Amtrak sent a letter to the MTA on Monday to \u201creinforce\u201d its offer for the New York transit agency to sign on as a \u201cfully involved\u201d partner in the federal government\u2019s plan to renovate Penn Station.<\/p>\n
The letter, from Amtrak special advisor Andy Byford to MTA Chair Janno Lieber, said the MTA has made a \u201crepeated choice over the past year to opt out of participating in the project.\u201d The Trump administration took over the Penn Station rebuild from the MTA last year, and gave control of the project to Amtrak.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good news is that MTA can still change its mind,\u201d Byford wrote. \u201cWe continue to extend this offer because this project is so critical for New York City, New York state, New Jersey, and soon Connecticut.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter came the same month Amtrak selected a \u201cmaster developer\u201d group to rebuild the country\u2019s busiest transit hub. The design includes a large new entrance on Eighth Avenue that would help bring in natural light to the dark and cramped station. Renderings of the project<\/a> include a presidential seal with President Donald Trump\u2019s name.<\/p>\n The feds have pinned the project\u2019s cost at $8 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since Amtrak took over the project, the MTA has repeatedly said it will rely on its rights as a Penn Station leaseholder to enforce its interests in the renovation. The MTA under Lieber built a new LIRR entrance and upgraded a cramped concourse<\/a> at Penn Station. The agency also led a $74 million commission<\/a> to redesign the station before Trump took control of the project.<\/p>\n The MTA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Byford\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n