14 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 16, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens protesters say they’re getting ‘third-world’ treatment over LGA AirTrain
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@qns.com
@QNS
A coalition of Queens residents and
businesses joined elected offi cials on the
steps of City Hall Monday for a protest
of what they called an “antidemocratic”
review process for the multibillion-dollar
AirTrain project.
Sensible Way to LGA, which includes
East Elmhurst, Corona, Jackson Heights
and Flushing residents, businesses,
local nonprofi ts and citywide partners,
expressed concern with the Port
Authority’s plan to build a new AirTrain
line from LaGuardia to Willets Point.
During Monday’s protest, which was led
by Bronx Councilman Fernando Cabrera,
Queens residents said the Port Authority
hasn’t been transparent about their review
process and aren’t considering the environmental
impacts another major airport
project could have on the community.
Th e highly contested LGA AirTrain has
been in the works for several years now,
but Governor Andrew Cuomo and the
Port Authority are committed to bringing
the $2 billion dollar plan to fruition sooner
rather than later. Th e Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), the lead agency
designated with the review process for
the AirTrain, has determined that the best
option is a rail line from the Willets Point
Long Island Rail Road station to LGA terminals.
According to the FAA, this alternative
would extend west along Roosevelt
Avenue and turn north following the
Grand Central Parkway, while crossing
the GCP/Whitestone Expressway interchange.
Th e elevated line would then
extend along the southern edge of the
Flushing Bay Promenade, adjacent to the
westbound lanes of the GCP to LGA, with
two stations serving Terminals B and C.
But Frank Taylor, president of Ditmars
Boulevard Block Association and a retired
Rikers Island corrections offi cer, said the
project is “fi scally irresponsible.”
“Former Vice President Joe Biden said
that LaGuardia Airport is a third-world
country. Well, you’re treating Queens like
a third-world country. Th is is what thirdworld
countries do: Th ey don’t care about
their citizens. Th ey want people to come
in and spend money. Why has the airport
gotten such a pass?”
Some of those present felt the project
should undergo a formal ULURP (uniform
land use review process).
Nuala O’Doherty, a longtime resident
of Jackson Heights who is running for
Assemblyman Michael DenDekker’s seat,
said that she’s attended almost all of the
Port Authority’s hearings and is only asking
that they “be a good neighbor” and
consider alternate routes in the existing
mass transit system that could better serve
the community. She mentioned the R and
the N as possible lines to extend toward
LaGuardia.
Cabrera announced that there will be
a public hearing on Jan. 29 at City Hall,
which Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez,
chair of the Transportation Committee,
said is an important way of guaranteeing
oversight of the project.
“Th is is the biggest capital plan in the
history of the MTA, and that capital plan
requires oversight,” Rodriguez said at
the protest. “Th at’s why we’re here — to
demand the MTA and Port Authority to
come on board and come to the hearing
on the 29th where we would like answers
to all those questions.”
Sensible Way also wrote a letter to
Cuomo in December, writing that
although they agree that LGA “sorely
needs mass transit access, it is not clear
that the proposed AirTrain is the best
alternative.”
“As governor of the most progressive
state in the nation, we implore you to put
your stamp on a project that will carry
mass transit into the future,” they wrote.
“We therefore demand that the process
considers all alternatives on an even playing
fi eld to determine what airport transit
option most benefi ts all New Yorkers.”
Th ey added that this could be “better
accomplished if funding is allocated for
an independent review of the alternatives
analysis.”
Th e FAA has had several information
sessions — with two upcoming sessions
taking place on Tuesday, Jan. 14, and
Wednesday, Jan. 15, at the New York
LaGuardia Airport Marriott located at
102-05 Ditmars Blvd. — but members of
the community say they haven’t been public
hearings.
O’Doherty said they’re only considering
the AirTrain, while other residents said
that the sessions haven’t included a Q&A
but have had FAA offi cials take comment
from attendees and recorded it on their
website.
Additionally, Taylor mentioned that
during one of the fi rst FAA information
workshops, the Port Authority had armed
policemen present.
“When they had their meetings at the
Marriott Hotel, the Port Authority met us
out there with six or seven police offi cers
in riot gear, with long arms,” Taylor said.
“We went downstairs and we were met
by at least 50 to 70 construction workers,
who were not from the area, and what
they did was try to block the residents
from seeing the displays that were there.
Where were our elected offi cials?”
Port Authority spokesperson Ben
Branham confi rmed that there were “a
couple” of offi cers present for part of the
fi rst meeting.
