FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 19
oped letters & comments
Let’s stop attacking
immigrants
BY SENATOR TOBY ANN STAVISKY
Before the pandemic, the roughly 1 million foreign students
who were studying in this country and the higher
education institutions whose fi nancial solvency depends
on them, received a reprieve from requiring students to
be enrolled in in-person classes.
But President Trump has made it clear time and again
that he is moving full steam ahead with his anti-immigrant
policies, which include bypassing Congress to
employ his executive powers.
Aft er the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of his attempt
to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
program (DACA), the president has sent mixed signals
about his intentions regarding the protections from
deportation for young immigrants who came to the U.S.
as children with their families.
Even as a federal court directed his administration to
restart DACA, the president recently issued a Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) memo that bars new DACA
applications and limits the DACA renewal period to just
one year, paving the way for a complete wind-down of the
program. And, by shortening the DACA renewal timeline,
it eff ectively doubles the cost of applying for DACA status.
Recently, the president also signed another executive
order that would exclude undocumented immigrants
from being considered in the 2020 Census — a move that
would have starved states with high immigrant populations,
especially New York, from federal funds. Th is decision
negatively impacts our state’s future representation
in Congress and fails to recognize the integral contributions
of undocumented immigrants in our communities.
Fortunately, a court rejected his argument.
Th roughout the coronavirus pandemic, immigrants
have been on the front lines, caring for patients as doctors,
nurses and other healthcare workers, and performing
other critical roles such as farmers, waste management
workers, supply chain employees and more. Th ey represent
an indispensable part of our nation’s response eff orts
and without them, our hope of rebuilding and recovering
would be compromised.
Despite the continued attacks on the DACA, the program
recipients are vital to our nation’s economy. Ending
the DACA program would cost New York $2.6 billion in
annual GDP losses.
Over 29,000 DACA recipients live and work legally in
our state as well, contributing $315 million in federal taxes
and $210.6 million in state and local taxes.
International students also play a large role in supporting
local communities and businesses. In the 2018-19 academic
year, they contributed more than $41 billion to the
U.S. economy and supported over 458,000 jobs, according
to data from NAFSA: Association of International
Educators.
In New York alone, more than 124,000 international
students contributed $5.3 billion and supported nearly
60,000 jobs in that same academic year.
We are long overdue for comprehensive reform of our
nation’s broken immigration system, starting with permanent
protections for the Dreamers who are — at least
for the moment — protected by DACA and continuing to
protect critical legal immigration visa avenues, including
for students. Congress must act now to address this longstanding
issue.
Without a promise for protecting progress toward a
more innovative and diverse future, we can expect continued
attacks on thousands of individuals guilty of nothing
more than coming to the U.S. as children with parents,
wanting to pursue the American Dream and create
a better life for themselves, their families and their communities.
Toby Ann Stavisky is the chairwoman of the New York
State Senate Higher Education Committee
THE MYTH OF
THE ONESEAT,
30MINUTE
LAGUARDIA
AIRTRAIN
Advocates for the LaGuardia
AirTrain such as Governor Andrew
Cuomo and Port Authority
Executive Director Rick Cotton
promise a 30-minute or less connection
from LaGuardia Airport
to Manhattan via the AirTrain. A
careful examination of this proposal
will reveal it is a myth.
Cuomo’s belief that this will provide
a “one-seat ride” for those
traveling to and from LaGuardia
Airport isn’t borne out by the facts.
Th ere will be signifi cant confl icts
at both the Mets-Willets Point
NYC Transit subway and Long
Island Rail Road stations.
Why would travelers with luggage
and those with children
attempt to squeeze onto already
packed rush-hour NYC Transit
No. 7 subway and Port Washington
branch LIRR trains? Th ese same
trains frequently have riders standing
in the aisles during rush hours.
People attending New York Met
games and concerts at Citi Field,
U.S. Open or other events at Arthur
Ashe stadium also use this station.
Others travel to Flushing Meadows
Corona Park and Queens Zoo.
Why would any LIRR riders
from branches other than Port
Washington want to fi rst drive
or take a taxi to a local Queens,
Nassau or Suff olk County train
station? Th ey will then need to
change at Jamaica and again at
Woodside before transferring a
third time to a Port Washington
branch train before reaching the
LaGuardia AirTrain. Most will use
their own car, taxi, car service, Lyft
or Uber for a faster direct connection
to LaGuardia Airport.
Cuomo has promised frequent
direct LIRR service on the Port
Washington branch between Penn
Station, Grand Central Terminal
and Mets Willets Point station to
support his $2 billion AirTrain.
You will need seven minutes
of travel time on the AirTrain
between LaGuardia Airport to
reach LIRR and NYC Transit CIti
Field stations.
Travel time on the LIRR from
Shea Stadium to Penn Station is 17
minutes. Factor in up to six minutes
to wait for a connection at Shea
Stadium for the LIRR or No. 7 subway.
