Penn Station feud escalates as MTA chief Lieber slams ex-colleague Byford

MTA Chair Janno Lieber on Thursday accused Andy Byford, the Amtrak executive in charge of rebuilding Penn Station, of going “full MAGA,” sharpening a feud over how the federal government is running the Midtown project.

President Donald Trump took the rebuild away from the MTA last year and handed it to Amtrak, which put Byford at the helm. Byford once ran New York City Transit, where riders nicknamed him “Train Daddy,” and he was credited with improving service after the subway’s 2017 “summer of hell.”

Why Lieber and Byford are fighting over Penn Station

Lieber was responding to an opinion piece in which Byford argued that the MTA was holding the project back by not cooperating and could delay it further by leaving basic questions unanswered. Byford also praised Trump and wrote that the project had met every deadline, that ground would be broken next year, and that the work would go ahead with or without the MTA.

“I never expected he would go full MAGA, and that’s what he’s done,” Lieber said. He said Amtrak wants the MTA to give up rights under its lease and approve plans the agency has not seen. Lieber has said the MTA’s 130-year lease at Penn Station gives it the right to approve the project so it does not harm Long Island Rail Road and subway riders, and that the MTA needs the designs before it can respond.

Byford answered in a statement that he is staying out of politics. “I’ll leave the name calling to others while I focus on building a world-class station for New Yorkers,” he said.

Penn Station rebuild cost and timeline

A developer was chosen by Trump last spring, and the aim is for construction to begin before 2027 is over. So far, no money has been lined up to cover the price tag, which is put at roughly $8 billion.

Lieber and Byford worked together at the MTA from 2018 until 2020. That year, Byford stepped down from the top job at NYC Transit after clashing with Andrew Cuomo, who was governor at the time. A Cuomo-ordered reorganization had stripped Byford of control over construction projects and handed them to Lieber, who then ran the agency’s construction department. Earlier this year, the two traded pointed letters after Byford asked the MTA to join the work as a “fully involved” partner.