New Amtrak Moynihan train hall at NYP

[me_little_me]

Don't know if everyone has seen this interesting New Yorker piece about the Moynihan Hall... You might have to be a New Yorker subscriber, but non-subscribers can usually read 3 articles for free each month.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-moynihan-train-halls-glorious-arrival

Note, just use a VPN and clear your cookies and the 3 article limit restarts.

It's one thing to make money off ads. That's always been the case and ads can be and are useful to me.

As to requiring a subscription to see more than 3 articles a month, that's grossly overpriced. For those out of town who only want to see information from different media on a single subject, having to subscribe to each of them is not worth it.

But if you subscribe, the privacy policy for every one I have checked is that your personal information and what you view on the site (thus revealing a lot about yourself) is outrageous considering you are paying for the service with a subscription.

I tried to subscribe to a local newspaper but they wouldn't tell me what it costs until I provided my personal information. So now I read it without paying. I wrote to the owner about that but he didn't bother to reply. I feel no obligation to him if he is more interested in selling my personal information as someone interested in subscribing, even if I decide not to and he gets no subscription money from me. I feel sorry for the workers but when I pay, I expect privacy. So I pay for an email service that guarantees privacy over Google or Yahoo that steals everything and anything including the content of any messages sent or received but gives me "free" email.

Sorry for the topic diversion.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I am saying that, IMHO, nobody in USA, commerically, makes legit coffee, it all tastes worse than in Japan, Australia, New Zealand & most of Europe.

Starbucks is huge in Japan and prior to that most coffee was Nescafe rather than drip. Some European countries brew great coffee while others are satisfied with bitter brown swill. I've never seen anything from Australia or New Zealand and can't comment on boutique products for niche interests but glad to hear you're happy with them.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It's one thing to make money off ads. That's always been the case and ads can be and are useful to me. As to requiring a subscription to see more than 3 articles a month, that's grossly overpriced.

This is some of the most confusing logic I've ever tried to decipher. How many free articles do you need per month before the subscription you refuse to buy is no longer overpriced?

 

[neroden]

This is some of the most confusing logic I've ever tried to decipher. How many free articles do you need per month before the subscription you refuse to buy is no longer overpriced?

Enough to tell whether the newspaper is actually decent, I think. Which takes more than three articles. The Guardian probably has the best business model: owned by a not-for-profit, free to everyone, but encourages Patrons.

 

[neroden]

The LIRR Concourse Project - Coming Soon (mta.info)
LIRR corridor is undergoing a complete reconfiguration. The steel beams have a very important purpose.

It seems like the work renovating the ceiling is going to be done under very interesting conditions by workers standing on decking over those steel beams.

 

[PVD]

Any alternatives would have involved either closing the area to the public completely, or opening and closing areas and moving barriers and other safety measures on a constant basis which would make the project take twice as long and create higher risks of injury.

 

[adamj023]

Skanska got funding approved on January 8th, 2021 for the Penn Station renovation project so the work should be accelerating now. Should look nicer when more work is completed.

The A uptown subway entrance at Penn Station was under renovation last I saw as well. Don’t know which contractor is doing that work.

 

[nferr]

Was able to visit the train hall today as I am out of Covid isolation. Very nice indeed. Sure it’s not old Penn Station or Grand Central but it’s quite an improvement and the lounge is light years better than the old one and I practically had the place to myself and it looks like there will be some food and beverage options once NYC reopens indoor dining. It does seem so far very few are actually using the train hall (just about everyone I saw in there seemed to be just exploring and taking photos - few actual rail passengers) and the vast majority of passengers are still using the NJT/Amtrak concourse across the street. May take time for that to change (if it ever does). One challenge the train hall will have in getting people to use it is getting retail and food venues open - which seems doubtful in the next few months with Covid. There is not a single one yet open - which makes the concourses across the street more attractive from an amenities perspective. But overtime when there’s more to offer over there I think they’ll attract more passengers which will allow spreading people out between two different options I guess.

I'm pretty sure most commuters will just enter/exit through the old Penn Station concourse. They're just rushing through the station to get on/off their train and get to the subway or office. The Moynihan Hall will be mostly used by Amtrak passengers since most of those are spending more time in the station. Also eventually when nice shops/eating options open up it will be visited by tourists and New Yorkers as a a bit of a destination. Could be wrong but that's how I see it.

