
The plan is to convert the Farley Post Office, which somewhat resembles the original Pennsylvania Station, into the new Moynihan station a block away.
It was the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan who came up with the idea of converting the Farley Post Office into a new rail station. He died in 2003.
The original Pennsylvania Station, which opened in 1911, was a magnificent structure designed by the renowned architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White. Parts of it resembled the Roman Baths of Caracalla. It was demolished in 1964, with Penn Station moved underground.
The original station’s destruction led to passage of the Landmarks Preservation law.
The Moynihan station will serve the LIRR, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at timesledgernews@cnglocal.com or phone at 718-260-4536.
