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Months into new job at Amtrak, Andy Byford blasts boss's Penn Station plans
Months into new job at Amtrak, Andy Byford blasts boss’s Penn Station plans
By Stephen Nessen
Published Aug 1, 2023
Amtrak's plan to tear down a block in Midtown to expand Penn Station is facing unexpected criticism from a high-profile executive within the agency. ... Andy Byford, the former NYC Transit president who joined Amtrak in April as an executive overseeing high-speed rail, said last month that the plan was unnecessary.
“It would break my heart to see beautiful buildings torn down on Eighth and Seventh Avenues when they don’t need to be,” said Byford, whom New Yorkers nicknamed “Train Daddy” when he worked for the MTA from 2018 to 2020.
He made the comments — which were first covered by the Daily News editorial board — during a July 20 Zoom meeting held by the group ReThink NYC on the future of Penn Station.
The criticism came as New York, New Jersey and Amtrak officials continue to move forward with the Gateway Program that aims to build two new rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River and rehabilitate the existing tunnels that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The program also included plans to expand Penn, which would require the seizure and demolition of a swath of buildings south of 31st Street on a site known as Block 780.
{snip}
By Stephen Nessen
Published Aug 1, 2023
Amtrak's plan to tear down a block in Midtown to expand Penn Station is facing unexpected criticism from a high-profile executive within the agency. ... Andy Byford, the former NYC Transit president who joined Amtrak in April as an executive overseeing high-speed rail, said last month that the plan was unnecessary.
“It would break my heart to see beautiful buildings torn down on Eighth and Seventh Avenues when they don’t need to be,” said Byford, whom New Yorkers nicknamed “Train Daddy” when he worked for the MTA from 2018 to 2020.
He made the comments — which were first covered by the Daily News editorial board — during a July 20 Zoom meeting held by the group ReThink NYC on the future of Penn Station.
The criticism came as New York, New Jersey and Amtrak officials continue to move forward with the Gateway Program that aims to build two new rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River and rehabilitate the existing tunnels that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The program also included plans to expand Penn, which would require the seizure and demolition of a swath of buildings south of 31st Street on a site known as Block 780.
{snip}