 

[user 14106]

I'm pretty sure most commuters will just enter/exit through the old Penn Station concourse. They're just rushing through the station to get on/off their train and get to the subway or office. The Moynihan Hall will be mostly used by Amtrak passengers since most of those are spending more time in the station. Also eventually when nice shops/eating options open up it will be visited by tourists and New Yorkers as a a bit of a destination. Could be wrong but that's how I see it.

I think most Amtrak passengers are probably still using the old concourse too. MTH will see more use once it gets more. But right now unless you need the Amtrak ticket counter or baggage or are using the lounge - amenity wise the old Amtrak concourse has more to offer.

 

[PVD]

There has been and continues to be quite a bit of office development West of 8th ave. As offices repopulate the paths of commuters will likely evolve

 

[caravanman]

No mistaking the clientele in this Indian station waiting room!

 

[Bob Dylan]

No mistaking the clientele in this Indian station waiting room!

View attachment 20539

Were you allowed in Eddie?? Lol

 

[me_little_me]

This is some of the most confusing logic I've ever tried to decipher. How many free articles do you need per month before the subscription you refuse to buy is no longer overpriced?

Because I might want to read all articles for a week about something important to me where I lived years ago but I might not read something from that site for a year or more afterwards. Some sites are even worse, allowing only one or two articles.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Question - what is wheelchair access like at Moynihan Train hall? I only see escalators in the photo.

 

[Mailliw]

Does the new Metropolitan Lounge at Moynihan have showers like the one in Chicago?

 

[joelkfla]

Question - what is wheelchair access like at Moynihan Train hall? I only see escalators in the photo.

Fully accessible. There are elevators to the platforms, and to the Metropolitan Lounge.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Fully accessible. There are elevators to the platforms, and to the Metropolitan Lounge.

How does one reach the elevators to the platforms? Where are they located?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

How does one reach the elevators to the platforms? Where are they located?

https://www.moynihantrainhall.nyc/visit/accessibility/

 

[crescent-zephyr]

https://www.moynihantrainhall.nyc/visit/accessibility/

Wonderful... so it looks like the elevators are just behind the escalators so a passenger needing an elevator can easily find them. That’s a great improvement

Also elevator access to the subway.

 

[Sidney]

Inside the Moynihan metropolitan lounge. The food and drink selection is the best I've seen anywhere. This is quite an improvement over the previous lounge. Anybody know if Chicago's lounge is serving food and drink?

 

[Cal]

Inside the Moynihan metropolitan lounge. The food and drink selection is the best I've seen anywhere. This is quite an improvement over the previous lounge. Anybody know if Chicago's lounge is serving food and drink?

I was in it just a little while ago today! No food and drink, they direct you to the food court but I don’t think vouchers are given

 

[Steve4031]

I was in it just a little while ago today! No food and drink, they direct you to the food court but I don’t think vouchers are given

Not when I was there Saturday night. I did not see any drinks. Maybe water. Did not look. It was in the evening for a trip on 48.

 

[Cal]

Not when I was there Saturday night. I did not see any drinks. Maybe water. Did not look. It was in the evening for a trip on 48.

Apologies if I was unclear, I meant no food or drinks. Bad wording on my part!

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Inside the Moynihan metropolitan lounge. The food and drink selection is the best I've seen anywhere. This is quite an improvement over the previous lounge. Anybody know if Chicago's lounge is serving food and drink?

Enjoy it while it lasts! What did you have?

 

[neroden]

Question - what is wheelchair access like at Moynihan Train hall? I only see escalators in the photo.

It's not only fully-accessible, it has good signage. All the elevators to the tracks are in one row in the train hall and have electronic train departure signs next to them. The Metropolitian Lounge elevator has good signage and is just off the train hall. The main entrances to the train hall are very obvious ramps.

For some reason, which is irritating me, the vast majority of press release photos and fan photos of *any* new rail infrastructure completely omit the wheelchair path of travel. It's a very problematic omission; I'm always scouting the wheelchair route for my girlfriend. The new wheelchair-accessible entrance to Grand Central in the One Vanderbilt building had the same problem: the access is apparently great, but nobody took any photos of it!