The Penn Station of tomorrow is no longer in New Yorkers’ hands. In May, the Trump administration announced it would commandeer the project, using the federal government to speed up the redevelopment of the station and installing Andy Byford, one of the most respected transit leaders in the world and Train Daddy to New Yorkers, to lead the charge.
I am deeply skeptical that Byford will be given the freedom to successfully redevelop Penn Station in his role as a special advisor to the Amtrak Board of Directors with President Trump and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at the helm. It’s clear that Byford’s new bosses do not have New York City’s best interests at heart. But the federal government’s takeover presents a unique opportunity to reclaim the future of the Penn-area neighborhood.
The Trump administration may take control of the project underground, but New Yorkers still control our own destiny above it. And with the burden of managing the sprawling project now off New Yorkers’ hands, state lawmakers can focus on finally fixing the long ignored Penn-area neighborhood that has sat in waiting as a mix of local, state, and federal entities fight out the vision for the future station.
As Gov. Hochul has correctly pointed out, New York will now save more than a billion in state taxpayer funds that can instead be invested to build a thriving, mixed-use neighborhood that meets the needs of the next generation — thousands of units of mixed-income housing, green space with a grand new park, and 24/7 safety. The politics and the finances give us a real chance to make lasting change — a rarity in New York. We cannot waste it.
This isn’t some small project, either. The Penn community is in dire need of investment. For too long, the fate of the surrounding community has been tied to a doomed, large-scale plan to develop the neighborhood in tandem with the train station. That agreement, known as a “General Project Plan,” has prevented the entire neighborhood from having any new affordable homes for half a decade.
The plan was originally drafted to finance the renovation of Penn Station with office development, but the post-COVID reality of a changing New York means those promised commercial real estate towers have yet to materialize — and likely never will. Meanwhile, an attempt to pivot redevelopment plans to prioritize housing has been blocked by strict commercial development requirements under the existing plan.
Until now. The Trump administration’s wrecking ball approach may very well create new issues for New York, but it also frees us from the last vestiges of the dead-end plan for the Penn area.
Instead, we can start anew. The same General Project Plan that is currently preventing us from building can also, ironically, deliver for the needs of New Yorkers in years, not decades. Rather than commit to hopeless office tower projects, we can create a true mixed-use community that combines retail, much-needed hotel rooms, affordable housing, and new, world-class green space fitting of what this community deserves.
We can meet the needs of New Yorkers by creating a live, work, play community that serves the next generation, and we can start today.
With no timeline for the station’s future, the governor can amend the plan and give the green light so that the neighborhood’s future doesn’t lag years behind Penn Station’s development. She can deliver on her promise for new housing, create lasting, world-class public space to rival Bryant Park, and improve public safety for New Yorkers all at once.
Last month’s mayoral primary election showed New Yorkers want their leaders to commit to bold transformative ideas. The governor can prove that New York still does big things. Together, we can create a vibrant community that serves as the true gateway to our city, and restore the Penn community years before the federal government delivers its reimagined Penn Station. Let’s not miss the opportunity.
Simone, a member of the New York State Assembly, has Penn Station and its environs in his Midtown district.
