The stalled Moynihan Station project has just received $83.3 million in federal stimulus cash, according to DNA Info, enough to round out the funding needed for the first phase of construction. The project, which will transform the post office adjacent to Penn Station into a rail hub, has already accrued $140 million in funds from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and federal agencies. The first phase will include rail construction and renovations to Penn Station. The second phase, for which funding has not yet been acquired, will involve the renovation of the post office as a travel hub.

Mass transit dollars need to keep rolling in to keep real estate development in New York City, and the country, moving, according to industry experts. The correlation between the health of mass transit and the long-term condition of surrounding real estate on a local level as well as nationwide was the focus at this morning’s Baruch College panel, “Transformative Infrastructure: Key Decisions on Transportation.” “Transit is a bellwether for urban decay,” said Christopher Boylan, deputy executive director of community affairs at the Metropolitan Transit Authority, pointing to the parallel improvements in transportation and quality of life in New York City since the 1970s. Much like crime and poverty have improved in the city over the decades, Boylan said that the transit system has shown marked progress. “The fact that you can get on the Lexington line and understand the announcement was a wonder eight or nine years ago,” Boylan said. “It’s not anymore.” [more]

From the October issue: Stupid, stupid, stupid cheap.” That’s how low prices have to fall before the commercial real estate market hits bottom, Steven Roth, the chairman of Vornado Realty Trust, predicted earlier this year. In a letter to shareholders in April, the square-jawed mogul confided, “I think we are now at the third and last stupid. Not that he’s buying yet. But in recent months, the 67-year-old real estate titan, along with CEO Michael Fascitelli, the other half of the so-called “Vornado Tornado,” has been building a war chest to go shopping. And when Vornado gets ready to shop, there’s good reason to pay attention. [more]

More than half of the $2.5 billion in stimulus money coming to New York
state is going to housing, highway and bridge projects within New York
City, the New York Post reported. The city will get $23 million to
repair East Houston Street in the East Village, $1 million for
restrooms in Penn Station and another $830,000 for office space
renovations there. Other funds will go toward boardwalks at Coney
Island and Rockaway Beach and repairs at the Brooklyn Bridge, among
other projects. [more]