28 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 21, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photos: Max Parrott/QNS
LaGuardia AirTrain coalition proposes
Flushing Bay Promenade renovation
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Aft er 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 benefi t 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.
“Th is 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 shift -
ed its preferred route for the train from
the median of the Grand Central Parkway
to just inside the boundary of the promenade.
“Th e 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.
Th e coalition pointed to the rusty,
disintegrating portions of the guard
rail, mossy benches and warped
walkways as promenade’s defi ciencies.
Th e 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.
Th e 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.
“Th e 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.
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