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AOC, Gillibrand rally for high-speed rail in Biden infrastructure package
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J BTR UNE 25-JULY 1, 2021 15
BY CHRISTIAN FALCONE
On Wednesday morning
outside Union Station, Sen.
Kirsten Gillibrand and Reps.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and
Seth Moulton led a coalition of
labor and climate leaders in
calling for increasing federal
funding for high-speed rail in
the upcoming infrastructure
package. President Biden’s
American Jobs Plan includes
$124 billion more for cars than
rail and transit combined—despite
the fact that high-speed
rail creates more jobs per billion
dollars invested than
highway and transit projects.
Just $80 billion is included in
the package for all rail investments.
“Rail is climate infrastructure,”
Ocasio-Cortez said. “For
every buck that we’re going to
put into a car and a bridge, we
want to put a buck into a rail.
We want equity. That’s what
we’re here to demand. And we
need your help, so go to fundhighspeedrail.
org and tell
your Member or Senator to
support high-speed rail.”
A high-speed rail network
will create millions of good,
green, union jobs and decarbonize
the transportation
sector by shifting millions
of trips into an electrically
powered mode of transport
while reducing demand for
cars, trucks and short-haul
fl ights. It will also slash toxic
air pollution in frontline communities,
reduce the need for
further highway expansions
into those communities, create
new affordable housing
opportunities and revitalize
small towns and rural areas
across the country that have
been left behind. China’s highspeed
rail system reduced regional
disparities by an average
of 25%.
“I could not be prouder to
fi ght for high-speed rail, for
economic justice and environmental
justice, and for creating
jobs and ensuring clean
air and clean water,” Gillibrand
said. “We’re the strongest,
greatest economy in the
world when it comes to entrepreneurialism
and when it
comes to innovation, and we
should never be ceding that
leadership anywhere in the
world. High-speed rail will enable
us to share the culture,
the richness, and the opportunities
from every corner of our
state. I promise you, kids in
The Bronx also deserve to go
to camp in the Adirondacks,
and kids in the Adirondacks
also deserve to get big jobs in
New York City.”
The Cascadia project in the
Pacifi c Northwest (Portland-
Seattle-Vancouver) is also projected
to add $355 billion in regional
economic growth, for a
10:1 return-on-investment.
“A nation that has undertaken
bold infrastructure
projects in the past such as the
Erie Canal, transcontinental
railroad, and the interstate
highway system can surely realize
the vision of a national
high-speed rail network,” said
Andy Kunz, president and
CEO of the US High-Speed
Rail Association said. “If we
prioritize it, high-speed rail
will transform this country
for the better. We stand here
today united to bring high
speed rail to America.”
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addresses the crowd at a rally
for additional high-speed rail funding to be included in President Biden’s
infrastructure package. Photo courtesy Twitter
BY BRONX TIMES
South Bronx residents
have limited transit options
to reach jobs, education and
other opportunities in the
business districts of Manhattan,
Westchester County and
neighboring states.
However, the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority
(MTA) is expanding their service
with the Penn Station Access
project, which will build
four new MTA stations in the
Bronx in Co-op City, Morris
Park, Parkchester and Hunts
Point.
While MTA’s Environmental
Assessment (EA) of Penn
Station Access was approved
for publication last month,
Congressman Ritchie Torres
and Senator Chuck Schumer
are calling on the Federal
Transit Administration (FTA)
to prioritize promptly approving
the Finding of No Signifi -
cant Impact (FONSI) for the
project.
As parts of the south and
east Bronx have been transit
deserts for decades, the lawmakers
sent a letter to FTA
Acting Administrator Nuria
Fernandez on June 10, expressing
their desire to have
the FONSI expedited. This
new mode of transit will save
up to 50 minutes in each direction,
and Bronx passengers
traveling north to jobs in
Westchester County and Connecticut
will save up to 75 minutes
per trip.
“With Penn Station Access’s
FONSI, the project will
be able to move forward, and
provide needed commuter rail
services to our constituents,”
they said in the letter.
“Penn Station Access is
a transformational project
for the residents of the South
and East Bronx, offering them
needed access to mass transit.
In order for it to move forward
quickly, we urge you to
prioritize its FONSI approval.
We look forward to your response
and working together
to serve our constituents in
the Bronx.”
Congressman Ritchie Torres is urging the FTA to speed up the Penn Station
Access project Courtesy of Facebook
Torres and Schumer
urge FTA to expedite
Penn Station Access
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