4 The Courier sun • JUly 30, 2015 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com LaGuardia Airport to get $4 billion, ’21st-century’ overhaul BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com/@aaltamirano28 After Vice President Joe Biden compared it to a “third-world country,” LaGuardia Airport is getting a much-needed makeover bringing it to the 21st century and allowing New York City to start to once again lead in infrastructure. Gov. Andrew Cuomo was joined by Biden on July 27 to announce that the Queens airport would be receiving a complete redesign taking it from a 1939 airport to a globally renowned, state-of-the-art facility. “LaGuardia is slow. It’s dated. It’s a terrible front door entranceway to New York. It is a lost opportunity. It’s almost universally decried as a poor representation of an airport let alone a New York airport,” Cuomo said. Bringing up the vice president’s comments last year that referred to LaGuardia Airport as a “thirdworld country,” Cuomo said that it served as a wake-up call to a city that at one point in history was leading the way in infrastructure. “It was a strong, some would say prophetic vision, which I believe in many ways is an impetus to say to New York, ‘Get up, move.’ This is not acceptable and it’s not acceptable for New York,” Cuomo said about Biden’s comment. In order to tackle the issue of the airport — which passengers have called dirty, cramped, hot and delayed — the governor appointed an advisory panel, led by Dan Tishman, to work with the Port Authority and come up with a new plan for LaGuardia. After getting together and going over goals and obstacles, the group came up with the plan that would create an entirely new facility, replacing the current airport in its entirety. It would run adjacent to the Grand Central Parkway, 600 feet closer to the parkway than it is now. There would be more flight operating space, a world-class retail and hotel complex, and a unified terminal instead of the current isolated terminals. Later, there will be AirTrain and ferry access. “The goal is not really to repair and rebuild a 1939 airport. We want an airport that is a state-of-the-art facility. We want a globally renowned airport for the next century that is worthy of the name New York and what we’re doing,” Cuomo said. The project is a $4 billion public-private sector partnership with more than 50 percent of the money being privately funded. The first half of the project is expected to break ground next year with new facilities approximately in 39 months, with all construction complete within 18 months thereafter. Delta has also agreed to be a partner in the new airport and will work to redevelop their two terminals — C and D — to work together with the unified terminal. The airport will remain open and functional during the construction phase. “This is the greatest city in the world. It’s not a hyperbole. It’s the greatest city in the world and it requires a 21st-century infrastructure,” Biden said. “The airport has a first-class workforce, and they deserve a first-class facility to serve customers who count on them.” In response to the project plan, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said she recommends the Port Authority expands its Aircraft Noise program throughout construction phases of LaGuardia; creates a cellphone lot; and creates more short- and long-term airport parking. “As much as LaGuardia and JFK International are tremendous economic assets to Queens and to the region, with them has come the need to mitigate the direct, daily impacts of growth upon the thousands of families immediately surrounding them,” Katz said. “When convening this blue-ribbon panel on which I have had the pleasure to serve, the governor charged us with ensuring that community needs are addressed, especially with regard to noise and alleviating traffic congestion.” Along with LaGuardia, Cuomo also mentioned improvements that will take place at Stewart Airport in Newburgh, New York, to accommodate more commercial flights to reduce traffic at LaGuardia and JFK airports and make the airport a “New York Free Trade Zone”; renovations at JFK such as a historic renovation of the Saarinen building being constructed to a state-of-the-art hotel; and putting to use the Republic Airport also as a “New York Free Trade Zone.” Commuter Van Reform Act looks to reign in illegal ‘dollar vans’ BY ANGELA MATUA amatua@queenscourier.com @AngelaMatua Two elected officials are hoping that unlicensed commuter vans will soon face steep penalties for operating illegally in city neighborhoods. Councilmen I. Daneek Miller and Rory Lancman introduced on July 23 the Commuter Van Reform Act to City Council, two bills that will require the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) to collect data on these vans and raise fines for illegally operating vehicles. “During a period where we are rightfully concerned with an oversaturation of vehicles and its impact on the environment and public safety, the Wild West commuter van industry has gone without oversight for too long,” Miller said in a press release. “This industry has been omitted from conversations despite often being unsafe, unregulated and inaccessible for many New Yorkers.” Last week, the TLC announced that all legal operators of commuter vans, commonly called “dollar vans,” must display licensing decals on their vehicles. Currently, 344 vans and 301 drivers are legally allowed to operate in New York City. This step is not enough, according to Miller and Lancman, who cited the increased number of shootings and car chases involving commuter vans, especially in southeast Queens, in the past 12 months. After Community Board 12 sent a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to request a moratorium on commuter van applications as “van owners and operators continue to violate traffic rules and regulations,” the City Council admitted in a March 2014 meeting that many vehicles unlicensed by DOT were operating in Queens and all across New York City. Intro. No. 860 will require the TLC to annually collect data and perform a study on the state of both the legal and illegal van industry. A moratorium will be placed on new van licences until the first study is completed. The study will focus on vans operating in eastern Queens, central and south Brooklyn, and Chinatown in Manhattan. Another bill, Intro. No. 861, will raise fines for illegally operating a commuter van to $3,000 for a first offense and $4,000 for a second offense and repeated offenses within two years. Now, illegally operating a van carries a $500 fine for a first offense and $1,000 for a second offense. All other violations carry a fine of $1,000 for a first offense and $2,500 for a second offense. The package of bills has been referred to the Council’s Transportation Committee. Photo via Wikimedia Commons Councilmen I. Daneek Miller and Rory Lancman introduced legislation to stem the tide of illegally operating commuter vans. Photo courtesy of Gov. Cuomo’s office – Kevin P. Coughlin
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