MTA, Amtrak feud over Penn Station $7B overhaul

Also, an interview with John Wilson on the end of 'How To' [View this email in a browser.]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( [The MTA’s $7 billion plan to renovate Penn Station got off to a rocky start]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter curated by Brooks Brunson]( -------------- 🌧️ [What you should expect outside today]( ☁️ The sun allegedly rose at 6:16 a.m., but as night turned to day the light could barely be seen through ominous dark clouds and soon a sheet of heavy rain. Expect this vibe to continue, with humidity levels high enough for instant sweating, which again will make otherwise nice temperatures - high of 80, low of 71 - feel kind of gross. [Read more about today's uneasy forecast, which also includes minor flooding.]( -------------- [The Penn Station feud]( Ever had a colleague "forget" to add you to the meeting invite about a big deal project? Why didn't they loop you in? I imagine this is probably close to how Amtrak executives were [feeling]( last month when MTA officials did not include them in a closed door meeting with a firm hired to consult on Penn Station's redesign. In the week after the meeting, Jennie Kwon, Amtrak's vice president for capital delivery, raised the issue with Jamie Torres-Springer, the MTA's president of construction and development. Torres-Springer responded by calling Kwon's concerns "silly." As you might imagine, that didn't go over so well. [Read Stephen Nessen's story]( to find out what happens next in the dispute, plus more on the latest developments in the $7 billion project to change up the massive Midtown train hub. -------------- More news stories you should know about today: - An NYPD officer threw a cooler at Eric Duprey, knocking him off a motorbike during a drug bust in the Bronx on Wednesday. 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But [it was a long journey]( for the north Brooklyn neighborhood to finally get the designation. “Bushwick is still a majority Black and brown (neighborhood)” city council representative Jennifer Gutiérrez says. “And it doesn’t scream Upper West Side historic district in the way that LPC (the Landmarks Preservation Commission) traditionally had done things.” - Remember that [Little Italy apartment]( with the bathtub in the kitchen from Monday's newsletter? Hell Gate decided to [investigate a bit more]( and attended an open house. No, the microwave does not come with the apartment. - A blue supermoon will be [visible in New York City]( next week. - A Paramus, N.J. bachelor decided it might finally be time to settle down. At age 93, [he's getting married for the first time](. - For those who aren't married yet, [here are some tips]( from a Tribeca bartender on how to flirt effectively. “I was afraid that New Yorkers would dislike me when the show came out” - John Wilson, in [AN INTERVIEW]( about his show "How to." More from Gothamist [second image]( [Woman who killed Broadway vocal coach to serve 8 years after guilty plea, DA says]( “Lauren Pazienza aggressively shoved Barbara Gustern to the ground and walked away as the beloved New Yorker lay there bleeding,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. [Tired of paying for NYC shelters to house migrants? Advocates say their plan would save $3 billion.]( The report pushes for rental vouchers for asylum-seekers, instead of costly shelters. [We Rely On Your Support]( [Second NYC schools employee arrested this week for sex with a minor, police say]( A Queens middle school dean was arrested Tuesday and charged with rape, criminal sex act and child endangerment for allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old boy, according to police. [Fireflies may disappear, so NY scientists are trying to count how many are left]( A movement is underway to understand how imperiled firefly populations are and safeguard the charismatic beetle beloved for its bioluminescent abdomen. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.