[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 82 (Thursday, April 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22674-22675]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-9843]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Moynihan Station Development Project
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of availability of and public comment period for the
Moynihan Station Development Project Environmental Assessment.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Railroad Administration announces the availability
of the Moynihan Station
[[Page 22675]]
Development Project (Project) Environmental Assessment (EA) for public
review and comment. The EA was prepared pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq., the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA implementing
regulations, 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and the FRA NEPA procedures, 64 FR
28545 (May 26, 1999). FRA is the lead Federal agency and the New York
State Urban Development Corporation d/b/a the Empire State Development
Corporation (ESDC) is the lead State agency.
ESDC, its subsidiary Moynihan Station Development Corporation
(MSDC), and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) have
proposed to redevelop the James A. Farley Building and its Western
Annex into a new intermodal transportation facility, to be called the
Daniel Patrick Moynihan Station (Moynihan Station). Moynihan Station
would be one component of the Project that would also include the
commercial redevelopment of the Western Annex and the construction of a
1.1 million square foot mixed-use building fronting on the east side of
Eight Avenue between West 33rd and West 34th Streets utilizing
development rights associated with the Farley Complex.
DATES: FRA invites interested Members of Congress, state and local
governments, other Federal agencies, Native American tribal
governments, organizations, and members of the public to provide
comments on the EA, which is available at http://www.empire.state.ny.us/Subsidiaries_Projects/MSDC/MSDC.html or by
request from MSDC at the address listed below under For Further
Information. The 30-day public comment period begins on April 28, 2010
and ends on May 28, 2010. FRA and ESDC will consider all comments
received or postmarked by that date in preparing the Final EA. Comments
received or postmarked after that date will be considered to the extent
practicable.
On April 28, 2010, ESDC and MSDC, in accordance with the New York
State Urban Development Corporation Act (UDC Act), will be holding a
public hearing to consider the proposed draft March 2010 Phase 1
Amended General Project Plan. The hearing will be held at the James A.
Farley Post Office Building, located at 380 West 33rd Street, Room
4500, New York, New York, 10199 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Although FRA and
ESDC will not be presenting the EA at this hearing and oral comments on
the EA will not be accepted, it is an opportunity for interested
parties to learn more about the Project.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted in writing. Written comments may
be submitted to ESDC and MSDC at 633 Third Avenue, New York, New York
10017, attention: Rebecca Pellegrini. Written comments will also be
accepted at the April 28th public hearing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the
EA or the Project, please contact: Ms. Rebecca Pellegrini, Moynihan
Station Development Corporation, 633 Third Avenue, New York, New York;
or by e-mail at [email protected] with ``Moynihan Station
Development Project'' in the subject heading, or Mr. John Winkle,
Transportation Industry Analyst, Office of Passenger Programs, Federal
Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Room W38-311,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202 493-6067), or by e-mail at
[email protected] with ``Moynihan Station Development Project'' in
the subject heading.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Description of Project. The approximately 1.3 million square
foot Farley Complex occupies a ``superblock'' from West 31st to West
33rd Streets and from Eighth Avenue to Ninth Avenue. Built over the
Pennsylvania Station (Penn Station) rail facilities, including the
westernmost portion of most of the passenger platforms and other rail
yard facilities, the Farley Complex is integrated into the larger Penn
Station Complex.
Penn Station is the busiest transportation facility in the United
States, accommodating over 530,000 daily passengers, including
intercity passengers riding Amtrak, local commuter rail passengers, and
subway riders. It is, however, plagued with design problems. As a
result, it is difficult to navigate and has passenger facilities that
do not meet current industry standards related to safe egress times and
universal accessibility. The station, already operating above its
design capacity, is projected to experience a growing passenger load as
development continues in the surrounding neighborhoods.
To address the larger issue of inadequate capacity at Penn Station,
ESDC, MSDC and FRA have proposed a program of improvements at the
Farley Building that will relocate Amtrak's intercity passenger rail
operations to a new Moynihan Station to be constructed within the
eastern portion of the Farley Building. This work will significantly
improve access to, and egress from, the platforms and the connections
between Penn Station, the Farley Building, and the existing New York
City subway lines.
The project as currently envisioned will take place in two phases.
Phase 1 work, which is primarily below street level, will consist of
expanding and extending the existing West End Concourse so that it
spans all existing tracks (with new access to Eighth Avenue), expanding
the existing 33rd Street Connector, adding several platform ventilation
elements, and adding several entrances to the new Moynihan Station.
Phase 2 will consist of development of the Station itself, including
the Train Hall, concourse and street-level portions of the Station,
reactivation of currently-unused Platform 12 for passenger use, and the
non-Station commercial development of the Farley Complex.
II. Previous Environmental Reviews. The development of plans for
improved New York City passenger facilities has been underway since as
early as 1991 when Amtrak began planning for a new intermodal
transportation facility. The potential availability of the Farley
Complex led to additional efforts to devise plans that incorporated
passenger rail facilities in the Farley Complex. A series of
environmental reviews have accompanied the various proposals for
improvements to the Penn Station facilities and site, including most
recently the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that was issued
by ESDC under SEQRA in August 2006. That EIS evaluated the impacts of a
larger project that included relocating Madison Square Garden to the
Farley Building and renovating Penn Station itself. Those elements have
subsequently been dropped and this EA addresses the Project as
currently defined.
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2010.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-9843 Filed 4-28-10; 8:45 am]
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