Four Enchanting Things About Penn Station

As a New Yorker who is admittedly always short on time, I find no real use in any of the bus systems of our fair city. They stop too much, they are slower than subways, and the scourge of the earth always seem to be the ones riding them and always hitting the bus stop signal. I also don't take the buses or Amtrak trains out of the city. My family are located on the Metro North line in Connecticut.

Anyway, by that rationale I have never spent all that much time in the city's bus/Amtrak station of record, Penn Station. I lived just in back of Penn Station for a great many years and I was around that area quite a bit; maybe what was on the outside was the reason I was never found on the inside. I was in Penn Station the other day waiting for an appointment nearby and I could not help but find myself enchanted with the Amtrak portion of Penn Station just downstairs from Madison Square Garden. Here are four things I loved about my Penn Station experience and reasons why Penn Station could be my new hangout.

1) Cleanliness: While I can't speak for the majority of the time, I can say that while I was there the place was really quite clean. Penn Station is the busiest train station in the nation but all in all, the air felt clean, the floors looked clean, and the temperament of the people inside was all very groovy and laid back.

2) Amtrak Rotunda: Maybe the most impressive part of the space; like the clock in Grand Central or the pillar in Times Square is the rotunda area where the Amtrak arrival and departure screen is. The area sort of opens up and carries you off as fluorescent becomes more natural light.

3) Food Court: At this rotunda, and all along the walkway, there is a proud food court which offers so many different kinds of food. Names like Rosa's Pizza, vegetarian Le Bond Cafe, and Jamaican eatery Island Dine are a few of the many great places to stop and eat.

4) Frozen in Time: While the AM and PM rushes are likely a mad house, the middle of the day calm sort of had me feeling warm and safe and frozen in time. There were police there, there were business people and families being reunited or saying goodbye; the place had a definite air about it which felt genuine.

While the NJ Transit buses and Amtrak trains may be a pain for regular riders, the feeling of comfort from Penn Station really made an impression.