Gubernatorial hopeful Tom Suozzi says a mega-developer donated campaign funds to Gov. Kathy Hochul and former President Donald Trump to delay Penn Station’s proposed renovation �� and enrich itself.
Vornado Realty Trust and its chairman, Steven Roth, have worked to stymie the project so that the state would be more reliant on funding for it from local taxes — which would mainly come from the developer’s planned new buildings that need OKs, says US Rep. Suozzi (D-NY).
Suozzi fired off a letter Monday to the US Department of Transportation’s Inspector General requesting an investigation into Vornado’s relationship with both politicians.
The congressman specifically noted to The Post that the plan’s crucial Gateway Tunnel component stalled during the Trump administration, saying, “I think that [Vornado] lobbied to delay the project so that there would be a need for more money.”
Gateway calls for new and upgraded infrastructure on local rail lines including those leading to Penn Station.
In his letter to the DOT IG, Suozzi said Roth “reportedly advised” Trump’s transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, to kill the long-delayed Gateway project.
According to Suozzi, the delays kept funds from going to Penn Station’s renovation.
This lack of funding consequently added urgency to plans to also use tax money from Vornado’s proposed new area skyscrapers, Suozzi claims.
In 2018, Roth denied reports that leaked emails indicated he supported the Trump administration’s refusal to OK the project at the time.
Trump’s re-election campaign did not return a request for comment by The Post this week.
As for Hochul, her Penn Station plan, which she inherited from disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, would help along Vornado’s development of surrounding property by sidestepping the city’s typical land use process to seize the area and give it to the developer in a special deal, Suozzi noted.
Under the deal, the state is then set to collect “payments in lieu of taxes” from Vornado to pay for its work at Penn.
But good-government groups and neighborhood activists have warned that the move could also result in billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded developer subsidies that would otherwise fill government coffers. A report published Monday by the city’s Independent Budget Office said it is “unclear” if the subsidies would even be “necessary to spur investment.”
Roth donated $69,700 to Hochul’s re-election campaign in December, according to campaign finance records, and was also a major donor to Cuomo, who gave several speeches promoting the Penn project.
“Any ongoing efforts by Vornado to use their influence as a major political donor over Governor Hochul to alter funding and planning at Penn at the expense of American taxpayers should be disclosed,’’ Suozzi wrote in his letter to the DOT IG.
The congressman added to The Post, “The developer came in like a white knight and said, ‘Oh, you can just build my massive development project, and those tax dollars will pay for the project someday.'”
“A supporter of the governor goes through a secretive process with very little public input and gets a huge development break from the state.”
A rep for the governor said the state is holding ample public meetings on all of the issues.
“Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, we are moving forward on two long overdue infrastructure projects that will dramatically improve New York and ensure our long-term economic vitality: the Gateway Program and Penn Station,” spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays said in a statement.
“Elected officials at all levels have talked about these projects for decades; Governor Hochul will be the one to make them happen.”
Hochul’s campaign declined to comment on the record but referred The Post to state Democratic Committee chairman Jay Jacobs, who called Suozzi’s letter a “desperate attempt” to get attention and a misuse of his congressional office.
“I think this is just another desperate attempt by Congressman Suozzi to throw mud against the wall in the hopes that something will stick,” Jacobs said.
A Vornado spokesman said Suozzi’s timeline was incorrect.
“Vornado has a record of actually getting stuff done for Penn Station commuters, including robust public-private partnerships that opened Moynihan Train Hall on time and on budget, completed a new station entrance at 33rd Street, and soon will deliver a new LIRR concourse that is double the width with much higher ceilings,” the spokesman said in a statement.
“Vornado has consistently been a key partner in this neighborhood, committed to making public realm improvements for all pedestrians.”
