“This Is A Work Of Art”: Cuomo Cuts Ribbon On Light-Filled Moynihan Train Hall

#Under a soaring vaulted skylight and a massive #Art #Deco clock, #Governor #Andrew #Cuomo formally unveiled the new #Moynihan #Train #Hall at #Penn #Station #Wednesday with a ceremonial—and socially distanced—ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“This is a work of art that we don’t build anymore. #It’s too breathtaking and ambitious to ask, ‘#Can we really do that?’ #Many doubters said it was too bold and audacious but we said we could,” #Cuomo said at the ceremony. “This is a great public work. A different kind of statement that says we understand and appreciate the significance of public works.”

#Train operations at the #Moynihan #Train #Hall are expected to begin #January 1st. The $1.6 billion project turns the century-old #James A. #Farley post office building into a transit hub, increasing #Penn #Station’s size by 50%.

#Construction began in 2017 on the 255,000-square-foot train hall, named for #New #York #Senator #Daniel #Patrick #Moynihan, who advocated for the project for years. The expansion plan was talked about for decades and derided as a “taxpayer-funded mall” that did little to address train service. #In #January, #Cuomo unveiled a blueprint to add eight new tracks and increase #Penn #Station’s capacity by 40% through acquiring an entire block south of the #Midtown transit hub for a new terminal.

#An acre of glass was used for the massive skylight in the new hall, which was designed to evoke the #Beaux #Arts grandeur of the old #Pennsylvania #Station, according to architect #Skidmore, #Owings & #Merrill.

The hall also makes use of its origins in the #Farley post office, which was designed by #McKim, #Mead and #White after they designed the original #Pennsylvania #Station in 1910. The striking steel trusses that make up the four vaults are original, where the mail police used to patrol to inspect the sorting floor below. #Art installations from #Kehinde #Wiley and #Elmgreen & #Dragset pop up throughout the hall.

#Hostile architecture shows up as well, with blue benches in the waiting rooms designed to deter sleeping people.

The new train hall is located across from #Penn #Station between #Eighth and #Ninth #Avenues and #West 31st and 33rd #Streets and connects to the #Long #Island #Rail #Road and #Amtrak platforms and tracks, as well as the subway. There will be a #Starbucks:

#This @Starbucks, at the new #Moynihan #Train #Hall, is staffed with at least 10 workers — but the shop isn’t actually open today, and nothing can be purchased. The workers, on duty to show what an open #Starbucks would look like, are leaving soon after the governor’s event ends. pic.twitter.com/VqPOY5dxht

— #Matthew #Chayes (@chayesmatthew) #December 30, 2020

#Check back later for more photos and full coverage of #Tuesday’s opening.

#With #Annie #Todd and #Jake #Dobkin