Schumer vows to block President Donald Trump's name on Penn Station

Sen. Chuck Schumer said he’ll block any attempt by the White House to rename Penn Station after President Donald Trump.

The Senate minority leader’s vow at a Sunday news conference came after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Wednesday sent a letter to congressional leaders outlining various transportation priorities held by the Trump administration, including for the ongoing $8 billion redevelopment of Penn Station.

Among those priorities, Duffy wrote, is to "direct Amtrak to rename New York Penn Station."

Although Duffy’s letter didn’t specify what name would be chosen for a rebranded Penn Station, Schumer said, "it doesn’t have to."

"We know what it is," Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. "The administration wants Donald Trump’s name on that station."

Duffy has previously said that Trump Station "has a nice ring to it." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Trump himself have acknowledged discussions about renaming the Manhattan transit hub after the president.

Schumer suggested the White House shouldn't get its hopes up.

"Any bill that renames Penn Station for Trump is dead in the United States Senate," Schumer said. "I will block it. It ain’t happening, Donald Trump. Forget about it."

Asked for a response to Schumer's vow, the U.S. Department of Transportation, in a statement, did not address station renaming efforts, but said Penn Station has been "allowed to be overrun by homelessness and decrepit infrastructure" since Schumer was elected 27 years ago.

"While he sat on his hands, President Trump and Secretary Duffy went to work setting and meeting ambitious timelines to deliver a world class station for Americans to enjoy," the DOT said.

Amtrak, the quasi-federal agency that owns Penn Station and is heading the redevelopment efforts, has referred questions about a potential station renaming to the DOT.

Train stations have been renamed before at the urging of the White House. After President Barack Obama in 2014 signed a law directing 30th Street Station in Philadelphia to be renamed after the late William Gray III, a Pennsylvania politician and civil rights leader, Amtrak offered alternative tributes before agreeing three years later to comply. In 2019, signs went up for William H. Gray III 30th Street Station.

But unlike station renaming efforts with public support, "nobody in New York wants Penn Station named after Donald Trump," Schumer said. "No one asked for it."

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.