Politicos Push for Penn Station Access Project

Westchester County Executive George Latimer (speaking) and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. (third from left) were among the political leaders who pressed for the Penn Station Access project to begin.

NEW YORK CITY—Bronx and Westchester County officials are pushing Amtrak and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to end the current stalemate over work schedule and other project-related issues in order to allow work to begin on the Penn Station Access project.

Penn Station Access when completed will provide access for suburban NYC commuters to Penn Station on the West Side of Manhattan using existing Amtrak tracks and right of ways. The project would provide a one-seat connection for Westchester and East Bronx commuters to the west side of Manhattan. The first phase of the project calls for Metro North to build four new stations in the East Bronx (Co-Op City, Morris Park, Parkchester/Van Nest, and Hunts Point) that would also serve to benefit Westchester commuters by connecting the New Haven Line to Penn Station directly.