Work To Transform Farley Post Office Into Penn Station Expansion Starts

NEW YORK CITY, NY – As major repair work continues at Penn Station, the next stage of turning the neighboring Farley Post Office into an extension of the train hub started Thursday.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced groundbreaking on a project to turn the building at Eighth Avenue and West 33rd Street into the Moynihan Train Hall, which will include a 25,000-square-foot hall for Amtrak and LIRR passengers – a 50 percent increase in space for those commuters.

A 70,000-square-foot shopping mall is also coming, he said.

"We are transforming the Farley Post Office into a state-of-the-art transit hub to get travelers where they need to go faster and more comfortably," Cuomo said. "With better access to trains and subways, vibrant retail and business opportunities and stunning architectural design, we are bringing Penn Station into the 21st century."

Earlier this summer, officials announced the end of the first stage of the $1.6 billion Moynihan Train Hall Project – a concourse that will link it to Penn Station.

The work comes as Amtrak appears to be on the home stretch of repairing tracks, signals and other equipment at Penn Station. While Cuomo predicted the work would create a "summer of hell" for commuters at the start of that project, Amtrak has reported steady progress and train riders haven't seen any worse delays than usual.

The Moynihan Train Hall is being funded with "$550 million from the State, $420 million from Amtrak, the MTA, the Port Authority and a federal grant, and $630 million from the joint venture developers," according to Cuomo's office.

The site is named after late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who long championed the idea.

Rendering of Moynihan Train Hall in lead image courtesy Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP.