What is happening to Penn Station?
The bustling train hub on the west side of Manhattan has been back in the news since federal lawmakers began publicly discussing attempts by the Trump administration to rename Penn Station.
The infamous train station is being resigned as part of a much-talked-about $8 billion project.
No one in the Trump administration has outright declared any intention to name the station after the president, but several officials linked to the former New Yorker have talked about the idea openly.
A recent letter from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy seeking congressional funding, which does not include a proposed name change, sparked swift condemnation by many Democrats. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) over the weekend held a press conference where he promised to stall any efforts to name the station after Trump.
“Any transportation bill, any bill that renames Penn Station for Trump is dead in the United States Senate. I will block it. It ain’t happening, Donald Trump,” Schumer said on Sunday.
The question of a Penn Station name change came before Mayor Zohran Mamdani during an unrelated press conference on Wednesday.
“Is the City going to chip in any money toward that redevelopment and also what do you think about President Trump wanting to rename the station after himself?” a reporter asked Mamdani.
The mayor, in his response, did not mention the president.
“I am more interested in what the station would be able to deliver to New Yorkers than what we call that station,” Mamdani responded. “I think we speak about our city as a world class city, and we know that in order to earn that description we have to provide world class service at every single juncture and there is still much to be done when it comes to ensuring that is the case when New Yorkers experience Penn Station.”