STATION MASTERY
Much-loathed N.Y.C. landmark reimagined,
1. PENN’S STATE: This year, Empire State Development — New York state’s chief economic development agency — solicited proposals for development teams to “reimagine” Penn Station through “a series of renovations that will add more space, light and air while improving passenger circulation and retail amenities.” The station, which operates 24 hours a day, was rebuilt in the 1960s to become a below-ground train terminal. Today, more than 650,000 rail and subway riders use it.
2. SKY RIDERS: The Halo came from Brooklyn design and development studio AE Superlab as an urban amusement park ride to be built above Penn Station (and around the circular Madison Square Garden building, which sits atop the terminal). The ride is being proposed as an additional project with the actual Penn Station renovations. Eleven gondolas, contained within a 360-metre-tall cylindrical “diaphanous, gauzy superstructure” drop at different speeds, from thrill-seeker velocity to slowpoke sightseer.
3. SIX SECONDS: Visitors ascend the Halo in gondolas equipped with safety restraints. There’s a pause at the top, then a six-second free fall at about 160 km/h — billed as the fastest ride of its kind. A “fail-safe, permanent magnetic braking system” will ease riders into a full stop at the bottom, according to architects.
4. PAYING FOR PENN: The Halo is the brainchild of architect Alex Washburn. New York City’s former chief urban designer under mayor Michael Bloomberg, he previously worked on Penn Station redevelopment. Washburn, co-founder of Brooklyn Capital Partners, which commissioned the AE Superlab proposal, is banking on ride-generated revenue — “$25 million to the government from ticket sales for 49 years is equivalent to $1 billion when issued as a bond at municipal borrowing rates, so the money will be available right away,” he explains — to save taxpayers from funding the mammoth renovation. The ticket price would be $35 (U.S.) a drop, a price point similar to other New York City attractions, such as the Empire State Building. Washburn estimates 3.5 million people would ride the Halo annually. 5. VERTICAL VIEWING: Washburn, just off a business trip to Singapore, Qatar and Dubai (in part, looking for Halo investors), says urban amusements are becoming increasingly twinned with the real estate industry, but “from what I see in my travels, I believe the (ferris) wheel is not good enough for the 21st century.” “People want to experience the city more vertically,” he says. 6. SKY-HIGH BILLBOARD: The proposed ride will double as a public billboard for “data visualization,” says Washburn. The cylinder’s transparent LED pixel screen “skin” can display information such as live polling results of city issues, weather advisories and live feeds from sporting events or concerts at Madison Square Garden. For instance, the Halo lighting would intensify to reflect the real-time decibel level of cheering fans in the Garden. There are also five illuminated rings within the ride to represent New York City’s five boroughs. 7. OLD IS NEW AGAIN: If approved, the structure will be completed in under 20 months, cost about $673 million and sit on existing foundations built in 1910. The original Penn Station was once surrounded by 10-metre-tall granite columns atop steel-reinforced foundations. The columns are long gone, but the old supports — which still slice through the underground train shed and reach up to street level — mean “you don’t need to stop train traffic” to build foundations for the Halo, says Washburn.
8. PUBLIC VIEWING: Though other Penn Station proposals have been kept under wraps, the Halo plans were released publicly because Washburn believes municipal planning decisions would benefit from sharing more information with the community while proposals are being considered. “People need to be informed, and there is no better wisdom than that which comes from the people who are going to use this facility every day,” Washburn says. Plus, he added, “it’s a fun way to spend your money.”