“Th ere was a miscommunication that
led to this that, once clarifi ed, resulted
in their early departure,” Branham stated.
“Government agencies oft en err on
the side of caution in providing a security
presence for public meetings primarily
to assist with crowd control if necessary.
In this instance, it was not necessary
and hence their early departure at that
fi rst meeting.”
In response to Sensible Way’s letter to
Cuomo, Port Authority spokesperson
Lindsay Kryzak said they have “conducted
extensive community outreach about
AirTrain LGA and that input has already
led to an important change in the proposed
route.”
“AirTrain LGA makes sense on every
level, from improving access to LaGuardia
for travelers and the thousands who work
there, to reducing congestion on roads in
neighborhoods, and to its benefi ts for the
environment,” Kryzak said. “Th ese benefi
ts are clear in our proposal, and we
remain fully committed to working with
the local community as the review process
continues.”
Kryzak added that the FAA’s independent
process has been “extremely transparent
and thorough.” Th ey said there
are additional meetings planned, including
this week’s hearings, before the federal
review is completed.
A Better Way to LGA (another Queens
coalition with members representing the
Queens Chamber of Commerce, Queens
Economic Development Corporation,
Long Island City Partnership, New York
Building Congress, General Contractors
Association, Tech:NYC, Delta, JetBlue and
the New York Mets) told QNS that “like
the New Yorkers rallying today” they care
deeply about their city.
“And that’s exactly why the A Better
Way to LGA coalition supports a project
that gets cars and taxis off the road,
improves the environment, creates
good-paying union jobs, and won’t tear
our neighbors from their homes,” the
statement read. “Th e proposed route for
the AirTrain LGA does not force New
Yorkers from their homes or businesses,
does not require the use of tax dollars,
and continues to go through a transparent
process that’s already included public
hearings and listening sessions conducted
separately by the Port Authority and the
Federal Aviation Administration.”
Regarding the protest and comments
that the AirTrain would cost taxpayer
money, Branham told QNS that “Th e Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey
receives no taxpayer dollars from either
state and there are no taxpayer dollars
allocated to the AirTrain LGA.”
Better Way also disagreed with Sensible
Way’s call to have the AirTrain project go
through a ULURP, though. Th ey added
that “the elected offi cials from outside
Queens who spoke today should come to
Queens to hear for themselves why the
time to build AirTrain LGA is now.”
Although there weren’t Queens lawmakers
present at Monday’s protest,
some have previously addressed the
AirTrain. Senator Jessica Ramos once said
the AirTrain “isn’t for” the Corona and
Jackson Heights communities at her Town
Hall in December.
QNS confi rmed that Congresswoman
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez sent the FAA
a letter on Jan. 10 questioning them for
choosing their current plan despite the
many alternatives brought up by the community
and the study’s note that 255 out of
414 comments were in opposition to that
route. In the letter, Ocasio-Cortez added
that she was concerned that “77 submitted
form letters were counted as a single
public comment.”
Branham, though, said they have not
received the letter as of Monday.
Councilman Francisco Moya told QNS
he encourages his constituents to “participate
in the ongoing public involvement
process.” As one of the elected offi cials
mentioned by those at the protest as being
absent, Moya had a more critical response.
“It would, however, be easier to see
their press conference as something more
than pure political opportunism if half of
those in attendance weren’t running for
offi ce or if they had attended any one of
the numerous Community Board meetings,
civic associations or AirTrain information
sessions since this process began,”
Moya stated.
Queens borough president candidate
Anthony Miranda and convicted felon
Hiram Monserrate, who is also district
leader representing East Elmhurst, LeFrak
City and parts of Corona and may be
considering a run for Jeff rion Aubry’s
Assembly seat, were present at Monday’s
protest.
Moya added, “To those with an earnest
interest in the AirTrain, it’s important
to remember that the city has no authority
over the project. Authorization for
the project was passed through the state
Legislature. Accordingly, members of the
public should make their voices heard at
the state level.”
Branham emphasized that community
input has already infl uenced their plan,
which was authorized by the New York
state Legislature.
“LaGuardia Airport is the only major
east coast airport without a mass transit
rail link, the lack of which has led to
congested roads and air pollution and
left travelers with completely unpredictable
and unreliable travel times to the airport,”
Branham said. “Th e AirTrain LGA
will take cars off the road, reduce pollution
and fi nally provide the predictable
and reliable travel times to the airport that
passengers deserve.”
Queens residents and city elected offi cials protested the Port Authority’s LGA AIrTrain project at City
Hall on Jan. 13.
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