In an 11th hour move reminiscent of the failed effort to construct a stadium over the Hudson Rail Yards, New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s representative on the Public Authorities Control Board voted against the Pataki administration’s plan to convert the James A. Farley Post Office on Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets into Moynihan Station, a new rail hub that would ease overcrowding at Pennsylvania Station across the street.

The project was voted down by one person despite widespread public support and after all other necessary approvals and financing had been secured.

Unlike the Jets stadium, however, there remains overwhelming support and a desire among the major stakeholders to revive the project and possibly expand its scope in the coming months.

According to the expanded proposal, dubbed "Plan B," a new Madison Square Garden would be built in the western Farley annex, which would allow for the developers of the project to create a modern new entrance to the current Penn Station and fill the block over the train station with a series of mixed use towers that could include office space, a hotel, retail and residential units.

“The New York Building Congress supports the larger proposal, which represents a bold vision for a grand gateway to a redeveloped Far West Side. However, we agreed with the Pataki and Bloomberg administrations in wanting to see the original proposal go forward even while the larger plan is advanced,” said Dominick M. Servedio, Building Congress Chairman and Chairman/CEO of STV Group, Inc. “It is critical now that all parties begin working immediately in the New Year to regain the momentum that was lost.”