Pelham station to get new look, tenants

The town's train station is set to get two new tenants and a fresh look by early next year.

Steam, a year-old Pelham restaurant on Wolfs Lane that has developed a loyal local clientele, will open a branch inside the station to serve commuters.

The cafe will be joined by Houlihan-Lawrence, the real estate brokerage firm, which will open a sales office in space now occupied by Peltown Taxi. The taxi company will continue to serve commuters, using its three parking spaces, but will move its dispatcher elsewhere. Both Steam and Houlihan-Lawrence have signed 10-year leases.

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http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/ ... steam.html

Metro North's arrangement for new tenants in Pelham signifies more profit for the railroad and less service for the commuters. The station, renovated several years ago is in excellent condition. This is a money making issue, since the new tenants will take over maintenance costs of building.
But, they are drastically reducing rest room space to get real estate office space.
They are moving the taxi office out of the station to an inconvenient location a block away, to make room for a real estate office. Riders need taxis every day, but how often do they buy a house?
They are ousting a beloved, 25 year local tenant, Susan Nathanson, a local artist who founded the Station Stop coffee stand, to replace her with a coffee stand from a restaurant owned by one of the real estate people. She was not, as I hear, offered an option to bid on continuing her stand.
Renovations to the waiting room will remove much of the original rest room space, and change a vintage 1893 room, all in the name of historic preservation.
Will "unisex" toilets be able to handle the rush of people who stop before each inbound train? Present facilities are old but adequate.
No details about how waiting room hours will be extended, or facilites made more convenient to travellers. I hope this isn't another corporate cooperative deal at the expense of riders, made necessary because of previous imprudent budgeting by the MTA.
Of course, I could be wrong, lets see.
Roger