New York, N.Y. – Citing the potential for “catastrophic failure” of infrastructure at New York’s beleaguered Penn Station and aging subway network, New York State Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz (D - Bronx) is calling for federal intervention to declare the situation an emergency, possibly even paving the way for the United States Congress to disburse federal disaster relief funding under the Federal Transportation Administration’s (FTA) Emergency Relief (ER) program. This request comes shortly after the Assembly passed a resolution sponsored by Dinowitz formally requesting that Congress contribute funding towards Penn Station’s Infrastructure Renewal Program.

This week, Dinowitz sent a letter to President Trump urging him to consider federal actions regarding Penn Station, whether by executive order or to by declaring the situation a federal emergency pursuant to the federal Stafford Act and the FTA’s ER program (49 U.S.C. 5324).

According to Dinowitz’s letter, the state of disrepair of Penn Station and connecting tunnels under the Hudson River, as well as aging infrastructure and overcrowding in the city’s subway network could potentially lead to catastrophic failure. Penn Station alone has seen in recent months myriad of train derailments, leaking roofs and sewage, and a stampede in April that injured 16 commuters.

Penn Station is the largest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere, servicing as many as 600,000 commuters per day. The station is owned and operated by Amtrak, however the stations two largest tenants, the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) and the New Jersey Transit commuter rail are the most active users of the station by a wide margin. Despite ownership, Amtrak is dwarfed in terms of ridership by LIRR and NJ Transit trains.

Recently, Amtrak President and CEO Charles W. Moorman IV, attended a public hearing held by the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions, chaired by Assemblyman Dinowitz, to answer questions and concerns regarding its planned Infrastructure Renewal Project and the expected service disruptions that will occur this summer. These service disruptions, for which Penn Station is already infamous, will slow down service by as much as 20% or more. Amtrak maintains that this summer’s disruptions are absolutely mandatory to fix tracks and the stations aging infrastructure, in lieu of continuous Band-Aid fixes which Amtrak claims have led us to the current situation. Additionally, Amtrak plans additional infrastructure overhaul that will significantly disrupt service at an as-of-yet undetermined date and period of time after this summer.

“Millions of people rely upon New York’s transit systems and its transportation hubs to commute in and around the New York City metropolitan region. We are on the brink of a catastrophic failure that would impact millions of commuters and devastate our economy. It is our responsibility as legislators to ensure that these transportation systems are working efficiently. While it is understandable that Penn Station would periodically experience service disruptions and delays, the problems at Penn Station are all too frequent and consistent. Now, Amtrak says, that these will get worse, not better, and that there will be additional service disruptions even after this summer,” said Assemblyman Dinowitz. “Given Amtrak’s record in handling Penn station thus far, I can say with certainty that a 20% estimated reduction in service is likely a low estimate and that the consequences of service disruptions will be more serious and far-reaching than are being predicted by Amtrak. We must call for federal intervention to provide emergency relief to prevent Penn Station from devolving into a catastrophe that prevents millions from functioning and from crippling our transportation system.”