Boston commuters aren't sold on a federal takeover of South Station

Thursday was a quiet day inside Boston’s South Station. Two giant ceiling fans sent a breeze through the cavernous space. An American flag hung from the rafters, across from the possibly endangered Massachusetts flag.

The main annoyance — if there was one — was a squabble between pigeons in front of a snack kiosk.

Is this a place in dire need of federal intervention?

That's an idea U.S. Assistant Secretary of Transportation Steven Bradbury floated during a busy Wednesday at the station, as Amtrak unveiled its new, faster Acela trains. Earlier in the day, the Trump administration announced it would take over Washington, D.C.'s Union Station.

Bradbury told the gathered crowd that the White House may take over other stations along the East Coast, including South Station. He called for more security and cleanliness in Boston, saying Americans “deserve beautiful rail facilities," according to The Boston Globe.

On Thursday, the federal entourage was gone, but the commuters inside the station had some thoughts on whether South Station needed any assist from the Trump administration.

"The only thing that really needs to be done at South Station is clean the bathrooms, they really need some attention," said Linda Radzvilla of Mashpee. "So if Trump's willing to do that, I think that'd be really wonderful if he could come in and scrub some toilets and wash down the walls."

Radzvilla has commuted from the Cape to Cambridge for 25 years. In that time, she said, she only had one unsettling encounter with a homeless man.

"It was pretty harmless," she said. "I bought him a muffin and they wanted a coffee, and I was like, 'I'm sorry, I forgot one.' And he got mouthy. And I was like, 'all right, take a hike, pal.' "

Still, she said South Station is frequented by a mix of people, including homeless people and individuals with mental health issues. That's where the federal government could help, if it were so inclined.

"You know, put some mental health people to support the people that really need it," she said. "That would be a wonderful."

Outside on the train platform, beneath a stunning series of arches in the newly built South Station tower, Aaron DiPilato waited for his train home to North Attleboro. The union plumber, who commutes into the city on weekdays, said there’s no need for federal troops in Boston.

"I feel like Boston's pretty safe to begin with," he said. "And if they send troops in, it's just going to honestly make it unsafe. Because I think people will feel threatened having military force and presence here."

South Station's patrons weren't the only ones skeptical of the need — or legal right — of the federal government to do anything at the terminal.

Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday called the idea of federal action at South Station an outrageous bit of political theater.

“We’re not going to let the guy who went bankrupt six times take over our train stations,” she said in a statement.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told reporters Trump is playing a game of “authoritarian monopoly,” and there’s no legal way for a federal takeover to happen.

That’s because, unlike Washington's Union Station, South Station is owned by the MBTA, not the federal government. And it’s operated by a private company, said former state transportation secretary Jim Aloisi.

" If the idea is that it's being poorly managed, that's got nothing to do with the public sector," he said. "The MBTA owns the building, but since 1988, it's been the private sector through a 98-year lease that manages the building."

That company is Ashkenazy Acquisitions, a New York-based private equity firm.

Aloisi said the idea that Trump administration officials believe they have the expertise to manage a transit hub sends shivers down his spine.

" I think it was Ronald Reagan who quipped the most dreaded words he's ever heard was, 'I'm from the government, I'm here to help you,' right? So I'll toss Reagan's aphorism back to the Trump administration," he said.