Elizabeth

I want to meet someone arriving at Penn Station. She doesn't know NY at all. She's coming in on a train from Boston.

Any suggestions as to where to tell her to meet me that will be unambiguous and easy for us both to find?

Sandra_NH

There are several items that you need to be perfectly clear about when meeting. If you depart the Amtrak platform by stairs, it only goes up one level to the LIRR waiting area, shops & restaurants. If you depart the amtrak platform by escalators you end up two levels higher by the Amtrak waiting room, shops and restaurants.

Be sure you are both waiting on the same level. Several of the shops/restaurants are on both levels.


I only saw one food court on the upper Amtrak level near the 8th Ave. 33rd Street end. There are seats for patrons of Carvel, Pizza Hut, Nathans, and Roy Rogers. I have not seen these four any where else in Penn Station. It would be easy to find those common logo's along the wall. There is a small bookstore a few doors past Carvel.

You can not wait in the Amtrak waiting room without showing your ticket. But, you could wait at the entrance to the waiting room near the giant display board of departures, on the 8th Ave. side of the station. There is one more entrance to the waiting room towards the middle of the station and escalators up to Madison Square Garden.

There is a staffed visitors center on the 31st St. side, close to the MSG exit. It is near a bank of public phones and security office. There are plenty of booklets to look through for whoever gets there first.

A smaller, less crowded place to meet is the NJ Transit waiting room, on the upper Amtrak level, 31st Street side, past the middle escaltors to MSG, but before you get to the 7th Ave, exits.

Do not meet at the newspaper stand, there are several. Do not meet at the arrival/departure TV screens, they are all over the place.

GoTravel

Meet at the bar at Houlihan's.

EmilyC

When your friend arrives at Penn, she will have to take the escalator up one flight...when she does, she will be very close to the ticketing area and to the business class waiting area. I would meet at the entrance to the waiting area.

newyorker

You can meet at the bottom of the staircase going out to the exit at 31st and 8th Avenue. Or you can meet in front (or inside by the ATM) of the Chase Bank at 32nd and 7th, going towards the Garden.

donnapg

Where ever you decided to meet be sure you have each other's cell phone numbers just in case!

weldy76

But unfortunately, the cell phone reception isn't reliable in there (found out the hard way). (and usually a big fan of verizon!). Finding a foolproof way to meet is the way to go.