Deplorable conditions at Manhattan's Pennsylvania Station's transit hub has prompted Andrew Cuomo, New York's Governor to seek emergency federal aid from President Donald Trump, on Sunday. If essential track repairs are left in the hands of Amtrak then 600,000 Penn Station daily commuters will face a summer of agony, said Cuomo. Along with Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road also run through the station.
Cuomo emailed Trump asking for aid
Cuomo said in an email released by the governor's office to Trump, that the federal government must treat the Penn Station situation as an emergency.
The governor is requesting short-term funding for construction and transportation re-routing. Cuomo hopes to be able to provide Penn Station and its commuters with a long-term resolution.
In recent weeks, derailments disrupted hundreds of thousands of commuters in the past few weeks due to Amtrak. Deteriorating track conditions, since then, have been the cause of daily service delays and cancellations at New York's Penn Station.
Overcrowding causes near-riot conditions
Near-riot conditions have been created due to overcrowding of the Midtown Manhattan station. Commuters have been stranded and put at risk due to unsafe conditions, wrote Cuomo. It is thought that Andrew Cuomo, Democratic Governor, may run in the 2020 presidential race.
In an email, Lindsay Walters spokeswoman for the White House said the White House had received Cuomo's letter. Walters also said that they were anxious to have conversations with towns across the U.S. regarding the importance of improving America's infrastructure.The two-term governor of New York urged the president to consider a complete overhaul of Pennsylvania Station in his federal plan that allows for $1 trillion of infrastructure investments.
Cuomo willing to consider other options
Cuomo also wrote in his email to the President that they would be willing to consider a number of options as an alternative to Amtrak. The New York and New Jersey Port Authority, suggested the governor, could do a better job overseeing repairs and necessary renovations. New York's airports and many of their bridges and tunnels are operated by the New York Port Authority already.
Governor Cuomo took office in 2011 and has been in charge of many renovations and important infrastructure projects throughout the boroughs of New York. Cuomo was responsible for opening the long-delayed Second Avenue subway in New York City, renovating LaGuardia Airport, and replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
