Moynihan Station plans depend on big federal funds

The $2 billion redevelopment of Penn Station and Madison Square Garden might not move ahead without $800 million in funding from Washington. The federal government will consider that hefty sum as the city’s other mega-projects compete for dollars from D.C. Those include the Second Avenue Subway, the East Side Access project at Grand Central Terminal and a possible freight-rail tunnel between New Jersey and Brooklyn. Sen. Charles Schumer said “we are going to do everything we can to see it through, but a significant federal investment is going to be a very heavy lift, especially under this administration.” The Dolan family, which owns the Garden, could complicate matters if the proposed Moynihan Station doesn’t progress by drawing up plans to renovate the arena instead of moving it.