(The following article by Pete Donohue was posted on the Daily News website on October 7.)
NEW YORK — Amtrak’s withdrawal from the new Penn Station project threatens to blow a massive budget hole in the plan and knock it off track, state officials said.
Amtrak was expected to be a paying tenant in the new hub in the Farley Post Office, and pony up $50 million to upgrade the underground ventilation system for the current platforms and tracks west of Eighth Ave., state officials said. Amtrak, however, has told the state it is backing out because of budgetary problems, development officials said.
An Amtrak spokesman said he couldn’t confirm whether the heavily subsidized rail system had ever pledged the money.
Either way, loss of the $50 million presents even bigger money problems for the project, which is being spearheaded by the Empire State Development Corp.
The lack of full funding will – for legal reasons – stop officials from tapping into another $315 million in revenue streams, including proceeds expected from bond sales, state officials and project supporters say.
“Unless they plug the hole, the project has high risk of mortality,” said Lee Sander, director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at NYU.
The new $910 million hub, championed by the late Sen. Daniel Moynihan (D-N.Y.), is designed to bring back the grandeur of the original station, demolished in the 1960s. It also would provide better access to and from platforms, increase train service, reduce overcrowding and boost local redevelopment, supporters say.