'Time Is Now' For Plan To Fix Penn Station, Coalition Says

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A new coalition of commuters, elected officials and transit advocates gathered Wednesday morning in front of Penn Station to announce a push for a long-term, comprehensive plan to overhaul the transit hub and the area surrounding it.

The next four years represent the "last, best chance" to form a plan to rescue the United States' busiest transit hub due to consensus among elected officials and unified public support to fix and a number of external factors such as ongoing construction of the Moynihan Train Hall and East Side Access and the potential 2023 expiration of Madison Square Garden's operating permit, Regional Plan Association President Tom Wright said Wednesday.

The projected 2020 completion of the Moynihan Train Hall and the 2023 launch of East Side Access will reduce overcrowding at Penn Station, making fixes easier to complete, Wright said.

"That's the opportunity in 2023, which is also the year when Madison Square Garden's operating permit is up for renewal, that the plans need to be put in place and we need to start marching forward for an overall vision for this area," Wright said. "So we have the opportunity, the time is now and what we want to see is all of these leaders come together and support an ambitious proposal and vision for this area."

The Public for Penn Station campaign launched Wednesday in an effort to demonstrate that officials who spearhead such a plan will have a wide range of public and private sector support. Groups involved in the campaign include the Regional Plan Association, the Municipal Arts Society, Riders Alliance, Transportation Alternatives, the Design Trust for Public Space and Community Boards 4 and 5. A number of elected officials such as Borough President Gale Brewer, City Council transportation committee chair Ydanis Rodriguez and local State Senator Brad Hoylman all spoke in support of the campaign.

Brewer called the upcoming years a "once in a generation" opportunity to devise a plan that would undo decades of neglect at Penn Station. The Borough President stressed that Penn Station could become as "beautiful and efficient" as Grand Central Terminal if the city and state can quickly come together and to form a collaborative plan.

What that plan may look like is less clear at the moment. The discussion of how to fix Penn Station is far from new, and many plans with good ideas have been floated over the years, Wright of the Regional Plan Association said Wednesday. Wright said that any effective plan will balance the needs of all who use Penn Station and its surrounding area — bikers, cars, commuters and pedestrians — take advantage of the area's real estate and expand Penn Station's transit capabilities. A good plan will also beautify Penn Station and its public spaces, Elizabeth Goldstein of the Municipal Arts Society said.

Penn Station currently accommodates more than 650,000 daily passengers, but was only designed for 200,000 daily passengers. Ridership could increase by 150,000 passengers by 2040, meaning inaction is not an option, Wright said.

One current Long Island Rail Road commuter who's in and out of Penn Station every day had some choice words for the station during Wednesday's press conference. Ed Janoff, a city planner, called the transit hub a "disgrace" and use the words "filthy, crowded and confusing" to describe the subterranean "hell."

"I get a chilly feeling every time I go down in to Penn Station like I might not come back," Janoff said Wednesday.

An NJ Transit rider who was supposed to speak during Wednesday's press conference couldn't make the event due to train delays.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced that a new entrance to Penn Station located on West 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue will be created to provide relief for tens of thousands of Long Island Rail Road passengers. Upgrades such as the new entrance are welcome improvements to the station, but must be part of a larger plan instead of patchwork fixes, Wright said Wednesday.

"Opening up a new entrance on 33rd street is an excellent step in this direction," Wright said. "But we know that we're going to have a period where there's going to be a little less pressure on Penn Station — just a window of opportunity. What we've got to do is take advantage and put together a plan."

Photo by Brendan Krisel/Patch