Feds back off Penn Station plan that would raze a block in Midtown

The Trump administration is backing off a plan to expand Penn Station by tearing down an entire block of Midtown.

Federal officials announced a new timeline to redevelop the dilapidated transit hub on Wednesday, stating they would begin seeking proposals for its long-sought redevelopment in October and hoped to begin construction on the project in 2027.

But officials said they would not entertain proposals that would require the razing of a block south of 31st Street, which Amtrak officials had floated for years.

Andy Byford, the former head of NYC Transit who was tapped to lead the Penn Station project for Amtrak earlier this year, said “at the moment we’re putting that on hold.”

“ It must be about making the station operationally sound, safe, clean and easy to navigate,” he said. “I want in the future, this station to ooze excellence in every form.”

Byford was picked for the job in May, a month after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the feds would take control of the redevelopment from the MTA, which had for years proposed a plan to overhaul the station, even though it’s owned by Amtrak.

The decision to not to tear down the city block contradicts a report released last year put out by Amtrak, the MTA and NJ Transit that found a Penn Station expansion would be necessary to handle additional train traffic enabled by the Gateway project, which is now under construction. That project aims to add a new Hudson River train tunnel and double passenger railroad capacity between New York and New Jersey by 2038.

Byford said Penn Station’s existing footprint could handle more train traffic if it were to implement “through-running,” or consolidating NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road service so each railroad wouldn’t need to stop and turn around after reaching Midtown.

“While we look to see what more capacity can we squeeze out of the existing station, both through more efficient operations, literally the logistics of running the trains through the station, plus with the potential for through-running,” Byford said.

Federal officials said they aim to run the project as a public-private partnership, like the one created by Port Authority officials to rebuild LaGuardia Airport, which was largely funded by airline companies.

Duffy on Wednesday said the project would be kick-started with a $43 million federal grant. He brushed aside concerns that Amtrak would have any problem cooperating with its partners the MTA and NJ Transit, saying the project is a priority for President Donald Trump.

“As you even see with Ukraine and Russia, look the number of wars he's [Trump] stopped, with Pakistan and India, he has this unique ability to bring people together,” Duffy said.

The fate of Madison Square Garden, which sits atop Penn Station, remains uncertain. Byford left open the possibility the arena may have to relocate. Its permit to operate above the transit hub expires in 2028, and Byford said he’d consider designs that force it to move.

“ Some are predicated on the Garden staying put. Some are predicated on the Garden moving. I'm not going to opine on that,” he said. “I would rather we see what ideas are out there, and then we'll deal with that at a later date.”

Competing visions for upgrading the train station have already been released by outside parties.

A Trump-backed group called the Grand Penn Alliance has released sketches for a Penn Station built with Trump-approved grandeur, Roman columns and “classical architecture.” That plan would move Madison Square Garden across Seventh Avenue to a lot formerly occupied by the Hotel Pennsylvania.

Other plans, backed by the international firm ASTM, would remake the station with large glass entrances and keep the famed arena in place.

The MTA didn’t respond to a request for comment about the new timeline.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said it was one of the first topics she discussed with Trump in January, and is glad to see movement.

“Those conversations successfully secured federal funding in April to advance redevelopment, allowing us to reallocate over $1 billion for other critical projects,” Hochul wrote in a statement. “With Secretary Duffy now advancing this project and requesting design proposals, New Yorkers are one step closer to a station worthy of this great city.”