Observer to Spitzer: Get Work Started on Moynihan Station

On today’s editorial page, the New York Observer says “If Governor Eliot Spitzer would like to shore up his rocky standing with the public, one master stroke would be to pull the feuding and unraveling forces that surround the plans for Moynihan Station together and get work started on what would turn out to be one of the city’s most enduring and impressive public work projects.” The editorial continues to state:

The current Penn Station is, needless to say, an unsightly, slovenly embarrassment. It is the nation’s busiest commuter rail terminal, the gateway to New York City for 500,000 riders each day, and yet there is nothing memorable or even agreeable about its dingy, claustrophobic corridors.

Federal money for the multibillion-dollar Moynihan Station project depends on the city, state and the interested parties to get their act together. Governor Spitzer has an opportunity to create a new landmark for the city, and a new legacy for himself.

We agree. But the push to start work shouldn't obscure the fact that the public has yet to see detailed plans for Moynihan Station. According to a poll we conducted last summer, 92% of all respondents believe the public should have a chance to see the Penn Station renovation plans before the governor and the mayor endorse it.

Read “Moynihan Station Running Late,” in the New York Observer.