Hard to miss
5 Likes
One thing for sure is there was a subway entrance in that location even before the renovations but that relocated entrance is new and includes ADA upgrades. The only thing that’s changed is that it’s significantly less obnoxiously grotesque in appearance. It’s such a welcome change that the plaza there isn’t all covered in scaffolding and construction fencing. It looks nice and I hope to visit soon.
Google streetview shows the entrance during construction and you can easily see what it used to look like in the background.
MSG. It’s the only thing in the area that hasn’t been made nice. It’ll likely be decades before that blight is either removed or made to look more attractive to the eye.
9 Likes
Yeah, the traditional subway entrance was just removed and the entrance was relocated to the building behind it (which just got a face lift) to include a larger/wider staircase and the ADA component elevator
This I greatly agree with, that entire area only a year ago was just a giant narrow corridor maze of construction sheds.
This is from July (pictures aren’t focused on the exact same area but show same general extent of Plaza 33)
Compared to yesterday
6 Likes
What was the latest news about the planned ESC or Penn District towers? Has the renovation of One Penn Plaza been completed?
1 Like
There is no new news regarding the ESC, Vornado either need to make a decision on the lots they own or another developer needs to purchase the other lots within the Complex not owned by Vornado.
Penn 2 however still needs some minor things to wrap up on the terraces and the roof before it’s completed/opened. Renovations to Penn 1 finished last year I believe, and the 2 adjacent plaza renovations wrapped up late last year.
3 Likes
I forgot to bring up last week that work is being done on the sidewalk between 33rd-34th St on 7th Ave’s west side to extend the new paving pattern potentially all the way around the small building infront of Penn 1. Also just looked like they were doing some infrastructure work simultaneously.
3 Likes
Pics by me, taken today.
Can’t wait for this construction gridlock to end. Area looks a mess on the street level.
16 Likes
Any reason why that area in the 2nd pic is still blocked off? Unless there’s some giant hole there, seems like it could be completed pretty quickly 
Just slowly finishing up the extent of the sidewalk.
2 Likes
Last I recall I think they do have a decent hole in those. Looked like some utility work lower down
1 Like
I know when I was in the area a month ago. there was infrastructure work going on in front of Penn 1 East while they were transitioning the old concrete sidewalk to the new paved one, but as of recent aerial photos from the ESB I could not discern any hole/opening in the area near the Penn Station entrance in front of Penn 2.
It doesn’t really look like the photos from Chris 2 days ago show any significant opening in the ground either when you look in the gaps between the barricades. Though I wouldn’t doubt it if there was below ground infrastructure going on that needed to be dealt with before they finish stuff up.
The south side of the building still has all the construction shed covering it so it will be pleasant when that side is also opened up/completed.
Continuing the previous conversation, these are from 3 weeks ago, there were no large holes in either of the 2 fenced in areas, but for a small portion in one where obvious infrastructure work was ongoing everything was just still paver work. But everything to the north of this region infront of the Plaza 33 and East 1 Penn (still some finor touches) is now completed thankfully. There are however still small regions of sidewalk that need to be redone with pavers underneath the overhang/near the central Penn Station entrance.
Its still so amazing to have the space be wide open instead of having fences and construction sheds and mazes all over the EEG entrance.
17 Likes
Scope of the northern enclosure has been decreased, looks like the hole that was in the south one got bigger, I also took a photo of the southern corner of the block which also has a large barricade to complete work within that zone. Another barricade was added to the sidewalk in front of 1 Penn East, I believe that stretch of sidewalk is also being widened, which will be nice, but in the meanwhile its extremely narrow there now… again… I didnt take a photo of that part.
So nice to see the plaza so “lively”
15 Likes
What they’ve finished looks nice.
3 Likes
I wish the pedestrian plaza could continue to 8th ave, but seems the MSG loading area prevents any further extension.
3 Likes
The plan is to eventually make the rest of 33rd St between the plaza and 8th Ave a shared pedestrian vehicular street with pedestrian priority. So it will eventually happen, just a matter of when Penn Station redevelopments actually happen.
4 Likes
North fenced part is still there (not pictured), and paving is now ongoing on the south one next to the new Penn Station entrance midblock. Paving has also started for the sidewalk expansion infront of Penn 1 East. The southern most fenced portion infront of Penn 2 looks the same size as before. When things are done on the 2 flanking portions to the midblock entrance that middle portion inbetween will also eventually have to be repaved in the matching finish because the intersection crosswalk portion was never redone.
12 Likes
