NEW YORK CITY: Gov. Cuomo Lays Out Ambitious $3 Billion Renovation Plan For Penn Station

Gothamist reports:

Governor Cuomo announced on Wednesday that he is spearheading a comprehensive overhaul of Penn Station. In conjunction with Amtrak and the MTA, the renovation will seek a private developer to convert the Farley post office building on Eighth Avenue into a grand, sun-soaked waiting area. Maybe this time the stories will be true?

The project—dubbed the Empire Station Complex—is estimated to cost more than $3 billion, with $2 billion going towards the Farley-Penn overhaul, and an additional $1 billion towards retail development along 7th and 9th Avenues.

Standing at a podium at Madison Square Garden, the Governor had no shortage of insults to toss at the dark and often packed “warren” which commuters are forced to squeeze through.

“Penn station is un-New York,” he said. “It is dark, constrained, ugly, a lost opportunity, a bleak warren of corridors… a miserable experience and a terrible first impression.”

Serving over 600,000 commuters each weekday, Penn Station is the busiest transportation facility in North America. Penn Station’s renovation would be latest of several massive public works projects nearing completion or on the drawing board for the New York City area. Already underway is the Second Avenue subway, an overhaul of the Tappan Zee Bridge, and the East Side Access, which will connect Long Island Railroad to Grand Central Terminal. Yet to launch is the new LaGuardia.