Gov. Kathy Hochul on new plans to renovate Penn Station: "Our citizens deserve better"
NEW YORK -- Penn Station, the Big Apple's iconic eyesore, is a getting a gut renovation.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, along with Mayor Eric Adams and others, came together Thursday morning to announce redesign plans, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.
The redesign being promised is featured in a slick state government video. People inside Penn Station said the plan is decades overdue.
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When asked to use adjectives to describe Penn Station, one woman said, "Ah dingy, looks like a shelter, a homeless shelter."
"It does not look like it should. It doesn't represent what New York embodies," a man added. "New York embodies class, style, pizzazz, and this looks old and dilapidated."
"It's old. It's falling apart, yeah," another woman said.
"Our citizens deserve better," Hochul said.
Hochul, Murphy and Adams joined MTA officials to detail the ambitious plans to renovate the station.
"They deserve better than the continually cramped and constantly muggy halls and claustrophobic low-slung ceilings," Murphy said.
The $6 billion project is up for bid. A winning firm will be selected sometime in early fall at the latest.
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They said the new Penn Station will be a sunlit single-level train hall with wide corridors. Other new features include eight acres of public space, and an underground concourse connecting Herald Square and 34th Street directly to the station.
People checking out artist renderings posted around the property seemed optimistic.
"It's beautiful. Wow, look it. It almost looks like an arch," one man said.
"I think the investment is necessary," a woman said.
"I love it. It's better than the old Penn Station," another man added.
The promotional video also explained the station's troubled history and how we got here.
"The original Penn Station provided New Yorkers with the first class experience worthy of the greatest city in the world, but shortsighted decision led us to destruction and the replacement didn't take into consideration the future growth and needs of New Yorkers," the video said.
The plan also calls for homeless outreach and protected views of the iconic Empire State Building.
