Urban Geo Project on Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station by Angelica Morales and Sylvia Martin

1. Grand Central Terminal
&
Pennsylvania Station
Angelica Morales & Sylvia Martin

2. Life in the
commute of
Christina Jorge
http://youtu.be/13rFaLwqnH4

3. Grand Central Terminal
Demographics
750,000 people pass through Grand Central daily and over 1,000,000 people during
the holidays
Metro-North passengers are 55% male and 45% female, the median age is 41. 93% of
Grand Central Terminal commuters are college graduates.
Mean household income for Grand Central Terminal commuters is $95,800; 50% of
household incomes are over $100,000, and 20% are over $200,000.
The captive shopping population of more than 326,000 neighborhood office workers
earn a combined $11.3 billion a year.
An average 7,500 people an hour pass the corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt
Avenue, making it one of the busiest intersections in the city.
21.6 million out-of-town tourists, with a mean income of $62,000, visit Grand
Central each year.
Grand Central is served by Metro-North commuter trains, 31 commuter and 15 city
bus routes, 7 subway lines, buses to and from the area's three airports, and two
million taxis a year.
Grand Central Terminal subway station is the busiest stop in the New York City
subway system.

6. Penn Station

7. •GRAND CENTRAL
Retail Shops
Apple Store
The Art of Shaving
Aveda
Banana Republic
Cursive
Dahlia
Forever Silver
General Nutrition Center
Grand Central Optical
InnaSense
Jo Malone
Kenneth Cole
Kidding Aroung Toys
LaCrasia Gloves & Creative
L’Occitane
LittleMissMatched
M.A.C. Cosmetics
New York Transit Museum
Oliver & Co.
Origins
Papyrus
Pink Slip
Posman Books
Pylones
Swatch
Tia’s PLace
TOTO
Tumi
Vince Camuto

8. Retail Shops
PENN STATION
K-Mart
Duane Reade
Hudson News (saw about 5 different spots throughout)
Perfumania
Penn Books
Tiecoon
Elégance (clothing boutique)
New York New York (souvenirs)
GNC
Shoe Repair
The Petal Pusher - Fresh Flowers
Carlton Cards
KMart

9. Grand dining
•Grand Central
The Campbell Apartment
Cipriani Dolci
Michael Jordan’s Steak House
Oyster Bar & Restaurant
Cafe Spice
Cafe Pepe Rosso
Chirping Chicken
Ciao Bella Gelateria
Dishes
Eata Pita
Feng Shui
Frankies Dogs on the Go
Golden Krust Patties
Hale and Hearty Soups
Junior’s Restaurant
Magnolia Bakery
Manhattan Chili Co.
Masato
Mendy’s Kosher
Paninoteca Italiana
Shake Shack (coming soon)
Thai Toon
Tri Tip Grill
Two Boots Pizza
Zaro’s Bakery
Zolaco’s
Grand Central Market

10. Penn Dining
•Penn Station
Red Mango - Yogurt & Smoothies
Chop 'N Tacos
Zaros Bread Basket
Dunkin Donuts
Primo Capuccino
Penn Sushi
Delicatessen
Chick Pea
Auntie Anne's
Cinnabon
Starbucks Coffee
Planet Smoothie
Subway
European Cafe
Jamba Juice
Charley's Le Bon Cafe
Au Bon Pan
Hot & Crusty
Central Market
Tast D Lite
Pizza Hut/Nathan's/Taco
Bell/Columbo Frozen Yogurt
Fridays
Carusso's Pizza
KFC
Knot Just Pretzels
McDonalds

12. Themes
Sensation: the smell of different foods, seeing the food in displays or as it is purchased,
hear people making their orders, taste food as you eat it, feel the food as you eat it: the
general experience of eating.
Scale: there are sit down restaurants & fast food joints (one being larger than the other).
Sit downs make you feel a part of the restaurant where fast food joints make you feel a
part of the station.
Technology: most menus can be viewed online as well as their letter grade and yelp
rating.
Social Reproduction: most people use utensils at Grand versus Penn where there are
more finger food options. People wait in line to make their purchases. At Grand people
usually take a seat to eat, whereas at Penn you see some people eating as they walk.
Nature: pets here and there.
Representation: “One entered the city like a God; one scuttles in now like a rat.” Yale
Architectural Historian Vincent Scully

13. Sources
• http://www.grandcentralterminal.com/index.cfm
• http://www.thirteen.org/metrofocus/2011/07/penn-station-v-grand-central-writing-
the-rails/
• http://newyork.nearsay.com/nyc/hells-kitchen-midtown/restaurants-penn-station-
food-options-moes-southwest-grill-le-bon-cafe-rosas-pizza
• http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2011/02/our_10_best_and.php
• http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2011/02/our_10_best_and.php

