Trump administration says it will take over Penn Station reconstruction project from MTA

https://www.6sqft.com/trump-administration-says-it-will-take-over-penn-station-reconstruction-project-from-mta/Trump administration says it will take over Penn Station reconstruction project from MTA

By Devin Gannon, 6sqft
April 17, 2025

President Donald Trump’s administration said it was taking over the reconstruction of Penn Station from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Gov. Kathy Hochul. In a statement released on Thursday, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that Amtrak, which owns Penn Station, would spearhead the overhaul instead of the state agency. The move means the MTA’s plan to replace Penn Station with a 250,000-square-foot, single-level facility centered around a large light-filled train hall likely won’t move forward.

In a letter addressed to MTA CEO Janno Lieber, Duffy said the Federal Railroad Administration was rescinding a previously awarded federal grant for the project. The agency said this would save taxpayers $120 million…

According to U.S. DOT, the Trump Administration is advocating for a public-private partnership model for Penn Station, “harnessing private sector innovation and capital to minimize financial risk to taxpayers.”…

In a statement Thursday, Hochul praised the Trump administration for taking over the project and said she will be pulling the $1.3 billion in state funding allocated for the project.
“In multiple meetings with President Trump, I requested that the federal government fund the long-overdue overhaul of Penn Station,” Hochul said. “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.”
“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.”