Amtrak balking at Farley Station deal

I would not even give any credit to ARC plans as so far nothing has come to completion or of their website.
other than publishing commuter agency logo's and plans dreamed up by dreamers there is no merrit to their plans or web site.

trainhq wrote:I think you have to remember, the Farley project is tied into the ARC project, which will have new platforms way below ground, probably right below Farley

The Farley PO project has nothing to do with the so-called Access To The Region's Core "project" (more a bunch of proposals that have not seen the light of day as yet nor will, probably). The Farley building was intended to have been converted to a station concourse with absolutely nothing happening directly underneath at track level, nor under the Hudson River.

As for the ARC itself (not to be confused with "Amtrak Reform Council"), it has almost nothing to do with Amtrak; rather, it is a short-sighted proposal intended to squeeze all of New Jersey Transit's North Jersey and Rockland/Orange counties (NY state) commuter rail lines into NYP (especially since they took utilization of GCT's lower level off their site due to apparent lack of support from NY state).

Mr. Weaver wrote:People do not go to Penn Station to admire the facility, they go there to board a train out of New York to go somewhere

That may be said of any railroad station that hosts trains going in and out of any city. Far too general of a statement to really mean anything.

However, NYP has gotten many jeers over its current "architecture". In writing and spoken word, the current NYP is one of the most villified rail stations there is. This view is held worldwide.

With response to the Irish Chieftain, I can most assuredly tell him that ARC does in fact, extend to
Penn Station - I have some of the plans here in my office. The position of entrances and exits to the proposed low level platforms will depend on what
building above they are designed to connect to.

I did say that the ARC is concerned with Penn Station; just not the Farley Building, since they did not initiate that nor are directly involved with it. I would say that the plans you have in your office are "anticipatory" in nature in terms of whether the Farley building gets used or not. The Farley building in and of itself provides no rail "access" to midtown Manhattan...

It's probably just me, but every time I hear the phrase "Access to the Region's Core" I think of this TV show

Gilbert B Norman wrote:Unfortunately, it looked as if Baktu ("The Day the Earth Stood Still") had paid a visit to the Concourse rather than "The Mall' in Wash.

I think you mean klatuu

You're right, Nip, I meant to verify that at a "classic movie" site, but neglected to do so,

However, the thought that the PRR chose to put a flying saucer in the middle of the Baths of Curicula stands.

Given the link Mr. Norman presented concerning the tunnel improvements... if Congress is debating about sending money to NYC for obviously needed safety improvements and calling it pork-barrel spending, rest assured, getting any Federal money for Farley will be well neigh impossible.

I thoughts it was Baths of Caricalla, or so I recalled from a seventh grade Latin textbook.

Guggel had different ideas om how to spell it.

rest assured, getting any Federal money for Farley will be well neigh impossible.

The Money has already been allocated, it was allocated through the Department of Transportation during the Clinton Administration. $750 Million was allocated about 5-6 years ago, the money is just waiting to be spent.

The cost over runs which have resulted from the reality that the State of New York had to enlarge the scope of the project because the Postal Service is going to sell them the "whole" building, leaving the small Post office that fronts 8th ave.

The cost over runs which have pushed the project from the original $750 Million to the close to $1 Billion mark has already been picked up by the Empire State Development Corp, which is why they are so anxious to get the project started and to start bringing in some revenue.

$750 million?? You actually mean $¾-billion, or did you pull that figure out of thin air...? You have a link that cites this absurd figure? And just whom has this money, and why was so much "allocated" to what is very obviously some of the worst pork in history...?

In 1999, the DOT provided $1.6B under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) for six “critical” projects totaling $6.5B. Of that, $160M ($140M loan; $20M line of credit) was earmarked for the Farley project. $750M was the estimated total cost of the conversion.

Nasadowsk wrote:Slightly OT, but the TWA terminal at JFK is likely to be saved at this point, JetBlue has expressed strong interest in moving into it. For those who've never seen it, it was (and still is) quite a spectacular building, and also very unique.

Just a point of information ..... The TWA terminal at JFK was architected by Ero Saarinen, the same gentleman who architected the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the Lucent Bell Laboratories buiding in Holmdel NJ. That building (the TWA terminal building) should be on the national register of landmarks if it is not already there.

PENN STATION EXPANSION STAYS ON TRACK

Published on June 07, 2004

Charles Gargano, chairman and chief executive of the Empire State Development Corp., says that a $50 million gap in funding to redevelop the Farley Post Office will not hold up the project. The money is needed to improve ventilation of Amtrak's platform and tunnels, but the railroad is no longer able to pay because of financial troubles.

ESDC will pursue funding by Congress, Mr. Gargano says, and plans to issue a request for qualifications later this month. ESDC hopes to name a developer for the $750 million Moynihan Station inside the old post office building by January.

In light of Amtrak's financial woes, Mr. Gargano says, ESDC is pursuing New Jersey Transit to become an anchor tenant. Of Amtrak, he says, "They're crying the blues all the time."

More at Crain's NY business website,

http://www.crainsny.com