New York Construction Report staff writer
The federal government is taking control of the $7 billion project to renovate New York City’s Penn Station and sidelining the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said his agency will withdraw the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from the project and instead work with Amtrak, the federally chartered railroad company that owns the train hub underneath Madison Square Garden.
“New York City deserves a Penn Station that reflects America’s greatness and is safe and clean. The MTA’s history of inefficiency, waste, and mismanagement also meant that a new approach is needed,” he said in a prepared release.
For several years, New York state and city officials have sought to rebuild the nation’s busiest train hub, which has been beleaguered by problems from aging tracks to dreary commuter passageways.
The plan for Penn Station includes a 250,000-square-foot facility with more room for passenger circulation, elevators, escalators, entrances and exits — plus added retail space.
Gov. Kathy Hochul called the move “a major victory for New Yorkers.”.
“In multiple meetings with President Trump, I requested that the federal government fund the long-overdue overhaul of Penn Station,” Hochul said in a statement. “Clearly that effort has been successful, and I want to thank the President and Secretary Duffy for taking on the sole responsibility to deliver the beautiful new $7 billion station that New Yorkers deserve,” she said in a statement.
“This is a major victory for New Yorkers, and the use of federal funds will save New York taxpayers $1.3 billion dollars that would have otherwise been necessary for this project.”
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said he was glad the federal government was focusing on the project, and that he expected the MTA to participate in the plans as the station’s major leaseholder.
