Penn Sta. scares pol
‘It’s never been this bad,’ says Suozzi
US Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Tom Suozzi (D-LI) is “scared” to walk through Penn Station because of the presence of vagrants and junkies, he said at a press conference held Wednesday to blast Gov. Hochul’s management of the transit hub.
“It’s never been this bad,” Suozzi told reporters after taking the Long Island Rail Road into the city from Manhasset.
“I came here the other day, I personally was scared.”
Gov must see for herself
The Nassau County representative said he was “concerned” that the governor does not understand commuter frustrations with the station because she is from Buffalo.
“I’m concerned that the governor has never lived in New York City. She’s never commuted on the Long Island Rail Road. She’s got to come here and see this facility,” he said. “There’s literally people that are using drugs shooting up right outside. There are people aggressively approaching people right outside of this facility. It’s a scary place.”
“I know people that say they will not come into the city for dinner or for a show because they are scared to come,” he added.
“I just spoke to someone yesterday who said their kids won’t come visit them out on Long Island if they have to come to Penn Station after seven o’clock at night. It’s much worse than it has ever been before.”
Suozzi’s words echoed comments by Hochul herself in October that Penn Station was “scary” and “a place that you do not want to be any longer than possible.”
Hochul’s administration is moving forward with a $7 billion landgrab and redevelopment of the area around Penn, which the state claims is necessary to fund renovations to the station itself.
MTA: Brighter days ahead
Suozzi appeared on Wednesday alongside at least one opponent of the redevelopment project, but did not himself weigh in on its merits.
The governor’s office declined to comment. A spokeswoman referred The Post to the MTA, which said in a statement that Suozzi should redirect his call to action towards city government and Mayor-elect Eric Adams.
“The MTA is glad that Congressman Suozzi supports fixing Penn Station and has now joined the MTA’s repeated calls for the City of New York to give more attention to policing the area around Penn and to assign more mental health and homeless services professionals,” MTA Chief of External Relations John McCarthy said.
“The full-scale modernization Governor Hochul has rolled out will transform Penn into a 21st-century showpiece like Grand Central or Moynihan Train Hall. As the governor has said, we need a Penn Station that serves New Yorkers — LIRR and subway riders, and in a few years Metro-North customers — who are after all the main users of this long-neglected facility.”