Penn Station's proposal includes the new entrance to 33rd Street, the pedestrian plaza

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo proposed Thursday to permanently close a central neighborhood on 33rd Street to create a grand entrance to Penn Station.

The station's new entrance is in line with Moynihan Train Hall's $ 1.6 billion expansion and Cuomo's greater efforts to better serve the more than 650,000 daily commuters that plunge into the delicate overcapacity of the city. Pennsylvania Station. The station entrance project would require cooperation from the city to turn what is now a temporarily closed 33rd Street into a pedestrian plaza from Seventh to Eighth Avenue, with the new entrance located in the block. from Seventh Avenue.

"The subway system, the LIRR, Penn – they were built for a much smaller population. We have now doubled, sometimes tripled the volume going to these facilities and we simply can not get there, "Cuomo said at an event announcing the entry. "And that's the problem of congestion. It's a commuter nightmare. This is also a security problem.

Several conceptual renderings of the entrance have been unveiled, each presenting a different vitreous overhang for what would be a new point of access for the commuters of Long Island Rail Road, Amtrak and Subway on the lines 1,2,3, A, C and E. The project is one of seven new entries planned for the Penn-Farley complex to double the number of access points to the country's busiest transit center .

"Penn Station serves hundreds of thousands of people every day in New York," said Seth Stein, spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio. "The Governor has presented a compelling vision to improve the quality of the resort and enhance the safety of all who use it."

Cuomo, who controls the MTA, touted what he described as a global effort to turn Penn Station into a "world class" institution – at least for his New York voters. The state also plans to expand the LIRR lobby from 30 to 60 feet and raise the ceilings from 7 to 18 feet in height.

Transportation advocates present stressed that while a more worthy suburban experience is welcomed, it needs to accompany an increase in train speed and improved services. The LIRR is currently in the process of delivering its worst annual performance in twenty years.

Nick Sifuentes, executive director of the tristate Transportation Campaign, described Madison Square Garden as "the elephant in the room," right in the middle of Penn's redevelopment. In 2013, the city council extended the special garden permit for 10 years to allow time instead of finding a new home.

"Moving Madison Square Garden allows Penn's expansion by creating more space for commuters and safer access points," Sifuentes said.

"Nobody says that Madison Square Garden is not important, but we need to start talking about a new place so it's not in the middle of the city's most important train project," he said. pursued.

James Dolan, Executive Chairman and CEO of Madison Square Garden Company, said in a statement: "We support the Governor's desire to improve Penn Station for the benefit of all New Yorkers and we look forward to continuing to work collaboratively to achieve this goal. . "

Joseph Lhota, president of the MTA, sits on the board of directors of the MSG Company, which raises conflict of interest issues among some good government groups. An MTA spokesman, Jon Weinstein, said in a statement that "the president is disqualified from these issues and is not involved in any cases involving Madison Square Garden and the MTA. Period."

A spokesman for the MSG Company did not comment on the issues related to the company's opening to the relocation of the garden.

Moynihan, the 106-year-old Farley building's train transformation project for the Penn and Amtrak trains, is expected to open in 2020. Prior to Cuomo's announcement, the teams placed the first of 1,127 Solid skylight 92 feet high.

"It will be beautiful. He will get [a] retail store, "said Cuomo de Moynihan. "It will be a beautiful facility on the cutting edge of technology. There will also be really special skylights that will have an architectural significance that will be breathtaking. "

Governor candidate Cynthia Nixon, who criticized the governor for managing the MTA during a period of decline in the metro and rail service, criticized the governor's announcement as an opportunity to take photos.

"The LIRR and the MTA are operating at their worst deadlines for decades," said Nixon in a statement, "but as we all know, the governor only admits responsibility when it's not beneficial for him. "