Penn Station gets ‘magic key’ and $43 million to push redevelopment forward

The redevelopment of Penn Station finally pulled out of the station with the announcement of a timeline for the project that promises to start construction in 2027. 

Andy Byford, the former president of the New York City Transit Authority better known as New York City’s “Train Daddy,” and who is now heading the redevelopment of the station for Amtrak, which owns the transit hub, on Wednesday appeared alongside U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to unveil the new timeline for the redesign project. Solicitations for a “master developer” on the project will begin in October and conclude in May 2026. Preliminary design and environmental work will follow, with construction slated to start in 2027.

Duffy also announced that $43 million in federal grants would immediately kickstart project development and the selection of the master developer, as well as work on permitting and preliminary engineering. He and Byford said the redevelopment would not waste time or have false starts, thanks to the commitment of the Trump administration. Duffy noted that President Donald Trump, now living in Florida, is originally a New Yorker and still “loves New York.” 

Standing in the station’s former taxi way before a crowd of reporters, Byford and Duffy delivered a picture of confidence in delivering what they promised – a transformation of Penn Station that doesn’t cut corners on the redevelopment of the nation’s busiest transit hub. 

“We're confident that we will succeed,” Byford told reporters at a press conference. 

“And why do I say that?” he added. “Well, very simply, because there is precise and absolute alignment between all of the key stakeholders. From the White House, through the U.S. DOT, through to Amtrak, there's absolute alignment, and that is the key. The magic key to unlocking this station's potential, in a way that frankly hasn't hasn't been achieved before.”

The project had originally been led by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, until the Trump Administration intervened. Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement recalling a meeting she had with the president earlier this year, where she had called on him for his support for the station plan. “One of the first things I raised with President Trump in January was the need to give New York City the beautiful Penn Station it deserves,” she said in a prepared statement. “With Secretary Duffy now advancing this project and requesting design proposals. New Yorkers are one step closer to a station worthy of this great city.”

Duffy also weighed in on the unrelated matter of congestion pricing. When asked for an update, he noted that the government’s objection to the toll program was tied up in litigation. “I maintain my point that to drive a car in New York City, you shouldn't have to be an elite. You shouldn't have to be wealthy,” he said in a response to a question from City & State at the press conference. “I think the streets should be open to everybody. Not just those who can afford to pay the congestion pricing.”