President Donald Trump resumes the reconstruction of Penn Station and launched the project MTA, Federal Transport officials announced on Thursday.
This decision was presented in a letter to the president of MTA, Janno Lieber, of the chief lawyer of the Federal Railroad Administration, Kyle Fields, who said that the work would be rather supervised by Amtrak, owner of Penn Station.
“There is no reason to delegate the management of this important project,” wrote Sean Duffy, American transport secretary.
“President Trump said: the days of reckless spending and white checks are over,” wrote Duffy. “New York City deserves a Penn station that reflects American size and is safe and clean. The history of MTA with ineffectiveness, waste and mismanagement also meant that a new approach is necessary.
The MTA is planned for years to rebuild Penn station without moving Madison Square Garden, which is above the railway center. The agency also worked with Amtrak and NJ Transit on a controversial plan to extend the station, which would allow more passenger train services in and out of Manhattan.
Now the federals want to combine both projects.
“The necessary planning of the reconstruction and expansion of Penn station will be carried out in a single subsidy, directed by Amtrak,” said the letter from Fields.
This decision will allow Amtrak and the federal government to continue a developer for the reconstruction and potential expansion of the station.
Governor Kathy Hochul said this decision takes off the reconstruction of the New York plate and puts it outright on Trump’s lap.
“During several meetings with President Trump, I asked that the federal government will finance the overhaul of Penn Station,” said Hochul in a statement. “Obviously, this effort has succeeded, and I would like to thank the president and secretary Duffy for having assured the sole responsibility to deliver the beautiful new station of $ 7 billion that New Yorkers deserve. This is a major victory for New Yorkers, and the use of federal funds will save the taxpayers of New York $ 1.3 billion that would have been necessary for this project.
The president of MTA, Janno Lieber, in a statement, noted that the MTA is “the main tenant of the station” and said that it expects the agency to “participate in the efforts of the administration and Amtrak to ensure that future plans meet the needs of all those who use it”.
Tom Wright, president of the Regional Plan Association, said that he would support the federal takeover of the project if that meant that work could really progress after years of delays.
“”It is not a surprise for those of us who have been following this for a few years now, “said Tom Wright, president of the region’s association of the regional plan.” The MTA has succeeded in carrying out the renovation of the long Island Rail Road competition, but things have not progressed recently … From my point of view, the Penn station is owned by Amtrak, the federal government, and it is logical to carry out the renovation plans. »»
Wright was also open to the idea of renamed the train center after Trump “if that’s what it takes to get a large Penn station.”
The takeover by the federal government of the project occurs a month after Trump’s allies have published a revision of Penn station by moving the garden of Madison Square through the seventh avenue and by rebuilding the railway center with a neoclassical design.
The proposal was supported by the National Civic Art Society, which is supported by Major Trump, Thomas Klingenstein, who published a test last month entitled “Only Trump can return Penn Station again.”
Justin Shubow, president of the National Civic Art Society, said that he was supporting the federal taking of the project.
“We are delighted that the administration supports,” he said in a statement in Gothamist. “Only President Trump can build a new Penn station after generations of politicians have failed. It is also an encouraging news because President Trump has proven that he understands the beauty and popularity of classic civic buildings. We hope he will do the classic Penn Station again.”
Hochul last month said that it would not support a Penn Station expansion which would require the demolition of a city block – something that the officials of Amtrak and NJ Transit argued.
“I think there is a reason to be carefully optimistic,” said Layla Law-Gisiko, president of the New York City Club, who was a leading opponent of the expansion project. “What matters here is really what the objective and the objective are for these proposals. If it is simply cosmetic, it will miss the brand. If it is to really improve and improve the capacity and connectivity of the region, I think that could be a very significant improvement.”
Hochul has said in recent months that she had been negotiating with Trump not only on the future of Penn Station, but also the future of MTA congestion pricing tolls, which the president aims to close.
