$2 billion LaGuardia AirTrain gets green light from FAA
/
The draft Environmental Impact Statement for the LaGuardia AirTrain was released Friday, initiating a public comment period. Rendering via Governor's Office/Flickr
By Rachel Vick
A rail line linking Midtown Manhattan with LaGuardia Airport moved a step closer to construction after the Federal Aviation Administration backed the proposal in a draft Environmental Impact Statement released Friday.
The 340-page document examines various potential effects of the $2 billion AirTrain proposal, including the burden on public transportation, quality of life for surrounding neighborhoods and risks to Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
The project has been assailed by public transit advocates and some local lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who say the AirTrain diverts funding from public transit serving all New Yorkers, not just air travelers. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, however, has made the AirTrain a top priority and a key component of the $8 billion LaGuardia Airport overhaul.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey praised the federal government’s initial support for the project.
“Especially now, during a time when things aren't moving forward, it’s nice to see projects moving forward,” Port Authority spokesperson Lindsay Kryzak told the Eagle. “From our perspective [the proposed AirTrain] something that is the best alternative — it will get cars off the road and get people to the airport.”
AirTrain construction will create about 3,000 jobs and stimulate the local economy, Kryzak said.
Image via Port Authority
The Port Authority and the MTA would coordinate throughout the process to minimize service interruptions during and after the build, according to the Environmental Impact Statement published Friday. The AirTrain track would stretch 1.5 miles from LaGuardia to Mets-Willets Point, transforming the station near Citi Field into a major transit hub connecting Long Island and Manhattan to the airport via the Long Island Rail Road and No. 7 Train.
Proponents have hailed the project as a way to cut the commute from Midtown Manhattan to LaGuardia to 30 minutes.
Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said that the elevated rail line’s first proposed path was shifted to the north, further away from residential East Elmhurst
Nevertheless, the neighborhood won’t go unscathed, according to the report.
The FAA said the surrounding residential area would “disproportionately experience high and adverse noise and vibration impacts” during construction and significant light emissions once the link is in operation. Nearly 100 homes bordering the Grand Central Parkway would have obstructed views of Flushing Bay, the Associated Press reported.
Critics of the rail line say the non-essential project comes at a time when residents of nearby Elmhurst and Corona have been devastated by the pandemic, with little relief in sight from the city, state or federal government.
“The community surrounding LaGuardia was among the hardest hit by COVID-19, and many of its residents are now facing eviction or other serious economic consequences of the pandemic,” Ocasio-Cortez said last month. “These families have been crying out for relief for months.”
“It would be the ultimate insult to finally send aid to this community in the form of a project that they firmly oppose and that could further jeopardize their health and safety,”’ she added
Other opponents of the project have expressed concern about disruption to public lands and disproportionate negative impacts on surrounding communities.
“Only Governor Cuomo, the Port Authority, their consultants along with labor unions and construction contractors who would benefit by this project, refuse to acknowledge the reality that a thirty minute trip is fantasy,” said Larry Penner, a transit advocate who has worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office.
The public comment period is open until October 5; submissions are accepted through phone, email, the U.S. mail service and the formal comment page. Public hearings and workshops begin September 22.
