'New York ain't paying' for feds' reimagined Penn Station, MSG theater demolition, MTA leader says

New Yorkers should not have to foot the bill to acquire a Madison Square Garden theater so it can be transformed into a train hall, the head of the MTA said on Thursday while criticizing the Trump administration’s plan for a reimagined Penn Station.

A day after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Amtrak announced the selection of a firm to design and build a new Penn Station, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Janno Lieber said that although the MTA has been largely left in the dark about the plan, he knows one thing: "New York ain’t paying."

The firm picked to design the project, Halmar, has proposed acquiring and knocking down the 5,000-seat Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden to make room for a five-story-tall train hall and grand entrance to Penn on Eighth Avenue.

Although MTA officials "haven't been part of those discussions" and "have not seen the design at all," Lieber was critical of the idea.

"How much is the public going to invest in buying out a piece of ... property that is not really in use and, as far as I know, doesn’t really have any unique value?" Lieber said of the theater, which is used for events with lesser demand than MSG’s 20,000-seat arena.

As the parent agency of the Long Island Rail Road, which runs the majority of trains into and out of Penn, the MTA was leading the redevelopment effort until the Trump administration seized control of the project a year ago and turned supervision over to Amtrak, which owns the station. The MTA and Gov. Kathy Hochul have suggested that, because they have been cut out of the process, they should not be expected to help fund the project, which Duffy has said will cost $8 billion.

Asked about the project and whether it would entail the sale of the theater, a Madison Square Garden Entertainment spokesperson said only that MSG looks "forward to working with all parties as their plan advances toward a new Penn Station."

Lieber joined LIRR President Rob Free in Penn Station on Thursday to mark the return of the railroad’s "Cannonball" weekend express train to the Hamptons, which will operate on Thursday and Friday afternoons throughout the summer.

Asked whether the LIRR had made any contingency plans for Hamptons service if the recent union strike lasted into this weekend, Free declined to answer.

"Through tough negotiations, we worked it out and we were able to provide this great service for the summer, and that’s all that matters," Free said. 

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.