Moynihan Train Hall construction to finally begins

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - This former Farley Post Office Building, built in 1912, takes up a city block next to Penn Station in Manhattan. It will once again see life as a major hub for Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak riders.

The first phase of the project has delivered a new Eighth Avenue entrance and a wider corridor beneath 33rd Street. But the next phase will be the long-delayed Moynihan Train Hall.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the major part of the construction to create a 255,000-square-foot train hall is about to begin and will put nearly 15,000 people to work.

"This was a hard project, it was complicated, it was difficult, it was expensive, it was transformational," Cuomo said Thursday. "Which is exactly why we had to get it done."

The idea for this train hall started in 1997 by the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. It is finally becoming a reality. The governor's office released artist renderings show what the train hall will look like when complete.

Empire State Development President Howard Zemsky said the train hall will have restored skylights and modern amenities. An area on the second floor where postal workers used to sort mail will be filled with restaurants and shops. Zemsky said that Penn Station is the busiest rail station in the Western Hemisphere and that commuters need a much better experience.

The Moynihan Train Hall is expected to open in 2020.