The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced on Monday, Sept. 27, that the environmental review process for the Metro-North Penn Station Access Project is complete. The milestone makes four new stations in the Bronx as well as direct Metro-North service to Penn Station from the Bronx, Westchester, and Connecticut a step closer to reality.

 

Acting MTA chair and CEO, Janno Lieber, said it was an important milestone for a project and will give people in several, transit-deprived areas of the East Bronx access to jobs, education, health care and everything New York and Connecticut have to offer. “By making use of existing infrastructure, we are connecting people to these opportunities at a fraction of the cost it would take to build a new rail line,” Lieber said. “The next step is to award a contract to one team that will manage both the design and construction in a coordinated way to deliver the project on time and on budget.”

 

Meanwhile, Catherine Rinaldi, president of MTA Metro-North Railroad said the project will be game-changing for Metro-North. “In essentially one bold stroke, it will allow the railroad to dramatically reduce travel times for a transit desert with a vast population of hundreds of thousands of people, and it will allow our busiest line to have a second destination in midtown Manhattan,” she said. “We are already looking forward to opening day.”

 

According to MTA officials, the project will “bolster equity, regional connectivity and resiliency” by delivering a new transit option for residents and workers in the East Bronx with four new, fully accessible Metro-North stations at Co-Op City, Parkchester, Morris Park, and Hunts Point. The advent of train service to these stations is targeted to support the local economy and attract regional talent by increasing accessibility to underserved neighborhoods, cutting commutes, and introducing reverse commuting opportunities, MTA officials said.

 

The news was also welcomed by U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said it was a great day for the future of mass transit access in the South and East Bronx, and in the Westchester Sound communities. “I will continue to advocate for advancing this project and will push for federal grants key to its completion,” he said.

 

Schumer’s colleague, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, said as New Yorkers got back to work and rebuilding the economy, it was important to expand what she described as critical access to safe and affordable public transportation for everyone. “I am pleased to see this project move forward,” she said. “It puts us one step closer to reducing travel times for countless Bronxites who rely on Metro-North to get where they need to go.”

 

MTA officials say the project will use Amtrak’s existing Hell Gate Line to access Penn Station, which they say will maximize the potential of existing infrastructure, while minimizing impacts on the surrounding community. They say it will also bring the Hell Gate Line into a state of good repair and improve resiliency and on-time performance for Amtrak passengers. The project also calls for the construction of new electrical substations, additional tracks within the existing line, work to renew bridges and upgrades to Metro-North’s New Rochelle Yard.

 

Bronx congressman, Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY. 15),  said the advancement was a huge win for transit equity. “With a FONSI [environmental review completion], the project will be able to move forward to provide South Bronx residents with much needed transit services to essential business districts in the Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester and Connecticut,” he said. “I am encouraged by this important step toward ensuring equal access to mass transit.”

 

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said the milestone represented a critical step towards delivering new transit options that will create much-needed and overdue opportunities for residents in the East Bronx. “To these communities, this project is about more than just new train stops,” he said. “It is about increased access to education, employment and health care. I look forward to seeing the impact this project will have on the local economy when the project is complete.”

 

The Environmental Assessment and Section 4(f) Evaluation were released on May 18, 2021 for public and agency comment. On Sept. 24, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a formal “Finding of No Significant Impact” (FONSI) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), marking the conclusion of the environmental review. The MTA published a summary of comments and responses received during the public comment period.

 

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. was also pleased to hear the environmental review had been completed. “For nearly a decade, I have been beating the drum on direct access to Penn Station from The Bronx, and now, this form of transportation in The East Bronx is one step closer to becoming a reality,” he said.

 

Procurement is underway to award a design-build contract to construct the project which, MTA officials say, will dramatically reduce travel times for people traveling to or from the East Bronx.

 

To read the FONSI and response-to-comments document, and learn more about the Penn Station Access Project, visit www.pennstationaccess.info.