Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rode Amtrak from D.C. to New York on Wednesday to tout several U.S. DOT initiatives — including the agency's recent takeover, via Amtrak, of the Penn Station renovation project.
After riding the brand new "NextGen" Acela from the nation's capital to the Big Apple, Amtrak's senior advisor on the project, ex-MTA official Andy Byford, announced the start of a search for a "master developer" to come up with a plan for New York Penn, the country's busiest transit hub.
Duffy, who once called the New York City subway a "shit hole" and spent the spring complaining about congestion pricing was uncharacteristically upbeat about the five boroughs, saying that New Yorkers are "blessed" to have a president that cares about their city.
"New York has given him a little bit of pushback, but he loves all of you," Duffy said of President Trump. "You all are blessed to have a president who cares about the project and who cares about the deliverables for New Yorkers."
But Duffy let Byford do most of the talking: The Brit promised shovels in the ground for the Penn Station rehab by 2027 and few other details. Rather than expanding or completely rebuilding the station from the ground up (and tearing down Madison Square Garden in the process), Byford said he first would "look to see how we could use this station more efficiently." That could be accomplished by running trains through Penn as opposed to having Penn serve as the end of the line. One thing it won't entail: Razing the block south of 31st Street, which had been a longtime Amtrak priority.
Little other details were revealed, as Byford stressed continually while taking questions.
Duffy and Byford are the latest in a long line of transportation and political leaders to make big promises about the future of Penn Station.
For a complete explainer on the state of the massive transit hub, check out Streetsblog's resident rail expert Nolan Hicks's deep dive from April:
In other news:
- A lot of new outlets covered Duffy's dog-and-Pennsy show, including Gothamist, amNY, Crain's and the Times.
- Not unrelated: NJ Transit experienced "major delays" in and out of Penn on Wednesday. (Gothamist)
- RPA continues to take heat from the press about the money it received from Amtrak. (Crain's)
- Prepare for Labor Day Weekend traffic hell. (Gothamist)
- Fresh off a massively failed lobbying campaign, Instacart now claims it supports the city's new minimum wage for its workers — with conditions. (amNY)
- Open Plans, Streetsblog's parent organization, joined a "growing chorus" of concerns about AV company Waymo's entry into the city. (Gothamist)
- Longtime TWU buses V.P. J.P. Patafio lost his union role for "trying to improperly punish an alleged philandering bus-driver rep." (NY Post)
- Sidewalk expansions hit Atlantic Avenue near the BQE. (Brooklyn Eagle)
- A top NYPD traffic cop is accused of committing a hit-and-run and trying to cover it up. (The City)
