Stunning newly released renderings show key parts of Penn Station before and after its planned $8 billion overhaul — which proponents Monday predicted will make it “America’s world transit hub.’’
Photos depict the decrepit Manhattan station’s current bulky columns on a dimly lit train platform — and then the elimination of the columns and the addition of more commuter-friendly lighting and higher ceilings in new schematics.
Another series of shots shows a current run-down ticketing area compared to the planned new sparkling, uniform main concourse with a 50-foot ceiling anchored by a huge gold-plated clock.
Commuters will hold onto bronze hand railings while stepping up or down on the new station’s elegant staircases.
“This will be America’s world hub station,” gushed Andy Byford, a k a “Train Daddy” to Big Apple straphangers when he was in charge of city subways, and now special adviser to Amtrak over the project., during a presentation Monday with the designers and planners.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added in a statement, “The Golden Age of Transportation is coming thanks to President Trump.
“He had a vision to transform this dirty, falling-apart station in the middle of his hometown into a state-of-the-art transit hub that millions can enjoy for generations to come. American families deserve a safe, efficient, and clean commute to their homes, jobs, and churches.
“These renderings provide the public with further proof that the Trump Administration is committed to delivering transformational results for all Americans,” Duffy said.
“I look forward to our continued partnership in delivering this momentous landmark that will completely transform New York City as we know it today.”
Byford said the federal government is expected to pick up a hefty portion of the tab, noting that the Trump administration is “rock solid” behind the project.
But he said New York state, the New Jersey government and New York City should also contribute funding.
Groundbreaking is expected by the end of 2027.
“The MTA and its commuters …will be huge beneficiaries. The beneficiaries should be contributors,” said Byford, who also previously headed London’s transit system.
But he also insisted “there will not be a fare charge on tickets” to pay for the project.
Byford said he wanted to clear up misconceptions.
While the feds including the US Department of Transportation have taken the lead on the project, he said the local Metropolitan Transportation Authority has not “been iced out” and is regularly consulted.
Another Penn Station tenant, New Jersey Transit, had a say in selecting the winning bidder, Byford said.
He also said he recently met with Gov. Kathy Hochul and that there are monthly meetings with elected officials and community leaders, swatting back complaints of a secretive process.
Byford said New Yorkers are “fed up” with decades of talk about remaking Penn Station but seeing no action and that he makes “no apologies for moving at a rapid pace.”
The planners on Monday meanwhile sought to downplay the fact that the design includes a presidential seal alongside the words “President Donald J. Trump” carved into a stone wall inside the station. It will appear near escalators leading into the new concourse.
Trump, a native New Yorker and real-estate tycoon, has taken a personal interest in the project.
It’s “much ado about nothing” because the presidential seal is common place in federal government buildings, officials said when asked about it during the presentation.
The winning proposal was submitted by Penn Transformation Partners — a consortium that includes Vornado Realty Trust, construction firms Halmar and Skanska and a roster of architects and engineers.
Vornado Realty Trust, one of the consortium’s major players, is led by Steve Roth, a longtime Trump ally. Halmar executive Peter Cipriano also previously served as an adviser at the US Department of Transportation during Trump’s first term.
Vishaan Chakrabarti is the lead design architect and founder of the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism. He has long been involved in discussions and proposals about the remaking of Penn Station and presented the new renderings for Penn.
He suggested that history, not the passions or spats of the day, will judge the Penn makeover.
“What matters is what endures,” Chakrabarti said.
Madison Square Garden will remain as part of the complex, but the Theater at Madison Square Garden will move to make way for the renovation, a key space in sprucing up the nation’s largest commuter hub.
In fact, the new towering, light-filled entrance hall and concourse will replace where the theater currently stands — though the feds would have to buy the property from MSG and owner James Dolan at a cost yet to be determined.
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