Last night I attended a lively MAS panel discussion on Farley/Moynihan and I would like to add some talking points on the Farley/Moynihan/Penn project. I will do so in stages so we can hopefully discuss them separately.

One of the attendees was a woman who very passionately described the current Penn Station as a “disgrace”. I would like to think that the officials at the LIRR, NJT and Amtrak would certainly disagree with her, especially after pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the station proper over the past 23 years. Great strides have been made within the station to increase/improve access, comfort and appearance. In particular, here are some of the improvements that have helped the disgraceful Penn Station that Charles Luckman gave us in the 1960s:

In 1985 Amtrak completed a renovation of the main concourse and rotunda area that completely opened up the station to increase capacity and circulation. They replaced most of the original stairways of the east and west track gates in the concourse with escalators. A cosmetic improvement was made also along with improved lighting. One of the great features of this improvement was the openness of the space between the rotunda and the concourse which was closed off since the “improved” Penn Station was built in the 1960s.
Around the year 2000 Amtrak gave us their “Acela” version of the station with a new waiting area for ticketed passengers, a new epoxy terrazzo floor, new track indicators and train boards. Unfortunately the “new” waiting area blocked the access to the concourse from the center of the main rotunda (former main room of Penn). This new waiting area was placed exactly where the original Penn Station waiting rooms were located. These original waiting rooms (58 x 100 ft) were destroyed in 1956 to make way for the new Lester Tichy electronic ticketing area. I guess what goes around comes around.
In 1994 the LIRR completed a very sorely needed project to improve access and circulation within their section of the station. They also covered the original painted, peeling concrete walls with Botticino marble, granite floors, improved lighting, added the Central corridor, renewed the northern half of the exit concourse and incorporated an art project (“Ghost Series”) which gives us an idea of some of the artwork that existed in and around the original Penn Station. The new entranceway on 34th street evokes the openness of the original train shed over the concourse. There is also an original (supposedly) clock which hangs at this entrance. This project was designed in a very tasteful and functional manner to the delight of any LIRR commuters who remember the dismal area that they had to use up until 1994.
The LIRR also added the West End concourse some time ago which greatly increased capacity and access to the platform level.
Recently, NJT has spent well over 100 million dollars to renovate the southern exit concourse and take an unused space originally occupied by the original southern baggage court, carriage drive and skylight (adjacent to the original arcade) and turned it into a magnificent station within Penn. Like the LIRR area it also features Botticino marble walls, granite floors and an additional level which increases capacity and circulation as well. NJT is also currently building a new entrance to their new station at the corner of 7th avenue and 31st street. Originally this was the southern carriage drive entrance to Penn. Please note that the signage indicating the fact that this is an entrance to Penn will be completely dwarfed by a gigantic electronic advertisement that will be erected at the insistence of Vornado Realty and Trust.
All of this being said, is the current Penn Station disgraceful? I think what she meant to say was that what we did to the original Pennsylvania Station in the mid 1950s and 1960s was a disgrace.
Lastly, does anyone think that after spending all of this money these current tenants within Penn will move to Farley/Moynihan and pay rent? I seriously doubt it.