Governor Kathy Hochul Directs $210 Million for Penn Station Underground Concourse and Subway Interties

NEW YORK — Governor Kathy Hochul and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chair and CEO Janno Lieber announced on Monday the awarding of $210 million in civil construction contracts through the MTA Capital Program to build the 33rd Street Underground Pedestrian Concourse, creating a direct, weather-protected subterranean connection between Penn Station and the 34th Street–Herald Square subway complex.

The project re-establishes the historic "Gimbels Passageway," widening the subterranean corridor to thirty feet, installing high-definition digital passenger wayfinding, ADA-accessible elevators, and direct faregate turnstiles connecting Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), NJ Transit, and Amtrak passenger platforms directly to the B, D, F, M, N, Q, R, W, and PATH train lines.

Relieving Severe Street-Level Congestion for 600,000 Daily Commuters Penn Station is the busiest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere, serving over 600,000 daily passenger trips. Currently, tens of thousands of transferring commuters are forced to exit onto crowded street-level sidewalks along 33rd and 34th Streets, creating severe midtown pedestrian gridlock.

"Penn Station is the front door to New York City for hundreds of thousands of commuters every single day, and we are transforming it into a world-class transit hub," Governor Hochul said during an announcement at Moynihan Train Hall. "For decades, commuters were forced to walk in rain and snow across crowded midtown streets just to transfer between trains. This $210 million investment builds a wide, brightly lit, and modern underground concourse connecting Penn Station directly to Herald Square subways, saving commuters time and improving safety for all New Yorkers."

Concourse Infrastructure and Architectural Features The $210 million project finances:

• 1,200-Foot Widened Subterranean Concourse: Reconstructing the corridor with structural steel supports, terrazzo flooring, and high-efficiency LED ceiling fixtures.
• Direct Subway Faregate Plazas: Installing 36 automated OMNY contactless faregates at the 6th Avenue subway entrance.
• Modern Life-Safety & Ventilation Systems: Installing commercial air filtration and automated fire suppression dampers throughout the concourse.

Transit rider advocacy organizations, business improvement districts, and construction trade unions praised the contract awards, emphasizing that underground pedestrian connectivity dramatically improves commuter transit speed.