MTA Chair Janno Lieber on Monday dismissed an offer by Amtrak special adviser Andy Byford for the state authority to become a “fully involved” partner in the Trump administration’s reconstruction of Penn Station — saying the federal government’s oversight of the project has been "bizarre" and has “the appearance of impropriety.”
Lieber’s message, obtained by Gothamist, came Monday evening, less than 12 hours after Byford sent a letter renewing an offer for the MTA to join the project. President Donald Trump pulled oversight duties of the Penn Station redevelopment from the MTA last year and turned the work over to Amtrak, which owns the Midtown train hub. Last month, Amtrak selected a “master developer” to manage the work. The station's appearance and rider experience have been the source of public outcry for decades.
Lieber’s response indicated the MTA was prepared to hold up the renewal project. He laid out several concerns about how Amtrak selected the “master developer” to oversee the work and how construction would affect Long Island Rail Road operations at Penn Station.
“The MTA’s Long Island Rail Road and the MTA’s subways carry two-thirds of the daily users of Penn Station,” Lieber wrote. “Even more important, the LIRR has a prepaid lease running for another 160 years (through 2186) that gives us approval rights for any construction within or affecting the northern half of the station.”
“Even alterations outside our space may not ‘unduly burden train operations’ or ‘affect the structural integrity’ of our leasehold,” he added.
The design for the station selected by Amtrak aims to build a grand entrance on Eighth Avenue, add tens of thousands of square feet of natural light, raise the ceiling height of the historically claustrophobic halls, and add bronze and stone detailing.
MTA Chair Janno Lieber has denied an offer to join the effort to rebuild Penn Station, saying doing so would harm New York riders and taxpayers.
Byford has said the reconstruction would not affect Penn Station’s new Seventh Avenue entrance and 33rd Street concourse built under Lieber’s direction over the last decade. In his letter on Monday, Byford laid out multiple attempts to get the MTA to sign a “memorandum of agreement” on the project, noting that NJ Transit had already signed on.
Lieber wrote in his response that “there’s no point in rebutting all the blah-blah” about those discussions and said the MTA would stick to its long-standing lease agreement to run service in the train hall. He accused Byford and Amtrak of “gamesmanship” by releasing his initial letter to the public before it was sent to the MTA.
Lieber’s response to Byford offers new insight into the MTA’s opposition to the Trump administration’s Penn Station efforts. Lieber has mostly avoided making public comments on the process since losing control of the work last year.
In his letter, he said the project still has no official cost estimate or funding source. He scrutinized how much the project would benefit Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan, given that Amtrak’s plans would require the purchase and demolition of the Infosys Theater in order to build the new entrance on Eighth Avenue.
Lieber also questioned the Trump administration’s involvement in the selection process. Gothamist previously reported that sources close to the process said Trump would have the final say in picking a design.
Lieber questioned how the construction firm Halmar, which also does work with the MTA, was chosen to lead the project.
“Did their (Halmar’s) executives’ close ties to the Trump administration influence the course for the procurement?” Lieber wrote, likely referring to the company’s executive Peter Cipriano, who previously worked for the federal Department of Transportation during Trump’s first term in office.
Lieber asked what will happen to the project if Trump’s “interest fades and nothing comes of it?”
Lieber also noted that the MTA is “of course open to engaging with Amtrak, but without conditions.”
“Our duty is to protect the interests of thousands of MTA riders at Penn Station — and those of New York state taxpayers, who Amtrak and your chosen developer keep mentioning as potential funders,” he wrote
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy committed in recent months to securing billions of dollars in federal funding and loans to see the project through, and has estimated the cost to be between $7 and $8 billion.
Amtrak spokesperson Jason Abrams said in a statement that his agency's Monday letter “speaks for itself.”
“We are committed to improving the entirety of Penn Station for New Yorkers, and it's unfortunate MTA does not seem to share that approach," Abrams said. "We will continue to act in good faith and keep the invitation open to be collaborative partners so they can provide an even better experience for their customers."
Byford and the feds have set an ambitious deadline to begin construction by the end of 2027. In the meantime, they’ll have to sort out funding and come to an agreement with the essential parties.
In his initial letter Monday, Byford said he’d move forward with the Penn Station project whether or not the MTA joins as a partner.
Clarification: This headline has been updated to reflect the MTA chair's criticism of the Penn Station process since Amtrak took it over. The story has also been updated to include more details on the MTA's criticism of Amtrak's communications about the project.
