New York to Receive $83M in Stimulus Funds for New Rail Station

The federal stimulus funds money is a competitive grant awarded by the federal Department of Transportation. Sen. Charles Schumer, who made the announcement at a press conference today, says the money will go toward widening concourses, and other below-ground renovations.

The first phase of the project will make it easier for commuters to get to all of the tracks, particularly on the Eighth Avenue side of the station.

The money will also go toward building two entrances at the foot of the Farley Post Office on the other side of Eighth Avenue, which will lead down to the same train platforms that feed the current Penn Station.

The first phase will cost about $250 million. The balance of the funding had already been committed at the federal, state, and local levels.

The project has been on the drawing board for about 20 years and is named after one of its early champions, the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.