President Donald Trump’s Transportation Department asserted Thursday that it is taking control of the long-anticipated renovation and expansion of Penn Station, saying it will pursue the megaproject in partnership with a private developer. To that end, Trump officials said they are revoking a $72 million grant awarded last year to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to upgrade the station.
The U.S. Transportation Department said it would seek to combine the previously separate projects to renovate the dangerously cramped station and expand its capacity, putting both in the hands of a private developer. The reshuffle would displace the MTA from its leading role in rebuilding Penn, instead leaving things in the hands of the federal DOT and Amtrak, which owns the rail hub.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has discussed Penn Station’s future in multiple private meetings with Trump, praised the move, even as many questions remained unanswered from the Thursday afternoon announcement by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. She also implied that the state would pull the $1.3 billion it previously committed toward a Penn reconstruction, expecting the federal government to foot the bill instead.
“In multiple meetings with President Trump, I requested that the federal government fund the long-overdue overhaul of Penn Station. 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,” Hochul said. “This is a major victory for New Yorkers, and the use of federal funds will save New York taxpayers $1.3 billion that would have otherwise been necessary for this project.”
The U.S. Transportation Department informed the MTA in a letter dated Thursday that it was withdrawing the $72 million grant it made last fall, before Trump took office, which was supposed to cover new pedestrian space, entrances, escalators and elevators.
“The necessary planning for reconstruction and expansion of Penn Station will be conducted under a single grant, led by Amtrak,” the letter reads. The department added in a press release that it will pursue a public-private partnership for Penn Station, “harnessing private sector innovation and capital to minimize financial risk to taxpayers.”
MTA President and CEO Janno Lieber issued a terse statement that suggested the authority expects to continue playing a role in talks over the station’s future.
“Gov. Kathy Hochul has prioritized the reconstruction of Penn Station for years, and we’re glad the federal government is focusing on it now,” Lieber said. “As the major leaseholder in the station, we expect to participate in the administration’s and Amtrak’s efforts to ensure future plans meet the needs of everyone who uses it.”
The recent MTA-led upgrades to Penn Station’s Long Island Rail Road Concourse were finished on time and under budget, Lieber noted.
Trump officials touted their move as a win for taxpayers and riders, though the announcement was couched in the antagonistic language that the president has taken toward Democratic-controlled blue states. Under Trump, the federal government has rescinded scores of already-awarded grants to local governments and universities, prompting legal challenges alleging that the administration had no right to claw back the money — and Duffy himself has threatened to reduce funding for the MTA over safety issues.
Amtrak declined to comment. A spokesman for U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, who proudly promoted last year’s grant to the MTA, also declined to comment.
Secretary Duffy also said he was reducing the amount of a separate $72 million grant awarded last year to Amtrak, which was supposed to help the agency study ways to expand Penn’s rail capacity to take advantage of the in-progress Gateway tunnel being built under the Hudson River between Newark, N.J. and Penn Station. The letter did not specify how much that grant would be reduced.
“New York City deserves a Penn Station that reflects America’s greatness and is safe and clean,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who has sparred with Hochul and the MTA on congestion pricing and subway safety, said in a statement. “The MTA’s history of inefficiency, waste, and mismanagement also meant that a new approach is needed.”
Thursday’s announcement raises numerous questions, including the fate of the state-led renovation of Penn Station, which appeared stalled in recent months. Under Hochul, the state had hired the architects FXCollaborative and engineering firm WSP USA to design an internal renovation that would have included a single-story train hall and a skylit atrium.
But the news may be welcome to outside firms that had been jockeying for a role in Penn’s transformation. Local developer Halmar International has pushed its own vision of a grand train hall and new entrance on Eighth Avenue, and urged the state to drop its plan and open the process to a private “master developer” — exactly what Trump officials now say they are doing. (Halmar’s leadership includes Peter Cipriano, who served in the federal Transportation Department during Trump’s first term.)
The advocacy group Grand Penn Community Alliance has similarly called for a public-private partnership. That group touts a proposal by architect Alexandros Washburn that would entail relocating Madison Square Garden across Seventh Avenue to land including the vacant lot that was formerly home to the Hotel Pennsylvania.
Manhattan Assemblyman Tony Simone, who represents the area, said Thursday that he had long supported a public-private partnership to renovate the station, but criticized the attempt to block out the MTA.
“It is imperative that the MTA and local stakeholders continue to be full partners in any plan so that we create a Penn that works for both our region and city,” Simone said. “I am beyond skeptical that this federal government can manage a project of this size by seizing control while simultaneously slashing funding.”
Carlo Scissura, president and CEO of the New York Building Congress — a construction industry group — said he was encouraged by the news.
“As New Yorkers, our focus is on creating an exceptional transit experience that our city and region deserve,” Scissura said. “We look forward to any progress we can make together in this vital work to transform our transportation infrastructure for the benefit of all who rely on it.”
