Yesterday, federal, state and city officials broke ground on the Moynihan Station, the long-discussed project to redevelop Penn Station at the Farley Post Office on Eighth Avenue. After years of obstacles, it was more of a "symbolic gesture," welcoming federal money being used for the project (the feds are kicking in $83 million for phase one, which has an estimated total of $276 million). more ›

Open House New York has arrived! There are dozens of amazing locations open today and tomorrow in all five boroughs, so we're not going to be able to visit them all. That's where you can help us: please send your OHNY pictures to photos (at) gothamist dot com, and we'll put up the best ones tomorrow. more ›

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. more ›

Insanity! Yesterday, Governor Paterson's office announced that "months of intensive negotiations have resulted in a general agreement and mutual understanding on the basic terms and conditions that will lead to the redevelopment of New York City’s historic Farley Post Office Building into a new intercity passenger train station and center for most of Amtrak’s New York City service." The NY Times says, "The deal, whose specifics have yet to be finalized or released, would clear one of the biggest hurdles facing Moynihan Station, which was first proposed more than 15 years ago and has struggled ever since." Last year, after various plans for revamping the gorgeous Farley building into the station had been presented, Madison Square Garden pulled out of the project to simply renovate its own building, leaving many to think the project was dead. Though NJ Transit has already agreed to use space in Moynihan Station, now Amtrak is apparently committed, with the government agreeing to give a bigger share of retail revenue. Guess Paterson really wants to be the the sheriff of Moynihan Station. more ›

Governor Paterson has reignited plans on the construction of Moynihan Station, the long-delayed new home of Penn Station in the post office across the street from the current one. Paterson really threw his hat into the ring attempting to stir up excitement and confidence for the new chapter in the saga of the station saying, "We're going to respond to this challenge - and do you know why we're going to respond? There's a new sheriff in town." more ›

Last night around 10:50 p.m., heavy smoke was reported at the landmark James A Farley Post Office on Eighth Avenue. Dozens of people were evacuated as the city's only 24-hour postal service branch was shut down so firefighters could locate the cause. more ›

With the deal to develop the West Side rail yards on the ropes, Senator Chuck Schumer said that Mayor Bloomberg's plan for the West Side is the "goofiest thing I've ever seen." According to the Sun, Schumer was specifically referring to "the Bloomberg administration’s decision to include a mid-block boulevard," claiming that it was sapping funds from the much-needed 7 line extension. more ›

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The Friends of Moynihan Station shared a rendering of what Moynihan Station will look like, according to NY State. According to FMS, the Empire State Development Corporation has been "reluctant" to share them, but FMS thinks "looks great," though there's a lot that needs to be explained. more ›

Just because Mayor Bloomberg has denied running for governor in 2010 doesn't mean it has to be true! The Sun's Davidson Goldin thinks that for Bloomberg, "Running for governor is likely, and becoming more so." more ›

Less than two weeks after Gov. Spitzer publicly reaffirmed his commitment to going forward with plans to construct Moynihan Station despite a $1 billion funding shortfall, it looks like the matter may be out of his hands. The New York Times is reporting that the whole $14 billion project, which would involve building Moynihan Station at The Farley Post Office building and constructing a new Madison Square Garden on the site, is on the brink of total failure. more ›

The fate of the Moynihan Station in the James Farley post office building remains up in the air and it's unclear whether Madison Square Garden will also relocate to the Farley building. If MSG moves, plans say the old MSG would be razed and a new train tracks would be put on top. The Municipal Arts Society's New Penn Station campaign shares a plan from students (at Columbia's Graduate School of Architecture's Historic Preservation Program) offering a different idea. more ›

Have some extra cash to spend around the holiday season? Even the littlest bit can go a long way in the over 80 year old Operation Santa program. Every year letters pile up at the James A. Farley Post Office from (mostly needy) kids writing to Santa Claus (read one of them here). Their wish lists don't make it to the North Pole, but with New Yorkers pitching in every year, it's as if they did. There's still time to pick up a letter so you can help make someone's Christmas a little more merry this year. Head to the Farley Post Office (bring an ID) located at 421 Eighth Ave today through 4pm or Monday (from 9 to 4:30pm). Note: they are currently in desperate need of people who can read Spanish. more ›

The MTA has apparently narrowed down the list of contenders to develop the West Side Rail Yards - and may even ask them to team up together. According to Crain's New York, the MTA favors the developers who have already lined up tenants. Which means the front runners are The Related Companies with News Corporation and Goldman Sachs, Durst & Vornado with Conde Nast, and Tishman-Speyer with Morgan Stanley. But front runners may need to be partners as well! more ›

Will Macy's give its regards to Broadway? The NY Times reports that the developers who are trying to redevelop the James Farley Post Office building into the new Moynihan Station "are in the early stage of negotiations with Macy’s" to move from the store's landmark Herald Square location to the Farley building on Eighth Avenue. Charles Bagli's article summarizes the progress of the Penn Station redevelopment and Farley-into-Moynihan Station project: It's complex, given the... more ›

Yesterday, state officials released the draft scope for the Moynihan Station/New Penn Station project. The actual 93-page PDF is online for the public to peruse, and, yes, the plan is to move Madison Square Garden into the James Farley Post Office building on Eighth Avenue and possibly move to U.S. Post Office's operations to the current Penn Station (we highlighted those moves). Say it with us: UGH. more ›

