The $7BN Plan to Save New York's Most Hated Train Station

[Music] take a look at any New York City bucket lists and you'll probably find Grand Central the terminal is known for its stunning architecture iconic ceiling and as the second busiest train Hub in the city then there's Penn Station scary and dangerous and dilapidated customers say it's something they can rely on the unreliability of the trains at Penn Station one of the worst Services probably like in the world with over 600 000 daily passengers at its peak it's the busiest train station in the Western Hemisphere but it isn't exactly World Class A confusing layout low ceilings and crowded corridors makes it a part of the city that many avoid but that's all about to change New York has proposed a bold plan to reconstruct Penn Station and create a first-class Transit Hub the Bold overhaul promises to ease the station's current issues but not everyone is on board with the plans and as we know with New York City building in a thing can take extreme amounts of time and money especially when it comes to public infrastructure this is how one of the world's biggest cities is planning to turn around its most hated train station Penn Station may be known as a dark and dilapidated part of the city today but that wasn't always the case when it first opened way back in 1910 it was actually one of America's top Transit hubs but that's because it was an entirely different structure the original Penn Station spanned eight Acres across Midtown Manhattan and was considered an architectural phenomenon known as the standard railway station of the world at the time it integrated influences from European design the station stood above ground with a coffered ceiling that sat 40 meters high supported by 84 giant columns and covered with a canopy of iron and glass trains journeyed in and out of the station for decades but in the 1960s air and car travel increased in popularity and the railways fell out of fashion so as it stood deteriorating and losing money railroad Executives didn't really think twice to sell the air rights when Real Estate developers offered 50 million dollars for the property despite public opposition and protests down came the old Penn Station and by 1968 the new one was complete this time Underground and with a massive new entertainment venue above it Madison Square Garden gone were the sunbathed tools and striking terminal the days of being a first-rate train station seemed to be over this is Penn Station once one of the great Railway Termini of the world today it doesn't look or even feel like a railroad station now over the years New Yorkers put forward several renovation plans but nothing's really stuck the most progress that's been made so far is a nearby station expansion of the Moynihan train Hall then in 2021 New York Governor Kathy hokel approved a 7 billion Redevelopment of not only the station but the entire wider neighborhood itself New Yorkers deserve a world-class transportation system and it should have a world-class facility with Penn Station it involves replacing the old and cramped multi-level Penn Station with a new 23 000 square meter single Level facility the idea is that with an improved interior design and more space the new structure will be able to double its capacity for passenger flow it also includes a vast new train Hall the size of Moynihan and Grand Central combined other improvements include expanded retail and dining options a better ticketing and waiting area and more elevators escalators and entrances and that's just the new renovations to the station itself outside the new building a 2 800 square meter public Plaza with widened sidewalks and bike areas is going to be built along with a thousand additional public housing units 10 new skyscrapers surrounding the site have also been put forward reshaping Manhattan's Skyline but demanding the demolition of several existing apartments and Office Buildings now that's a lot of construction for what is a very crowded area you've got a busy train station in the middle of what's one of the most densely populated areas on Earth and even if you deal with all those obstacles where is the seven billion dollars going to come from well some of it might have to come from taxpayers if the development's private investors don't generate the returns they're hoping for after all real estate Investments were down 26 last year one survey found that even wealthy Americans making over six figures on living paycheck to paycheck but major institutions like Goldman Sachs are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into alternative assets like the Fine Arts on offer with today's video sponsor Masterworks the platform lets you invest in multi-million dollar paintings without breaking the bank not only are their paintings registered with the SEC so they can be broken into shares every single one of Masterworks is 12x's to date has returned a profit to their investors that includes the sale that happened just last month which handed back a 15.4 percent realized profit to investors there's a wait list to join Masterworks is 650 000 Plus users but we're giving you special access and the link in the description now let's get back to that terrible train station the city hasn't given many details yet but here at the b1m we kind of know a thing or two about how things like this get built in busy cities so here are just some of the challenges we know the engineers are going to run into at Penn Station based on some of New York's most recent construction exploits for one workers will have to navigate around those busy train schedules but it's something that can be done take Hudson yards for example when skyscrapers are built above an active Rail Yard Crews had to work within