A few months back the city confirmed its plans to turn its central post office into an extension of Penn Station, and now Sen. Charles Schumer says it's got a backer. The federal government is putting up $83.3 million for the conversion from mail center to rail center, which has been in the works for more than 15 years. According to the AP, the funds for Moynihan Station, as it's to be called, come from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Schumer expects the project to create thousands of jobs and rev up the economy on Manhattan's west side.
Schumer claims the transformation will also increase capacity for crowded Penn Station, and bring back some of its former grandeur. Once upon a time the grimy terminal had a home in the elegant Beaux-Arts center, but that landmark was controversially torn down to build Madison Square Garden in 1963. Though the Farley Post Office building will no longer be mailing packages, lunching midtowners need not worry, since it seems like it will keep exterior features like its majestic steps.
