The urgency to fix the station has reached a peak. But this also creates a great occasion to get something done — something grander than Mr. Cuomo's current plan, a project born of political expediency.
For the majority of commuters in New York, New Jersey and the surrounding areas, Penn Station has been the source of many headaches, late arrivals to work, and chaos as of late. Throughout the month of April, multiple trains have been derailed, a train got stuck at Penn Station, there have been ongoing power problems, and a false-alarm of a gunshot caused a stampede injuring 16. All of these incidents have caused massive delays further congesting an already cramped transit system and instilling fears of safety. The issues have been so disruptive that there is even a social media push, #NoPayMay, for commuters to use April's tickets stubs in May due to the substandard service the past month.
On Thursday, Amtrak officials revealed they would be closing several tracks over the summer but have yet to say how many, or for how long. While the need for improvements are highly recognized, many fear that Amtrak's approach to tackling the deteriorating infrastructure will strain the alread...