LaGuardia AirTrain coalition proposes
Flushing Bay Promenade renovation
3
QUEENS WEEKLY, NOVEMBER 24, 2019
Tom Grech (r.) called for the Port Authority to renovate the Flushing Bay Promenade. Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
BY MAX PARROTT
After the results of Federal
Aviation Authority’s
forums on its AirTrain
plan to LaGuardia showed
that the majority of local
residents had overwhelming
concerns about how
the proposed plan would
not do enough to benefit
local residents, the Better
Way to LGA coalition
proposed an idea: a new
Flushing Bay
Promenade.
On Tuesday Nov. 19,
the coalition — an alliance
of economic development
groups, transportation
advocates and
unionized labor — held a
press conference stepping
up its pressure on Port
Authority to renovate the
pathway that weaves up
the Flushing Bay waterfront.
“This decades-old
promenade is in desperate
need of revitalization,”
said Tom Grech,
president of the Queens
Chamber of Commerce
and co-chairman of the
coalition. “Let’s use this
opportunity to improve
the walkway, replace the
fencing, add lighting and
new benches, make the
peer more storm-resilient,
add more trees and
beautify this space for
generations to come.”
Back in March, the
Port Authority shifted
its preferred route for
the train from the median
of the Grand Central
Parkway to just inside
the boundary of the
promenade.
“The notion of having
to do some construction
gives us some opportunity
as we go through this
part of the neighborhood
to re-envision it, repurpose
it and update it,”
said Grech.
The coalition pointed
to the rusty, disintegrating
portions of the guard
rail, mossy benches and
warped walkways as
promenade’s deficiencies.
The promenade contains
1.45 miles of railing,
17 drinking fountains,
1,037 trees and 10,944
shrubs. It was constructed
for $14.8 million, funded
by the Department of Environmental
Protection.
The coalition also
wrote a letter to the Port
Authority of New York
and New Jersey, urging
them to factor in the
promenade renovation to
its plans for the AirTrain,
and encourage the agency
to continue to listen to
ideas from all interested
stakeholders.
“The Port Authority
has made it clear that it
is willing to make a substantial
investment in
the promenade to make it
a better community asset,
one that is more welcoming
and user-friendly, and
we trust that will become
a reality,” the coalition
wrote in the letter.
Reach reporter Max
Parrott by e-mail at mparrott@
schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260-
2507.
/schnepsmedia.com
