Standing before a giant screen at the Association for a Better New York breakfast recently, Amtrak executive Andy Byford outlines some bold ideas to run trains from the Long Island Rail Road into New Jersey and vice versa. But it will be no simple fix, as all railroads have traditionally ended their runs at Penn Station. ( Photo: Michael Oreskes) Byford Plan: Figure Out How to Get LIRR to Run to New Jersey No one can accuse Andy Byford of thinking small. Byford presented to a breakfast of New York power brokers his game plan for... News 24 Nov 2025 | 05:34
The Trump administration, which took over the Penn Station rebuild effort from the MTA earlier this year, outlined a very ambitious plan in find a master builder by May and break ground on a new Penn Station by the end of 2027. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly) Feds Seek Master Developer for Penn Station, Hope to Break Ground in ’27 The Trump administration announced that it was pressing forward on a brisk timeline with rebuilding Penn Station and improving... News 01 Nov 2025 | 12:52
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy (at mic) says the Trump administration wants to get shovels in the ground on the Penn Station rebuilding effort by the end of 2027, before Donald Trump leaves office. He is flanked by Deputy Transportation Secretary Steven Bradbury (left) and Andy Byford, the Amtrak executive who was appointed to oversee the rebuild. ( Photo: Michael Oreskes) Penn Station: Full Steam Ahead but Any Plan to Bulldoze Block to the South on Hold–for Now The physical expansion of Penn Station, which could require the destruction of the block immediately to the south, is “absolutely... News 29 Aug 2025 | 08:57
The plan advanced by the Grand Penn Community Alliance would erect a new façade as a grand entrance leading into Penn Station. The alliance be on the brink of picking up some deep-pocketed backers from South Korea. ( Design: Draw Global/Visuals: Illuminaric Creative) South Korean Firms Want to Invest Billions in Rebuild of Penn Station As part of South Korea’s new trade deal with the Trump administration, Korean industrialists are offering to invest in the... News 23 Aug 2025 | 08:10
Andy Byford speaks to a gathering of the Empire Station Coalition on his plans for the “transformation” of Penn Station. He is holding a copy of Lost New York, by Nathan Silver. The cover is a photo of the old Penn Station before it was demolished. ( Photo: Michael Oreskes) ‘Train Daddy’ Byford: ‘Hard Part Starts Now’ in Penn Station Rebuild Andy Byford has been to church, specifically St. John the Baptist, just south of Penn Station, the French Gothic work of... News 20 Jul 2025 | 08:14
Andy Byford, when he was still president of the NYC Transit in February 2018.. President Trump tapped him as the man in charge of Amtrak’s plan to overhaul Penn Station. ( Photo: Marc A. Hermann/MTA) Exclusive: Andy Byford Tapped to Head Amtrak Redevelopment Plan for Penn Station Andy Byford, who has run rail agencies on three continents, has agreed to take over the renovation and possible expansion... News 23 May 2025 | 09:22
Andy Byford on Friday, March 9, 2018, when he was the NYC Transit president. Two years ago he suggested transit expansion could be achieved by running trains through Penn Station rather than treating it as a terminus. ( Photo: MTA) Where Have You Gone, Andy Byford? Penn Station Turns Its Lonely Eyes to You It is coming on two years since Andy Byford, the much-loved “Train Daddy” of New York City Transit, touted the “golden opportunity”... News 11 May 2025 | 05:48
Wanted for mugging a senior woman for her purse, Sixth Avenue and 16th Street, April 18, 2025. ( Photos: NYPD) Woman Mugs Woman in Chelsea; Penn Station Stabber Indicted Cops from the 13th Precinct are on the lookout for a suspected woman mugger who targeted a senior woman in Chelsea recently.... News 28 Apr 2025 | 10:12
Some state and local officials were coming up with plans on how to spend the money that the MTA could save now that the federal government is taking over the rebuilding of Penn Station. But the Trump administration is now saying they don’t plan to foot the entire bill. ( Photo: MTA) Not So Fast: Trump Admin Says It’s Not Footing Entire Cost to Renovate Penn Station When the Trump administration seized control of plans to renovate Penn Station, Gov. Hochul said New Yorkers had won a major... News 28 Apr 2025 | 12:20
The federal government wants to take over the long-stalled Penn Station redevelopment plan, taking over from the MTA. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly) Feds Take Over Penn Station Renovation Plan The Trump administration took over planning for the renovation and possible expansion of Penn Station, shoving the MTA aside... News 20 Apr 2025 | 07:30
Young Tom Klingenstein (shown above, with his grandfather Joseph Klingenstein in 1962) was taken to the majestic original Penn Station in 1963 by Grandpa Joe just before the rail hub faced the wrecker’s ball. Now 71, Tom is working with a group on a plan for a new Penn Station. And he says Donald Trump could help. ( Photo: Courtesy Tom Klingenstein) A New Classical Penn Station? This Backer’s Plan Inspired by Grand Original Joseph Klingenstein must have known the architectural masterpiece was doomed when he took his grandson to see it. Visiting... News 13 Apr 2025 | 02:39
St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church on Seventh Avenue and West 30th Street would be spared now that Gov. Hochul no longer wants to demolish the city block where it sits to accommodate an expanded Penn Station. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly) Hochul’s Retreat on Penn Station Expansion Will Spare Entire Block from Demolition Gov. Kathy Hochul pulled the rug out from under Amtrak’s hope to double the capacity of Penn Station by tearing down the... News 22 Mar 2025 | 05:38
Grand Penn Alliance’s chief architect, Alexandros Washburn, who led the creation of the Moynihan Train Hall, outlines the plan for a new Penn Station that would move Madison Square Garden across Seventh Avenue and in its place create a green park leading to the nation’s busiest rail hub. ( Image: Michael Oreskes) New $7.5B Penn Plan–This One Pushed by Trump Allies The time has come to make Penn Station great again. That not particularly subtle message to Donald J. Trump—who routinely... News 15 Mar 2025 | 09:35
Assembly member Tony Simone (right) has an alternative Penn Station plan that will spare the block south of Penn Station from demolition. To the rear is the empty lot that once housed the Pennsylvania Hotel. Simone wants that to be a park, whereas the parcel’s owner, real estate developer Vornado, says it still has plans for future office towers on that spot. ( Photo: Michael Oreskes) New Penn Plan: 2 West Side Pols Unveil Proposal to Save Block South of Station from Teardown New York State’s plan to redevelop the neighborhood around Penn Station should be drastically revamped to provide more housing,... News 09 Mar 2025 | 01:36
Governor Hochul is hoping to work with President Tump on plans to redevelop Penn Station in one as “magnificent” as Moynihan Train Hall. But ReThinkNY is pushing for a more open planning process. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly) Hochul Tries to Make Nice with Trump over Penn Sta. As Critic Pushes for More Input on Plan Governor Kathy Hochul said she wants a new Penn Station for commuters that is “as magnificent” as Amtrak’s Moynihan station,... Voices 21 Nov 2024 | 01:39
