If you get to the station early, I recommend hanging out on the steps for people watching and fresh air.

Trust me: there’s more seating on these steps than there is inside the station. REVIEW: Moynihan Train Hall at Pennsylvania Stationīefore you even get inside the new station, you might recognize these familiar steps if you’ve lived in NYC. Here are exclusive photos and my overall experience for my Penn Station review. So is the “new” Penn Station better than the old Penn Station? The whole look and feel was transformed, and it was supposed to have finally joined the 21st century. It’s one of the main reasons why I was excited to check out Penn Station. The government was spending tons of money into tourism, building new hotels and attractions, but they were letting institutions essentially decay. Check out the new collection on Amazon.įor the longest time, Penn Station was grouped as one of those iconic NYC places that felt neglected, such as LaGuardia Airport and Grand Central. It’s reliable, durable and affordable, and you’ll be happy you switched. I remember the great things (so easy to get to Newark International Airport!) and the not-so-great (dirtiest bathrooms in New York?).įYI: The best luggage we’ve used for years is Samsonite. I have memories of Penn Station from the past 15 years of living in New York City. As a constant traveler and New Yorker, I had to check out the new design, and here’s my Penn Station Review. Opened in 1910, the historic station is now in a new space, Moynihan Train Hall at Pennsylvania Station, which debuted an incredible former Post Office transformation on January 1, 2021, after three years of renovation. © 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc.The iconic Penn Station in Manhattan, New York City, has been quietly undergoing a $1.6 billion makeover the past few years. Meanwhile, an Italian firm, which has hired former MTA chairman Pat Foye as a top executive, has countered with its own proposal that would demolish Madison Square Garden’s auxiliary venue, the Hulu Theater, to create a new 8th Avenue train hall into the complex. MTA A rendering of Italian firm ASTM’s proposal for Penn Station.

Matthew McDermott A rendering of a proposed new entrance to Penn Station on 8th Avenue. People protesting Hochul’s renovation plans in Penn Station on June 26, 2023. The owners of Madison Square Garden have pushed back hard against the plan currently offered by the railroads, arguing it could interfere with operations and sports games. The MTA’s vision also calls for the construction of two major new entrances on the corners of 8th Avenue. It would also erect a dramatic new train hall between 7th and 8th Avenues - where the Madison Square Garden’s currently unused taxiway sits - that would allow sunlight to easily reach the new concourse level for the first time since the original complex was demolished.

New York Governor's Office Hochul said she wants to “get this done” despite the state’s plan to get funding from building office towers being put on the shelf. Matthew McDermott A rendering of the proposed renovation to Penn Station. Kathy Hochul confirmed the state’s plans to rebuild Penn Station’s concourse will move ahead. Those plans call for combining two floors at Penn Station into one unified concourse level, doubling - or more - the heights of the low-slung ceilings throughout the station, which have long been a major source of complaints.

Hochul and the MTA officials also said they would be soliciting plans from architects and outside firms as it sketches out a more detailed vision of how best to overhaul the Penn Station’s main level - though they expected the broad outlines already sketched by the agency, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit would remain in place. “This is the building that I’m focusing on in the here-and-now.” So far, state officials have set aside $1.3 billion for the project - but acknowledged they would have to lock down substantial new federal funding to make up the difference after the COVID-era shift to work-from-home put the skyscraper plan on the shelf. The reconstruction of Penn Station’s much-maligned concourse will move ahead even though the controversial new office towers meant to underwrite the project’s $7 billion price tag likely won’t be built for years, Gov. Penn Station partially evacuated during rush hour over ‘suspicious package’ investigation MSG-Penn Station impasse: City Council should call a short time-out

NYC Council committee allows MSG to stay put for five more years The case for MSG staying in place forever: Letter to the Editor

Penn station renovation