a one to two hour time window to avoid the trains below it was a similar deal over at the East Side Access projects where teams kept New York City more or less moving in and around Grand Central during the works at Penn Station you can likely expect some convoluted walking routes through and between construction hoardings as passengers are rerouted around different phases of the works transporting crew and materials to the construction sites in the middle of narrow roads and traffic is also going to pose some issues and probably upsets a lot of people again over at the recently completed Eastside access projects Crews traveled in and carried materials on the underground rail lines instead of from the streets teams building skyscrapers from street level have often found themselves having to bring in materials in the middle of the night when things are a bit quieter and you can't forget those pesky New York City zoning laws Empire State developments a key player in the project is going to have to override existing land zoning laws in the area to enable construction Works to happen the current zoning permits less floor space than is typically allowed in other Transit hubs in the city but because of a little law that grants exemptions in areas that are considered blighted in substandards Empire State developments can revise this not included in this multi-billion dollar renovation a plan to address the congestion of trains themselves by adding more tracks or improved train circulation that's something that probably won't come until much later and in New York that'll mean much later for now the plan serves only as a revitalization effort of the local area and as a way to alleviate passenger flow within the station but for some designers and activists that's not enough local advocacy group rethink Penn Station came up with its own design inspired by the original above ground Penn Station complete with stone columns iconic vaulted glass and classical architecture but given that it's now the 21st century it'll include modernizations like wider track level platforms newer Transit Technologies and an improved circulation plan at the moment the station is based on what's known as a terminal system that means that once a train comes into the station and unloads passengers it then reverses back out again should be converted to through running operations which is the way commuter trains run in London Paris Tokyo Hong Kong the that means trains would keep moving in the same direction which rethink Penn Station says will increase efficiency to cut construction costs the group said it would use an automated technique to cut the stone columns reducing the amount of stone to one-fifth of the original station from 1910 while still creating the look but to rebuild the overground station there's a bit of a catch that is moving Madison Square Garden it's something other Architects have put forward as well Alex Washburn would rebuild or something akin to Penn Station at probably 40 percent of the state and were put a park on the west side of the side the Sean chakraborty has this interesting idea of sheathing the present Garden in glass by putting a much more modern train operation below now it wouldn't be the first time the stadiums moved in fact it's been relocated three times before and the Arena's operating permit does expire in 2023 something the station's developer has yet to address for whatever your position on it it's clear that the Redevelopment of Penn Station is important for many residents and with such high stakes for the busiest Transit Hub in the hemisphere there's bound to be varying opinions of how it should be improved like most things in New York it's going to take more than just engineering to get this project done there'll need to be a lot of money and political will too remember all those new skyscrapers that are planned for the area well since they're part of this government-backed renovation they'd qualify for certain tax breaks instead of paying traditional property taxes on the building the developers would pay the state of New York directly in turn the state government said they'll use that money to help pay for the renovation of the station and the public Plaza but surprise surprise there's a problem the developers are already delaying the construction of the new towers because of high interest rates and poor demand for office space in February 2023 office occupancy was still roughly half of what it was before the pandemic since the government is banking on money from the developers any delays in their construction could cause issues getting the funding for the public improvements too still the city's plan is seemingly moving forward for now and despite its critics the commuter-focused renovation is sure to please many passengers only time will tell if it's enough to make Penn Station the Envy of the world once again this video was made possible by Masterworks you can skip their wait list at the link below you can learn more about New York's infrastructure upgrades and the other topics on our Channel over on the world's best construction podcast available right now wherever you get your podcasts and as always if you enjoyed this video and you 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Channel: The B1M

Views: 787,794

Keywords: B1M, TheB1M, Construction, architecture, engineering, The B1M, Fred Mills, building, skyscraper, new york, new york city, nyc, penn station, grand central terminal, train, subway, mta, long island railroad, amtrak, moynihan trail hall, manhattan, upgrade, overhaul, new york governor, kathy hochul, new york travel list, things to do in new york

Id: EygmKG8_p4E

Length: 11min 19sec (679 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 12 2023