As people arrive to the city that never sleeps they may be a little bit hesitant to move far from where they’ve started. It’s one of the biggest problems of people in a strange place in general but it’s particularly problematic if you’re arriving by train. The different neighborhoods that are the train stops that make up the island of Manhattan are as wily and different as can be and unfortunately, most of them are littered with panhandlers and shysters who give the city an all around bad image.
If you’re coming into New York City on the train you’re coming in on one of four lines; PATH train (commuter line from New Jersey) Metro-North (commuter train from points North and East; Westchester, Connecticut, etc) LIRR (commuter train from points generally East; Long Island) or Amtrak (everywhere else; generally from points West or far North all over the country)
Amtrak: All Amtrak trains that are coming into New York City come into Pennsylvania Station which runs between 31st & 33rd Streets on 8th Avenue and the terminal is located just below Madison Square Garden.
What many people forget is that Madison Square Garden is not just the arena where the New York Rangers and New York Knicks play but is also where the WNBA’s New York Liberty play games, the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus also perform at the Garden, pro-wrestling (WWE) play the Garden whenever they come to New York City; MSG is known for it’s famous boxing events, there are many popular music concerts which play at MSG, tennis has been played at the Garden, the Grammy’s have been hosted at the Garden, the NYPD and colleges like Hunter College in New York have graduation ceremonies at the Garden as well. As you can see, there are many reasons for people coming into New York from anywhere in the world to want to come into Penn Station.
There is also the fact of the matter that MSG also includes a sizeable office structure which goes up some distance into the sky and this makes not only trips into Penn Station on Amtrak a thing people need to do now and again but for some it’s a daily ritual. Penn Station is also the station stop for many people who work below Times Square as it is easier than coming in any other manner and there are a whole host of office structures between 34th & 42nd Street, as well as below 34th street on 8th & 7th avenues that make a trip into Penn Station a necessary function. There is also the 10001 post office which lies just west of Penn and is huge! The James Farley Post Office is a 24 hour joint which runs 365 days a year and brings in many workers on Amtrak. There is also 1 Penn Plaza which is another high rise office building whose glowing red #1 lights up the west sides night sky and is the home of Vornado Realty Trust among others. Finally, of course, there’s the Hudson Rail yards where many MTA trains dock in for the night and many train operators will come out to the Penn Station area as this is the closest subway and train station stop to Hudson.
Part of the program about the Penn Station area is that it is ever changing; new high rise condo structures sit alongside row houses and the projects. New glitzy restaurants like Andrews Coffee Shop and Chipotle sit alongside old favorites like old time diners, cafes, and Chinese food restaurants. Road weary favorites line the streets from the epic Herald Square Macys to 34th Street K-Mart and yet new shops are popping up every day including the Borders at MSG and the soon to be coming JC Penny at the Manhattan Mall.
