FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 9, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 85
NOTICE OF SCOPING MEETINGS
LaGuardia Airport Access Improvement Project
Environmental Impact Statement
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing this notice to advise the public that scoping meetings will be held to seek public comment on the scope of an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the potential impacts of the proposed LaGuardia Airport Access Improvement Project and its enabling projects and connected actions (the
proposed action). As the project sponsor, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority) proposes to construct an elevated automated people mover (APM) that
would provide direct access between LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and two existing transit stations at Mets-Willets Point. Currently, LGA is accessible only by road and passengers and
employees face increasing and unreliable travel times and traffic congestion on off-Airport roadways. The project will provide air passengers and employees with a time-certain
option for access to LGA and permit the Port Authority to provide adequate employee parking for the geographically constrained Airport. Two (2) public scoping meetings and one (1)
governmental agency scoping meeting will be held to identify public and agency concerns related to the proposed action. The FAA is the lead agency on the preparation of the EIS.
The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the procedures described in FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, and FAA Order 5050.4B, National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Instructions for Airport Actions. Additionally, pursuant to Executive Order 13807, Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the
Environmental and Permitting Process for Infrastructure, this EIS will be used by all federal approving and permitting agencies. Accordingly, it will comply with any requirements of
those cooperating and participating agencies. The FAA and cooperating and participating agencies intend to use the preparation of this EIS to comply with the concurrent statutory
review process under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), as amended, and its implementing regulations, Protection of Historic Properties (36 CFR Part 800);
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act; the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. This Notice of Scoping Meetings
also serves to satisfy the public notice and comment requirements of Section 106 of the NHPA; Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation (DOT) Act; DOT Order 5610.2(a),
Environmental Justice in Minority and Low-Income Populations; Executive Order 11990, Protection of Wetlands; DOT Order 5660.1A, Preservation of the Nation’s Wetlands; Executive
Order 11988, Floodplain Management; and DOT Order 5650.2, Floodplain Management and Protection.
The Port Authority, the operator of LGA, proposes the following project components of the proposed action:
• construction of an above ground fixed guideway automated people mover (APM) system approximately 2.3 miles in length that extends from the LGA Central Hall Building to
the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Mets-Willets Point Station and the New York City Transit (NYCT) 7 Line Mets-Willets Point Station;
• construction of two on-Airport APM stations; construction of one off-Airport APM station at Mets-Willets Point that provides connections to the Mets-Willets Point LIRR and
NYCT 7 Line stations;
• construction of passenger walkway systems to connect the APM stations to the passenger terminals, parking garages, and ground transportation facilities;
• construction of a multi-level APM operations, maintenance, and storage facility (OMSF) that includes 500 Airport employee parking spaces and replacement parking for Citi
Field parking spaces that would be affected by the proposed action;
• construction of three traction power substations: one located at the on-Airport East Station, another at the Mets-Willets Point APM Station, and the third at the OMSF to
provide power to the APM guideway;
• construction of a 27kV main substation located adjacent to the OMSF structure on MTA property; and
• construction of utilities infrastructure, both new and modified, as needed, to support the proposed action.
The proposed action also includes various enabling projects to allow construction and connected actions, including: utility relocation and demolition of certain existing facilities;
reconstruction and/or relocation of the Passerelle Bridge; modifications to the MTA LIRR Mets-Willets Point Station, including service changes to the LIRR Port Washington Line;
and the relocation of several Flushing Bay Marina facilities, including a boat lift, Marina office, and boat storage. More information about the project sponsor’s proposed action
and the scoping meetings can be found at: www.LgaAccessEIS.com.
AGENCY SCOPING: A governmental agency scoping meeting for all federal, state, and local regulatory agencies that have jurisdiction by law or have special expertise with
respect to any potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed action will be held on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. This meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. Eastern
Time, at the Port Authority’s offices, 4 World Trade Center, 150 Greenwich Street, New York, New York. A notification letter will be sent in advance of the meeting.
PUBLIC SCOPING: Two public scoping meetings for the general public will be held. The public scoping meetings will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on
Wednesday, June 5, 2019 and from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, June 6, 2019. The public scoping meetings will be conducted at the New York LaGuardia Airport
Marriott, 102-05 Ditmars Boulevard, East Elmhurst, New York. The public scoping meetings will be open house format with project information displayed and representatives from
the FAA and the Port Authority available to answer questions. Written and oral comments with respect to any potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed
action, or comments representing the concerns, issues, and alternatives they believe should be addressed in the EIS will be accepted at each of the meetings. The public
meetings will be open and free (including parking) to all persons on a space-available basis.
Sign and oral interpretation can be made available at the meetings, as well as an assistive listening device, if requested 10 calendar days before the meeting. For additional
information, please contact: Ms. Maria Bernardez, Ricondo & Associates, Inc., at 312-606-0611, x374 or mgbernardez@ricondo.com. Si desea esta información en español, llame a
(312) 606-0611, x374.
SCOPING COMMENTS: Written comments should be submitted by e-mail to comments@lgaaccesseis.com, or sent to the FAA, at the following address:
Mr. Andrew Brooks
Environmental Program Manager – Airports Division
Federal Aviation Administration
Eastern Regional Office, AEA-610
1 Aviation Plaza
Jamaica, New York 11434
Comments must be received by FAA no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday, June 17, 2019.
PUBLIC NOTICE
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