FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 7, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 17
Hochul seeks ‘alternatives’ to LaGuardia AirTrain plan
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Governor Kathy Hochul on Oct. 4
said 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 traffi c and
increasing connectivity to LaGuardia
Airport,” Hochul said. “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.”
Th e announcement comes aft er Hochul
said last week 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.
Th e project got the go-ahead from the
Federal Aviation Administration back in
July. Following Cuomo’s resignation, a growing
slate of local politicians and advocates
have called on Hochul to postpone or derail
the pricey people mover entirely.
Th e project has drawn criticism for not
off ering 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 off ered
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.
Th e 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 offi -
cials would provide “whatever review
Governor Hochul desires.”
A Port Authority spokesman referred
a request for comment back to Cotton’s
statements from last week.
Vallone bill would help businesses that cater to non-English speakers gain access to city resources
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@schnepsmedia.com
@jenna_bagcal
A Queens lawmaker introduced
a bill that would make it easier for
small businesses that primarily cater to
non-English speakers to access helpful
city resources.
Th e bill, known as Int. 2393, was proposed
by Councilman Paul Vallone
at the Aug. 26 City Council Stated
Meeting. Under the new legislation, the
Department of Small Business Services
would maintain direct contact with
community-based organizations in
“covered languages” and also provide
materials for time-sensitive applications
so that the organizations have equal
access to funds that would help them to
recover aft er COVID-19.
According to the bill, the term “covered
languages” includes Hindi, Nepali,
Punjabi, Tibetan, Gujarathi and designated
citywide languages determined
by the Department of City Planning:
Spanish, Chinese — including Mandarin,
Cantonese and Taiwanese — Russian,
Bengali, Haitian Creole, Korean,
Arabic, Urdu, French and Polish.
“We must ensure that all of our
businesses have full and equal
access to city resources as we
work to recover from the ravages
of last year,” Vallone said. “Th is
bill will create the networks
necessary to grow our city’s
relationship with wonderful
organizations
and remedy the
disparity in resources
that currently
exists in our business
community. ”
Vallone hosted a
round table event
on April 20 to hear
the concerns of
Asian American
small business owners,
who expressed
the diffi culties they
had getting city resources for primarily
non-English speaking communities.
According to the lawmaker’s offi ce, the
bill would help to fully engage with
these community-based organizations
and make city
services more equitable
by serving all New
Yorkers.
“We are glad to see that
Councilman
Vallone
i s
working to ensure that businesses in
our community will have greater access
to city resources as we work to undo
the damage done by the last year of the
pandemic,” said Satnam S. Parhar, board
chair of South Asian American Voice.
“Th is will also help right some of the
historic inequities that have faced so
many small businesses trying to access
the network of support that the city
has off ered, but has never been fully
accessible to so many.”
The bill’s cosponsors are
Councilwoman Farah Louis and
Councilman Kalman Yeger.
If enacted, the bill will allow community
based organizations that serve
underserved language groups to apply
to join the program and gain direct
access to an SBS representative and
promotional materials.
“Council member Vallone has always
been a great ally to the Korean American
community and has worked to ensure
that the city does not overlook any
group in our district when securing
funds or other resources,” said
Young-Joon Son, chair of the Korean
Business Council. “We are excited to see
legislation that will help extend this
inclusive vision to SBS and hopefully
other agencies as well.”
Photo by Emil Cohen/New York City Council
Councilman Paul Vallone
Courtesy of the governor’s offi ce
A rendering of the proposed AirTrain to LaGuardia.
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