Not enough daylight. Not enough space. Not enough track capacity. Not enough entrances or exits. Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that even after hundreds of millions of dollars on upgrades in recent years, Penn Station in Manhattan still has more than its share of shortcomings. And, there are several competing proposals to address them.

President Donald Trump’s administration in April took over the effort to transform the 115-year-old station "into a world-class facility while safeguarding taxpayer dollars," a spokesperson told Newsday in a statement. Hosting three railroads and six subway lines, Penn Station is the busiest rail facility in the United States. And the stakes are particularly high for the 140,000 Long Island Rail Road customers going into and out of the station each day, more than any other agency.

Former New York City Transit president Andy Byford, now a board member for Amtrak, which owns Penn Station, has been tapped by the U.S. Department of Transportation to lead the effort and evaluate several competing visions for Penn Station. Some proposals aim to create space by removing all or part of Madison Square Garden, which sits atop the station — and has an agreement with New York City to stay in place at least through 2028. Others focus on maximizing train capacity, either by adding new tracks, or by taking some away.

Two major questions — when work would begin on a new Penn Station and how it'd be paid for — remain unclear, and will largely depend on which proposal is chosen. Gov. Kathy Hochul previously estimated the cost of rebuilding Penn Station at $7 billion, but the Trump administration has said it wants to shrink the cost of the project, in part by leaning on "private sector expertise."

MTA Board member Sammy Chu, of Plainview, wants the MTA to stay involved in the plan to ensure its riders' needs are looked after. "Your goal as a commuter is to spend sub-five minutes at Penn Station. Your goal is to get in, pee, grab something to eat if you're hungry or grab a bottle of water, and get on your train as quick as possible."

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Prosecutors say a modest house on Brown Street in Riverside doubled as a round-the-clock open air drug market. Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney yesterday announced the indictment of several Riverhead-area residents for their alleged roles in an extensive cocaine trafficking network run out of the Brown Street home. Law enforcement launched an investigation into 36 year old Timothy McKay Sr. and his home at 20 Brown Street in Riverside in July 2024; McKay allegedly operated a drug market at the residence 24/7, according to the Suffolk D.A..

Members of law enforcement surveilled the home and observed individuals walking up the driveway and into the yard of the residence, where they allegedly purchased narcotics from several of the people indicted. An undercover detective with the district attorney’s Fentanyl Task Force purchased cocaine at the home on 26 different occasions from several members of the organization.

The alleged head of the operation was Robert E. “Boy” Love, 71, of Riverhead, according to the district attorney. Love’s home in Riverhead was searched by warrant in June; police recovered over 14 ounces of cocaine from the home and over $11,000 in cash. Love was previously arrested in 2012 after being accused by prosecutors of being the leader of a Bronx-to-Riverhead cocaine trafficking ring. He pleaded guilty to two felony charges in 2013.

In total, 18 search warrants were executed across Suffolk County, Nassau County, and Queens County as a part of the investigation; police recovered 14 ounces of cocaine, over 100 pounds of illegal cannabis, eight operable firearms, ammunition, over $170,000 in cash, and drug paraphernalia such as a kilo press, scales, dilutants used in the manufacturing of crack cocaine, and...