You will probably also need
17 minutes before reaching the
new LIRR East Side Access Grand
Central Terminal. NYC Transit No.
7 subway to Manhattan stations
is a minimum of 25 minutes via
express (only runs inbound in the
morning and outbound in the evening
with no other service except
for major events at Shea Stadium)
and 30 minutes on the local.
Th e LIRR will require six trains
per hour in each direction to support
10-minute headways. Th is
is necessary to fulfi ll his promised
30-minute travel time from
LaGuardia Airport to midtown
Manhattan.
Even with implementation of
Positive Train Control, it may not
be possible for the Port Washington
LIRR branch to accommodate
these additional trains during
rush hour. Off -peak service
between rush hours, evenings and
weekends, Port Washington LIRR
Branch service is once every 30
minutes.
Th e LIRR would have to add four
additional trains per hour in order
to meet the promised 30-minute
travel time. Neither Cuomo, Port
Authority Chairman Cotton, MTA
Chairman Foye or LIRR President
Phil Eng have ever revealed what
the additional operating costs
would be. No one has identifi ed
the funding sources to pay for all
this extra service. It will easily be
in the millions. Are these funds
included in the MTA LIRR operating
budget in future years to pay
for this cost?
Since the Jamaica AirTrain
costs $7.50 each way, you have to
assume it would be the same price
for the LaGuardia AirTrain. LIRR
peak tickets cost $10.75 and off -
peak tickets cost $7.75. Will the
LIRR off er $4.50 same-day City
Zone tickets on the weekend for
AirTrain riders as well?
When you add up the costs,
groups of two or more are just as
likely to pool their resources to
pay for a car service, taxi, Uber or
Lyft . Any of these options would
provide a simple one-seat ride to
Manhattan. Th ere would be no
need to make another transfer at
Penn Station or Grand Central
Terminal via bus, subway or other
mode of transportation to reach a
fi nal destination.
What will happen if the pilot
Atlantic Branch southeast Queens
Commuter Rail Fare Equalization
program is expanded to include the
Port Washington branch? Many
NYC elected offi cials, especially
2021 mayoral candidates, advocate
for a $2.75 LIRR fare for all local
residents. Th is would assist those
who live in two-fare zones or socalled
transit deserts. Just imagine
several thousand new riders
attempting to board LIRR trains
between Little Neck and Flushing.
How many Nassau County residents
will drive to Queens for
the cheaper fares? How would the
LIRR accommodate these new riders
with those using the LaGuardia
AirTrain? When there are problems
on the Flushing No. 7 train,
the LIRR cross honors subway riders
at a reduced fare. Imagine several
thousand more of the 66,000
daily riders who board the No. 7
subway at Flushing Main Street
attempting to squeeze onto already
crowded Port Washington LIRR
trains.
Th ere is no room to run additional
trains in or out of Penn
Station during rush hours using
the East River tunnels with connections
via the Port Washington
LIRR branch. Th is confl icts with
Cuomo’s promise to have the LIRR
provide frequent service between
Penn Station and Mets Willets
Point LIRR Station.
What about service from Grand
Central Terminal once LIRR
East Side Access is achieved by
December 2022? Th ree of the four
East River tunnels run inbound
during morning and outbound
during evening rush hours, and
they have tight spacing between
trains. One tunnel is shared by
the LIRR, New Jersey Transit and
Amtrak for reverse train movements
with equally tight spacing
during rush hours. Th ere is no
Penn Station platform capacity to
accommodate any additional rushhour
trains.
If one of the four tunnels is temporarily
out of service, it results
in numerous delays, cancellation
and combining of trains. Imagine
AirTrain riders trying to squeeze
onto late or combined Port
Washington branch trains hoping
they will not miss their fl ight out
of LaGuardia.
Implementation of
Communication Based Train
Control for the Flushing No. 7
subway in December 2018 (it was
supposed to have been completed
in October 2016) only resulted
in increasing the number of trains
per hour from 27 to 29 during
rush hour. NYC Transit now has
no other opportunity for increasing
rush-hour capacity.
A one-seat ride could be accomplished
by extending the NYC
Transit N and W subway lines to
LaGuardia Airport. Th is plan died
due to local community opposition.
Only Governor Cuomo, the Port
Authority, and their consultants,
along with labor unions, and construction
contractors who would
benefi t from this project, refuse
to acknowledge the reality that a
30-minute trip is fantasy.
NYC is spending $200 million
on a cleanup project to bring back
wetlands on the shore and upgrade
the sewer system for Flushing
Bay. Much of this work will be
performed on the same waterfront
shoreline as the proposed
$2.05 billion LaGuardia AirTrain.
How much of this environmental
remediation work will have to
be done over a second time due
to construction of the LaGuardia
AirTrain?
Larry Penner, Great Neck
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