MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG AND GOVERNOR GEORGE E. PATAKI ANNOUNCE RENAMING OF NEW PENNSYLVANIA STATION IN HONOR OF SENATOR DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN 

Governor George E. Pataki and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced that the Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Corporation will name the new train station to be built in the James A. Farley Post Office Building in honor of the late United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.  Senator Moynihan was the driving force behind the new station and since last year served as the Mayor’s representative to the Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Corporation. In addition, the Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Corporation will change its name to the Moynihan Station Redevelopment Corporation. The Mayor and the Governor jointly issued the following statement:

“Daniel Patrick Moynihan made so many contributions to our city, our state and our country.  His ideas and leadership drove us to attack problems seen as intractable and invest in our future.  But his passion for public works and public spaces reminded us that great things can and must happen.  For years, he tried to get the Postal Service out of the Farley building so that New York’s entryway could be as grand as the skyline that surrounds it.  His relentless campaign to transform the Farley Post Office into a new Penn Station finally took hold in the last years of his life. Although his endearing humility would never have permitted this while he lived, we will honor his larger than life dreams and their ultimate realization by naming the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Station in his memory.”

A resolution calling for the new name will be introduced to the Empire State Development Corporation's Board of Directors.  Empire State Development, future owner of the building, is in final negotiations with the United States Postal Service for the purchase of the building.  Purchase of the building is expected to be complete this summer.  Construction on the new station will begin once the purchase is finalized and the new station is scheduled for opening in 2008.

Charles A. Gargano, Chairman of Empire State Development and Chairman of the Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Corporation, said, "It is fitting that the new Penn Station be named after Senator Moynihan.  He was a true champion of this project in Washington and critical to its success.  The new station, with its improved infrastructure and its classic beaux-arts design, is sure to rank among the finest public buildings in the world."

The Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Corporation (PSRC), to be renamed the Moynihan Station Redevelopment Corporation, was formed in 1995. It was created to coordinate the funding, management, and execution of conversion of the James A. Farley Post Office, located directly above the existing Pennsylvania Station platforms, into a new intermodal transportation facility. The Project is expected to create 7,600 jobs and over $65 million in tax revenues during construction, and establish ongoing economic growth with 1,600 new jobs and over $15 million in annual income and sales tax revenue once completed.  Today, Pennsylvania Station is America's busiest passenger transportation facility, handling over 600,000 people daily - more than Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark airports combined. The new station will increase Pennsylvania Station passenger capacity by 30% and double the circulation space, serving Amtrak, commuter, subway, airport access, bus and taxi passengers. The six-member board is comprised of New York State appointees Charles A. Gargano, Chairman and CEO of the Empire State Development Corporation, and Chairman of the PSRC, and Maryanne Gridley, Executive Director for the NYS Dormitory Authority, and Federal appointees Norman Minetta, Secretary of Transportation, Alan Rutter, Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, and Mayoral appointee Susan Molinari.