The state released the draft scope for the Moynihan Station project today, and while the details have yet to be finalized, The New York Sun outlines the document's major components. Madison Square Garden will be moved into the rear of the Farley Post Office Building, which will be renamed Moynihan Station. A remade Penn Station will be renamed Moynihan East and will feature a sky-lit train hall surrounded by a million square feet of retail space. more ›

NY state officials are expected to release the draft scope for the Moynihan Station's environmental impact statement today, which the NY Sun calls the "Spitzer administration's first public display of forward progress" on the project. more ›

Our neighbors to the west broke ground today on a new stadium for the Giants and Jets at the Meadowlands. Rather, officials officially broke ground today, since it's obvious to anyone that's been to the Meadowlands that construction on the new two-team stadium has already started. The $1.3 billion stadium will be jointly owned by the two teams and make both feel at home, unlike Stadium, which irritates the Jets and their fans. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on 101st Ave. in Queens, a boat in distress at the Gateway Marina off Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn, and an "unusual occurrence" on Wall St. in Manhattan.
• Brownstoner notes the arduous bureaucratic effort to get DUMBO landmarked, and developers' rush to build before that can happen.
• The NYPD is initiating TOMS––Total Order Maintenance Sweeps––aboard Metro-North and LIRR trains to deter terrorists commuting from the suburbs, after examining the methods employed in places like Spain and London.
• A 17-year-old kid was shot once in the head and once in the chest in an East Harlem KFC last night. He was declared dead at the hospital.
• A short film showing the anonymous street artist known as Banksy installing his own works inside the Metropolitan Museum, along with identifying placards.
• An upstate teenager from Brewster would've been working double duty with his fake ID if he had one, because the 15-year-old was arrested for driving while intoxicated, and driving.
• Ironically, the itinerant Madison Square Garden that destroyed Penn Station (the good one), could wind up ruining the proposed Moynihan Station at the Farley Post Office building as well.
• Republicans hope to regain an Upper East Side seat, once held by liberal Republican and former Mayor John Lindsay but since surrendered to Democrats, in a special election tomorrow.

In keeping with the earlier report this week, the planned conversion of the James A. Farley Post Office into a new transit center, the Moynihan Station, moved a step closer to reality. Yesterday, the Public Authorities Control Board voted to approve spending $230 million to buy the post office. more ›

It's difficult to know quite what to say about the huge transformations on the horizon for the Far West Side. That's partly because major negotiations and plans regarding the future of Madison Square Garden, the Farley Post Office, the Javits Center, the 7-train extension, and rezoning are taking place behind closed doors. Another reason is the uneven pace at which the planning proceeds-- years of plodding speculation followed by the sudden unveiling of a proposal, and merely a few months for public review before the deal is sealed. more ›

After Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver blocked Governor Pataki's Moynihan Station plans last October, we wondered how Governor Spitzer would take up the task and spar with Silver. To refresh your memory, Spitzer's problem with Pataki's Moynihan Station plans was that they were incomplete, given that developers had more extensive ideas about a Farley Post Office and Madison Square Garden revitalization (known as "plan B"); Pataki, on the other hand, wanted to get the plan A moving to take advantage of federal funds. more ›

NY State Assembly Speaker Sheldon has done it again: NY1 reports that Silver has delayed ruling on the Atlantic Yards project because "he still has financial questions." The NY Sun had a story today about growing pressure for Silver to delay the vote, given outcry from not just civic groups like the Municipal Art Society, Regional Plan Association, Citizen's Union, and National Resources Defense Council, but other politicians as well. Brooklyn Papers also adds that the AY is a "$4-billion project would require hundreds of millions in direct and indirect public subsidies, but the actual size of the taxpayer contribution to the project has never been released." So there are big questions, and it's not just Silver showing off his power. more ›

- The NY Times reports that the Democratic party will decide on where the 2008 convention will be held either tomorrow or Monday. New York and Denver are the finalist cities; while Denver is attractive for its swing-state quality, NYC can guarantee better "financing, hotel rooms, entertainment space, logistical support and labor union cooperation." more ›

The Cablevision Dolans are planning to sink their claws into another Manhattan space: The Beacon Theatre. A long-term lease has been negotiated between the theater's owner and MSG Entertainment - one that has MSG paying much more than the current tenant, which may mean the Beacon's ticket prices would go up even more. more ›

Newsday has a good article looking at the transportation issues the next governor will deal with - the biggest being the MTA. The MTA, which already announced fare hikes for next year, faces insane budget deficits in the coming years: $905 million in 2008, $1.13 billion in 2009, $1.48 billion in 2010. The Straphangers' Campaign's Gene Russianoff says of the MTA, "They borrowed a ton of money to fix a system, and now the bill is coming due." more ›

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-- Those crazy Van Dorens pop up in the oddest places. more ›

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan is probably turning in his grave right now. Plans for the Moynihan Station have been "derailed" as plans to discuss it have been postponed. Officials had been hoping that the Public Authorities Control Board would approve the project this year, so it would happen under Governor Pataki's term. But with opposition to and many questions surrounding the project, the NY Times reports "the Pataki administration took the proposal off the table again yesterday rather than risk a vote against it." Hello, brinksmanship! more ›