The head of the federal Department of Transportation promised on Thursday to take away control of the project from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The head of the federal Department of Transportation promised on Thursday to take away control of the project from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The head of the federal Department of Transportation promised on Thursday to take away control of the project from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The head of the federal Department of Transportation said on Thursday that the Trump administration would take control of the $7 billion renovation of Pennsylvania Station away from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The move appeared to be the latest salvo in a running confrontation between the Trump administration and New York’s transportation agency, which began when the federal transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, ordered the state to end its congestion pricing program.
The station, one of the busiest and also most maligned transit hubs in the world, has for decades been on the verge of a huge overhaul to remedy its cramped and dreary corridors. But the competing priorities of local, state and federal stakeholders have made progress difficult.
It was not immediately clear what the administration’s vision for Penn Station might look like, but federal officials stated a preference for Amtrak, the station’s owner, to partner with private investors on the renovation. Nor was it known whether the Trump administration supports one of the various proposals for renovating or expanding the station.
But Mr. Duffy did not miss an opportunity to disparage the M.T.A., charging that its leadership has mismanaged the project.
“President Trump has made it clear: the days of reckless spending and blank checks are over,” Mr. Duffy said in a news release. “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.”