LIRR conductor checks a platform at Jamaica station as a commuter tries to board on July 8, 2014. On that date, most LIRR unions had settled their contracts, but the engineers contract was still being negotiated. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The governor proposes that in four years, we will have a renovated Penn Station as well as a new train hall built at the old Farley post office on Eighth Avenue [“Put the new Penn Station on the right track,” Editorial, Oct. 2].
It looks beautiful, but why do we need this? Is any of the $1.2 billion makeover going to replace signal switches that break down constantly? Will any money go to fix the tunnels that smoke up, frequently causing delays?
I guess having double the space to sit and wait for a train is worth it. I’d better get in line now for Shake Shack!
Kevin H. Fox, Jericho
Missing from your reporting is a key low-cost option that could benefit tens of thousands of riders.
Until the 1970s, both Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit riders exiting east at Penn Station had a direct underground passageway known as the Hilton corridor. It was also known as the Gimbels passageway.
It provided an indoor connection to the 34th Street Herald Square B, D, F and M and N, R and Q subway lines, along with Port Authority Trans Hudson station complex. A developer estimated that it could be restored for $150 million.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
Editor’s note: The writer worked for 31 years for the Federal Transit Administration New York office.
