Last week, Assembly Member Tony Simone unveiled a revised plan for the redevelopment of Penn Station. With better public space, a park and a focus on residential buildings, the modified General Project Plan (GPP) would NOT require razing Block 780 in order to build unwanted commercial buildings.
A few days later Governor Hochul confirmed that she wants to save Block 780 and indicated that Amtrak had to come to to grip with the fact that they could not count on that block to expand the station. This is the same position Rethink NY and many other luminaries had taken for years when proposing the thru-running technology.
Two days later, Amtrak CEO resigned. He had been a steadfast proponent of a southern expansion.
You can read here an excellent commentary on the thru running implications of this announcement. See the full press release here.
This is a big step in the right direction for our community and this project. Not a minute too soon.