14. 1962
Pennsylvania Station
Featuring an interview
with an LIRR commuter
2012

15. Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station, aka Penn Station, is the transportation hub for three rail systems;
Amtrak, NJ Transit and the Long Island Railroad. You can also access two different
subway lines; IRT and IND found at opposite ends of Penn Station. Each station has its
own look and feel which varies from the others.
Amtrak runs along the Northeast Corridor from Washington
to Boston, mirroring Interstate 95
How do you get to work in the morning?
‘’I take the LIRR and I take the Path train. “
How do you see traveling the LIRR?
“It’s very convenient and fast, it’s more comfortable than the subway. “

16. Sensation
The graceful Choreography of Penn Station, in particular the Long
Island railroad was fascinating. During a 20 minute recorded
observation, not one person collided with anyone. There were
people with bags, people with children, people with bags and
children, people sans bags, a guy bouncing a basketball and a guy
with a tuba and all managed to avoid a collision. This was a true
wonder given that many of them were either running to a train or
being passed by someone running, one guy accomplished his
running in a hop, jump, shift, jump again kind of way.
What a sight to see!
What senses get stimulated on your commute?
“I would say my sense of hearing; somehow your ears become a little more acute to all the different noises
going on, so what people are talking about, what they’re doing, you know, who’s on the phone, the
conversations going on even though you’re not trying to listen to it, you kind of focus a lot on what people are
doing. “
If there were a sudden change in the sound, would you be more alert?
“Yes, you get used to the sound of the trains themselves and sometimes when something doesn’t sound the
same; either the hum of the air conditioner or the sound of the wheels, or the little screeches and stuff like
that, sometimes something doesn’t sound right because it’s louder or it’s an odd rhythm. You kind of notice
and wonder ‘what’s wrong with this train?’”

17. Scale
Scale in Penn Station can be looked at on several different levels; the size of the station
(originally 8 acres) number of rails systems under one roof (3), number of tracks (21), number
of people that come through the station daily (600,000), and even how much space someone
takes on the train.
How does it feel spatially?
“Over the years, I’m finding the railroad to be a lot more crowded and therefore it’s lost a little bit of its coziness,
almost what people used to think of as a little exclusivity, being on the railroad versus being on the train. Now it’s
almost as crowded as the subway, sometimes you have to stand the whole way which is pretty annoying
considering the price you pay.”
Can you estimate how many people?
“I don’t take the early early trains because they are more crowded, but I would say hundreds. Generally the train
is full, you gotta make sure you put yourself in a spot where you’re gonna be near the door when it opens so you
can get a seat.”

18. Technology
There are many self service kiosks
all over Penn Station, this is a very
convenient way to purchase your
ticket without waiting on long lines.
Free iPhone App called ‘ontime’ for the LIRR
How has your trip changed with Technology
advancements?
“It gives you more distractions, more things to do, it
makes the trip feel quicker, so if I can get on my iPad,
let’s say, and I start reading the news , or I can read
work email, respond to emails, next thing you know I’m
at Penn Station so the time goes by quicker.”
There is even a company, Coo Coo, that you can text your to
and from locations and you will receive a response with
departure and arrival times.

19. Social Reproduction
Clever passengers who supplement their sleep while they commute, are able to do so by
exposing their ticket for the conductor and not be disturbed. This is usually socially
reproduced by nearby passengers who, in order to avoid an unpleasant encounter with the
sleeping passenger, begin to do the same, ah the bliss.
How long have you been taking the LIRR?
“It’s about 15 years, 15/16 years.”
Have you seen any major changes in the way its structured?
“Actually no, considering that the cost of the railroad has gotten higher just about every year, I don’t really
see what I’m getting for the extra money.”
Do you ever happen to go by the NJ Transit area, have you seen how that looks?
“Actually no, I don’t really go by there. I don’t really venture that much.”
Another social reproduction, as commuters focus on
going from point A to point B, is forgetting to ‘stop and
smell the roses’ or in the case of NJ Transit, take in
the sun beams that bathe the beautiful mosaics at the
7th avenue and 31st Street exit.

20. Nature
Do you encounter nature on your commute?
“Yeah, actually, the station where I am has a lot of trees and a lot of stuff nearby there, you can see all the birds
and sometimes you’re standing at the station waiting and you’re kind of just…let’s call it, bird watching because
you’re kind of watching them picking up stuff to build nests, or flying back and forth chasing each other, the little
mating dances, and little rituals.”

21. Representation
What do you think the proper etiquette should be
on the train, what are your pet peeves?
“People talking on the phone pretty loud, we don’t need to
hear your personal conversations. Also, some people get
on the train and feel they own the space and they’ll sit on
one seat, put their bag on another and put their feet on a
third. I guess they don’t want people next to them, they do
it on purpose. If someone is standing, they may not ask to
sit depending on their personality, other people just say
excuse me.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Station_(New_York_City)
http://transportationnation.org/2012/08/07/video-how-to-survive-and-occasionally-thrive-in-new-york-penn-
station-the-continents-busiest-train-hub/
Interview with Addison Augustin of AXA Equitable