I think the 'special contractors' is politico speak to the masses, telling them "see I am on your side, I am going to make this happen so quick your head will spin", when the reality is getting outside contractors likely won't do much, it is the old 'mythical man month' come back to life, that on many projects putting more people on it won't speed it up, ie that if 2 people can do it in 4 days, 4 people can do it in 2, just isn't always the truth.
Cuomo is amazing, the state has been screwing over the MTA with the subway system, which with the city at 8.5 million people and the trains carrying 4 times what it did at the depths of the 1970's, he has basically refused to put money into the system, despite the fact that tax revenue into the state from NYC has soared in recent decades...but now he is trying to position himself as caring about the people using the station.
The sad fact is that likely they will patch together the tracks, then within the next 5 years face a major crisis in the tunnels to NJ or Long Island because nothing with get done. Given the current political environment, despite Penn Station being so busy, it is likely the funding for the gateway project and other improvements will be ripped out of the federal budget and we will limp along until the tunnels are ready to collapse, then it will be a crisis.
