Cuomo Proposes Penn Station Takeover As Commuters Face 'Summer Of Hell'

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — New York's governor proposed a New York State takeover of Penn Station as commuters into the hub prepare for a "summer of hell."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo suggested the "dysfunctional" concourse be taken over by the state, by the Port Authority or by an independent contractor and completely rebuilt.

Cuomo took aim at the station's existing operator Amtrak, calling the situation at the transit hub "extreme discomfort meets catastrophic dysfunction" during a speech Tuesday. Penn Station commuters have been subject to regular and severe train delays, derailments, mechanical problems and overcrowding for months.

Amtrak has proposed a six-week construction plan this summer aimed at repairing infrastructure work that Cuomo said would create a "summer of hell" for the 600,000 Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit commuters who utilize Penn Station every day. Amtrak has not yet revealed details on the extent of service disruptions during the planned summer construction.

Cuomo proposed several short-term alternatives such as new park-and-ride facilities on the Long Island Expressway, free private coaches from Nassau and Suffolk counties and high-speed ferries between Long Island and New York City. Cuomo mentioned similar alternatives in a letter sent to President Trump requesting federal support for the transit crisis.

"We come in the spirit of cooperation and creativity," Cuomo said Tuesday of working with Trump and the federal government. "It's not about politics and partisanship."

But Cuomo also proposed a new ownership model for Penn Station. The station has been operated by Amtrak since 1981, Cuomo said Tuesday. Currently the station consists of three separate concourses (Amtrak, LIRR, NJ Transit), each being run by three independent operators. The governor proposed three new ownership models – a Penn Station takeover by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; Amtrak hiring a private contractor to run the station; or a takeover by New York State.

Whichever new model is created, Cuomo said Tuesday that Penn Station needs to be entirely rebuilt and modernized. The new Penn Station would consist of the new Farley Train Hall, three renovated train concourses and connection to the Gateway Tunnel between New York and New Jersey.

Because the Farley Building, LIRR renovation and Gateway Tunnel projects are already underway, whichever entity that ends up taking over Penn Station would be responsible for the entire project, Cuomo said.

"We have endured the hell of a dysfunctional Penn Station for too long," Cuomo said Tuesday.

Cuomo's proposals for Penn Station were slammed by Reclaim New York — a nonprofit founded by Republican party mega-donor Rebekah Mercer, daughter of hedge fund magnate Robert Mercer. The organization's director, Brandon Muir, called Cuomo's proposals a "costly joke for riders" and taxpayers.

"This mess of proposals would pass the buck to taxpayers and riders who already pay sky-high costs in taxes, debt, and fares only to get service that keeps reaching new lows," Muir said in a statement.

On Monday the New York State Senate passed a bill to withhold state funds from Amtrak should "unscheduled delays and cancellations" continue at Penn Station. The bill authorizes the MTA to discontinue payments to MTA as "to help compensate Penn Station commuters and hold Amtrak responsible for costly and frustrating delays."

In addition to the short- and long-term Penn Station solutions, Cuomo proposed improvements to New York City subways on Tuesday. Cuomo identified the system's three main challenges: an aging signal system, antiquated trains and the lack of new technologies.

Cuomo refused to accept the industry estimate that installing a new signal system for the entire subway system would take 40 to 50 years. Cuomo stated that he would be dead in 40 years, which drew laughter from the audience, saying, "so it cannot take 40 years." Cuomo also said that three years for new train cars is too long considering that cars as old as 30 years are still in circulation.

To come up with solutions for these problems, Cuomo proposed the MTA Genius Transit Challenge. The challenge will encourage people to submit ideas on solving one of the MTA's three biggest problems, identified by Cuomo, and will pay out $1 million for the winning idea.

The fixes to the signal systems, new train cars and modern technologies are seen as long-term improvements compared to the MTA's recently announced six-part plan, Cuomo said.

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