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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | OCT. 8 - OCT. 14, 2021 15
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Governor Kathy Hochul
said Monday that she wants
the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey to look
at alternatives to the proposed
$2.1 billion LaGuardia
AirTrain — casting further
doubt on the future of the pet
project pushed by her disgraced
predecessor Andrew
Cuomo.
“New Yorkers deserve
world-class transportation
to world-class airports. I
have asked the Port Authority
to thoroughly examine alternative
mass transit solutions
for reducing car traffic
and increasing connectivity
to LaGuardia Airport,” Hochul
said in an Oct. 4 statement.
“We must ensure that
our transportation projects
are bold, visionary and
serve the needs of New Yorkers.
I remain committed to
working expeditiously to rebuild
our infrastructure for
the 21st century and to create
jobs – not just at LaGuardia,
but at all of our airports
and transit hubs across New
York.”
The announcement comes
after Hochul said she would
“examine” the plans to build
a 2.3-mile elevated rail line
between the Queens airport
and the Mets-Willets Point
stations on the 7 line and the
Long Island Rail Road.
The project got the goahead
from the Federal Aviation
Administration back in
July. Following Cuomo’s resignation
in August, a growing
slate of local politicians
and advocates have called
on Hochul to postpone or derail
the pricey people mover
entirely.
The project has drawn
criticism for not offering a
one-seat ride from the airport
to Manhattan, and for
taking travelers headed to
the island the wrong way east
before they transfer.
Other options that would
have offered a one-seat ride,
but which were dismissed
during an environmental
review, included extending
the N/W subway line, building
out better bus service or
launching ferry service.
Environmentalist and
neighborhood advocates took
their concerns before the
U.S. Court of Appeals and
sued the FAA and the Port
Authority last month for failing
to consider other possible
transit options.
The Port Authority’s executive
director Rick Cotton
maintained last week that
the AirTrain was the best
way forward due to it not cutting
through any residential
neighborhoods, but said officials
would provide “whatever
review Governor Hochul
desires.”
A Port Authority spokesman
referred a request for
comment back to Cotton’s
statements from last week.
BY JULIA MORO
Queens elected officials
joined others to call on Gov.
Kathy Hochul to review the
recent decision by the Public
Service Commission (PSC),
which approved a raise in
monthly gas bills for 1.9 million
downstate National Grid
customers.
Congresswoman Carolyn
Maloney, Senator Joseph
Addabbo, Assembly members
Zohran Mamdani and Jessica
González-Rojas and others all
signed a powerful letter, which
urged Hochul to conduct a review
into the PSC-approved
rate hike.
The lawmakers claim that
this rate hike will force customers
to pay for the North
Brooklyn Pipeline and other
new fracked gas projects being
planned or proposed in Staten
Island, Brooklyn, southeast
Queens and Long Island.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo
appointed the members
of PSC that are still making
decisions today. In the past,
Cuomo received backlash after
being accused of filling
PSC seats with his allies who
would rarely say no to his
energy policies.
The PSC made the decision
on Aug. 12, in the final weeks
of the Cuomo administration.
Cuomo’s Department of Public
Service argued that the rate
hike, which increase gas sales,
does not violate the Climate
Leadership and Community
Protection Act (CLCPA).
The state Legislature
passed CLCPA in 2019, to
mitigate the effects of climate
change by cutting greenhouse
gas emissions, relying on renewable
sources of energy and
creating green jobs.
Despite no greenhouse gas
emissions assessments, PSC
went ahead to approve the rate
hike claiming it does comply
with CLCPA.
Lawmakers said they’re
disturbed that they and other
community groups have to be
the ones to hold National Grid
accountable.
Assemblywoman Jessica
González-Rojas said the state
needs a concrete plan to phase
out fossil fuels, especially after
the damage left behind by
Tropical Storm Ida.
“Incremental changes to
reducing our dependence on
gas are not what advocates
worked hard to accomplish
through the Climate Leadership
and Community Protection
Act,” González-Rojas said.
The assemblywoman also
said Hochul is reviewing their
letter now and hopes the governor
reverses the rate hike.
“New Yorkers have suffered
the most difficult conditions
these last two years
and they need more relief, not
more expenses,” González-
Rojas said.
The letter also recognized
Hochul for her quick action
after Hurricane Ida and commended
her for clearly saying
climate change was the cause.
“Dozens of New Yorkers
unnecessarily lost their lives
recently because for decades
the fossil fuel industry perpetuated
climate denial and the
industry continues to delay
the transition off fossil fuels,”
the letter stated. “Too many
members of our communities
have lost their lives due to the
health impacts of fossil fuel
pollution yet National Grid is
still greenwashing fracked gas
to this day.
“The PSC order continues
a legacy of environmental racism
and climate denial,” the
letter reads. “What further
cataclysm needs to take place
before our state agencies will
ensure the utilities comply
with the law? Who will hold
our state agencies accountable
if not, you, the governor?”
National Grid responded to
the criticism and said the rate
hike will allow them to invest
in programs that will accelerate
decarbonization and the
transition to a cleaner energy
future.
“The resulting settlement
benefits are substantial: rates
frozen for one year, new programs
to support vulnerable
customers – including customers
experiencing financial
hardships for the first
time because of COVID, an
unprecedented set of commitments
to advance the state’s
climate goals and reduce emissions,”
National Grid’s statement
said. “We are pleased
to have worked with our key
stakeholders, including the
New York State Department
of Public Service to reach an
agreement that supports our
customers and is consistent
with the requirements of the
CLCPA.”
Courtesy of the governor’s office
Queens lawmakers urge Hochul
to halt National Grid rate hikes
Gov. seeks ‘alternatives’
to LaGuardia AirTrain plan
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