Railroads Issue Notice to Proceed, Kicking Off Design of Penn Reconstruction
In Addition to Making Penn Station Itself World-Class, Commitment to Improve the Public Realm and the Entire Penn District
New Renderings Available Here
Governor Hochul: "We are here at Penn Station the train is finally rolling down the tracks, and we are so excited about the news we have today - that we're on a one-way journey to a brand new, fully renovated station and beautiful surroundings that this community has waited for and has deserved for a very long time."
Hochul: "[T]his is a great day for New York, I look forward to showcasing and showing everybody the great possibility that has unfolded before our very eyes. We'll look back at this day, sometime in the future and say, 'This is the day that the future started coming down the tracks right here at Penn Station in New York State.'"
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul, local elected officials, and railroad partners announced their united support for a vision of Penn Station Reconstruction. This announcement comes as the MTA and its railroad partners issued a Notice to Proceed to kick off preliminary design on a plan to transform the existing Penn Station into a world-class commuter and intercity transit hub. Renderings of the reconstruction project are available here.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the event is available here.
PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
First, I want to acknowledge the passing of a great New Yorker. Lieutenant Governor Dick Ravitch was a giant among equals, and we think about the modern MTA. He is one of the individuals who believed in this institution so much that he's easily credited with saving it back during the tumultuous times of the 1980's.
He became a good friend and advisor of mine. We had lunch together, not that long ago. He told me all the things I needed to do as he always would. But his work with the MTA, the UDC and as Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York will always be remembered as part of his legacy, and it is a tremendous loss for all of us as New Yorkers. So, our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Kathy, his family, and again, from a grateful State of New York for his many, many, many years of service. We say special love to Dick Ravitch.
We are here at Penn Station. To those of you who never believed this day would come, the train is finally rolling down the tracks, and we are so excited about the news we have today - that we're on a one-way journey to brand new, fully renovated station and beautiful surroundings that this community has waited for and has deserved for a very long time.
And this is happening today as we launch the kickoff to the design process - literally today. But it is happening because of the great partnership with the individuals with me here today. This has been a long talked about, sometimes controversial initiative, but standing united here today sends a message that we will get the job done.
So, I want to thank Janno Lieber who'll be speaking shortly for continuing to guide this process forward despite all the questions, all the concerns, continuing to meet with people, answer them, and make sure they understand what we're going to do is something that we're going to be talking about for generations.
Janno Lieber, thank you very much for all the support of this project. Amtrak Board Chair, Tony Coscia. Thank you, Amtrak. This does not happen without your full-bodied support for what we're doing here today. We're going to continue to draw upon you as an ally in Washington to make sure that we get this finished as well.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, I thank him for his leadership here today, helping us pull the community together. Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal for his representation of the various interests but making sure that we come together with one unified voice. Assemblymember Tony Simone, the same. We have had many, many meetings, and we're going to be talking about how we're going to get through this together as one.
I know our Councilmember Erik Bottcher, will be joining us. I also want to give a special shout out to Jerry Nadler. Jerry was the Chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee a long time ago, and we talked about what New Yorkers deserve and to have him in his position in Washington DC right now as someone who's going to fight for the resources, we need to finish this project. I want to give a special shout out to my former colleague in Congress, our great Congressman, Jerry Nadler.
So, this has been a project that has had a few setbacks. And I was only on the job a couple of months when I said, "Why are we still waiting? Why hasn't this moved forward? What excuses can be so great that we deny thousands of New Yorkers the experience that they deserve?" So, we're going to be talking about the first three months on the job, I unveiled our Commuter-First Initiative. This is not about the rest of the world right now. This is about New Yorkers and their own personal experience as we encourage them to come back on our subways, keeping them safe, keeping them clean, keeping them on time. So, that was our first commitment.
And then we announced, we showed the plans for the LIRR concourse. They had completed in the spring of this year. We've been steadily moving forward since the beginning, proud to have the support of our friends behind us as well. So, I think as soon as they see this project, they'll understand that this is something they're going to be very excited about.
So today, we're officially announcing the design process for the new station, it has officially begun, and we're happy to show some of the designs right now. These are just concepts. But to know that we're going to be open now to any architect, any design firm, any engineer, to allow them the opportunity to compete for a position to perhaps be creating this world class masterpiece.
So, we're no longer tolerating delays. New Yorkers know my feelings. I've not been shy talking about how this is inferior. It's crowded, it's congested, it's unpleasant, and New Yorkers deserve to have the bright light coming in and shining up on them. So, we're excited about this and we're tired of seeing the underground corridors. They're too narrow and we're going to improve that as well.
So, I know we can do better, but there's two realities that we're talking about right now. Number one, we are decoupling this from the prior plan, the GPP. That does not mean that we're not going to be building office space here at some point. It makes sense. We have 600,000 people that come through here, it makes sense for them to be able to work in the same place where they commute to. So, we'll get that done over time, but I no longer want that to be a delay, a delay to this process, which is moving forward today. So, ridership is number one, and while the demand for office space is down right now, we believe that this will be temporary. But you know my commitment to building housing. I want to see more housing built even in this place.
It makes sense. So, it's a chance for us to rethink the longer-term phase two strategy. But phase one to me begins here today with the beginning of the design process because we are going to be opening up the opportunity to really just focus on this building and the immediate surrounds to create a beautiful space that the neighbors have been waiting for.
So, our work will focus on all these initiatives, and we only need to see proof of the LIRR concourse of what is within our realm of possibility if we continue working together. And we're going to continue addressing the concerns and complaints of all. That's what we're doing. That's why we're having so much community outreach.
We will take their advice and their input because this is their neighborhood as well, and we respect that. But it's all about making this an extraordinary city. I can't wait to build it with our friends, men and women of labor as well. Gary LaBarbera, I want to thank you for representing labor because labor gets it done.
So, this is a great day for New York, I look forward to showcasing and showing everybody the great possibility that has unfolded before our very eyes. We'll look back at this day, sometime in the future and say, "This is the day that the future started coming down the tracks right here at Penn Station in New York State."
So, thank you everybody. And with that, let me welcome MTA Chair Janno Lieber.