Cuomo Proposes a Plan to extend the High Line to the new Moynihan Train Hall

​Doesn’t it seem like we can blog about Cuomo’s proposals every week this month?  Sanchez & Polovetsky is based in NYC, so anything New York City related captures our attention. On a personal note, we are big fans of the High Line, especially in the warmer weather.  In case you haven’t heard, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has plans to extend the High Line from 10th Avenue, where it currently ends, to the entrance of the newly opened Moynihan Train Hall. 
 
A new L-shaped elevated walkway will link the existing public park at 30th street to a pedestrian plaza at Manhattan West, which is a six-building mixed-use development from Brookfield Property Group (that stretches from 9th and 10th Avenues and 31st to 33rd Streets). The extension would end on 9th Avenue, across from the entrance to the new Moynihan Train Hall.  Just in case you are unaware, the Manhattan West development measures eight acres and contains six million square feet of Class-A office space, 844 residences across The Eugene and The Pendry Manhattan West hotel, 200,000 square feet of retail, a new Whole Foods, a food hall, and a multi-concept restaurant from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group.
 
There are several organizations in the partnership named in the proposal including Brookfield, Empire State Development, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Friends of the High Line.
 
According to Cuomo, “This will be the most ambitious redevelopment that New York City has seen in decades. When the private sector economy lags, state governments build infrastructure and spur development. The beautiful Moynihan Train Hall is open, the renovation of Penn Station and this High Line extension project begin this year. This connection is part of a district-wide redevelopment of the West Side that will jumpstart the private market in a post-COVID world.”
 
While many of us stopped commuting to Penn Station during the pandemic, by the time we get back on the train we will be able to explore the new Moynihan Train Hall which opened in early January 2021, in the landmarked James A. Farley Post Office Building on Eighth Avenue, across the street from Penn Station. We always like to give a bit of history, so you may remember that the $1.6 billion project actually expands Penn Station.  It does this by providing new waiting areas for the Long Island Railroad, Amtrak, and new commercial and retail spaces. 
 
Cuomo is also proposing another extension for the High Line that will run from 34th Street and 12th Avenue past the Javits Center and cross the West End Highway, ending at Pier 76 and Hudson River Park. Currently, the property is a tow pound run by the NYPD that will be vacated by the end of January 2021, with plans to make it into a public park.
 
The purpose of the High Line expansion is to create more public space and address community concerns about pedestrian access to the west side of Manhattan.  Anyone coming in and out of the area around Penn Station knows that there is a lot of traffic and congestion that continues on to Hudson Yards. The cost of the project is estimated at $60 million, which will come from a combination of private and public funds.
 
The bustle and excitement for hockey fans will likely increase, since the NHL is set to move its headquarters to One Manhattan West.  There will also be a program on the plaza’s ice rink, along with public art and events by Arts Brookfield.
 
Keep an eye out for more news on the area and for Penn Station. We recently heard that Cuomo has announced a proposal to revamp Penn Station with upgrades that will increase train capacity by 40-percent.  Stay tuned!