WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MAY 28, 2020 13
BY TOM GRECH
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound
impact on every aspect of our
lives, and has been felt by businesses
both large and small, in every sector of our
economy.
Queens is tough and resilient and we will
get through this, but what we do today will
shape our economy for years to come. Right
now, we need government and the private
sector to work together and support the investments
that will bring Queens back better and
stronger.
One reason Queens is well-positioned to recover
is because we are the aviation borough.
LaGuardia Airport and JFK International
Airport are engines of economic activity that
employ 49,000 people and contribute more
than $64 billion in economic activity to the
metropolitan region. The Queens Chamber’s
1,150 member businesses rely on our transportation
infrastructure. As we begin to reimagine
our economy and onshore manufacturing
jobs, Queens has everything in place to serve
as a manufacturing and distribution hub.
This will require investing in the infrastructure
of tomorrow, particularly at our
airports. The Port Authority of New York
and New Jersey, the agency operating JFK
and LaGuardia, is projected to see a $3 billion
reduction in revenue over the next 24 months
due to the precipitous decline in travel. This
means less money for the Port Authority’s
capital program to make investments in the
necessary infrastructure improvements to
support the economic recovery of our borough
and region.
These infrastructure projects, as currently
planned, include public-private partnerships
that would leverage more than $10 billion in
committed private capital, while creating
about 100,000 direct and indirect jobs. When
you combine both public and private investment,
the Port Authority capital plan would
drive $20 billion of capital spending in the next
fi ve years. This includes plans to transform
JFK Airport into a modern, international
gateway; the ongoing project to build a new
LaGuardia Airport; and AirTrain Laguardia,
which would create a reliable rail link between
Midtown Manhattan and LaGuardia
Airport.
These projects create good paying jobs right
here and right away. The transformation of
LaGuardia Airport is creating 7,000 direct
construction jobs and another 7,000 indirect
jobs. The project at JFK will create more than
30,000 jobs, half of which will be direct construction
jobs. These historic investments in
new, world-class airports are investments in
Queens and our future.
Revenue is the life blood of the Port
Authority, which diff ers from other government
entities in that it takes no taxpayer
dollars and is completely self-sustaining. As
Congress considers aiding states and other
local governmental units, it must also assist
fi nancially independent, multi-state entities
like the Port Authority.
That’s why the Queens Chamber joined
more than 50 business, labor, and civic stakeholders,
and more than two dozen bipartisan
members of the New York and New Jersey
Congressional delegations in supporting the
Port Authority’s call for federal assistance to
avoid cuts to it’s capital program.
Putting our economy back on track depends
on these job-creating capital projects moving
forward promptly. This is not the time for
delay – or worse canceling capital projects.
Congress must approve federal funding for
the Port Authority equal to its loss of revenue
so that we can create jobs and ensure economic
growth well into the future – and maintain
Queens as the home of opportunity.
Tom Grech is president and CEO of the Queens
Chamber of Commerce.
ATTENTION HEALTH CARE
PROFESSIONALS!
As the coronavirus epidemic rages on across New York City,
we want to hear from the health care workers on the front
lives battling to save lives.
Our reporters want to speak with health care workers about
what they’ve witnessed in emergency rooms, medical centers,
nursing homes and other facilities where lives hang in the balance
every day. We want to tell their stories to show New York City
their courage but also the severity of the conditions they work
in — and the situation they face.
We welcome submissions at any time from active New York City
physicians, nurses, lab technicians and other health care workers
who are helping to treat patients.
Email your information to Editor-in-Chief Zach Gewelb, and a
reporter may contact you soon.
Your information will be held confidentially; your name will
be used only with your express permission, or withheld upon
request.
By submitting, you understand that the content must not be false,
defamatory, misleading or hateful, or infringe any copyright or any
other third party rights or otherwise be unlawful.
If we publish your content, we may include your name and
location.
SNAPS
THE RED CROSS PROMOBILE KITCHEN GIVES SNACK BAGS TO FLUSHING HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER WORKERS
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ROY NAIPAUL
Send us your photos of Queens
and you could see them online or in our paper!
To submit them to us, tag @qnsgram on Instagram,
visit our Facebook page, tweet @QNS
or email editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps).
OP-ED
Working to shape Queens’
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