Major Transit, Enviro, Anti-Poverty Groups Call for Halt to LGA Airtrain

Leading Transit, Environmental, Anti-Poverty and Watchdog Groups 
Call for Halt to LGA AirTrain Boondoggle

Groups Say Governor Hochul Must Stop the $2 Billion Parking Lot Shuttle 
Until a Credible Analysis of Transit Alternatives Is Conducted

Concern Cited Over Cuomo Administration Manipulation of Environmental Review

Thirteen community groups, poverty advocates, watchdogs, and environmental and transit advocates wrote NYS elected leaders and the FAA asking that they halt the $2 billion LaGuardia AirTrain project. The letters follow a lawsuit filed on Monday by Riverkeeper, Guardians of Flushing Bay, and Ditmars Boulevard Block Association against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding the project. 

A close look at project documents also recently confirmed that the costly project – at twice the price per net transit rider as the Second Avenue Subway – would have very low ridership, and provide minimal public transit access or reduction in car trips. The groups also noted that the AirTrain project was launched prior to a 2021 FAA policy change which now allows airline passenger fees to be used for public transit, not just airport-only shuttles. 

Groups signing the letters include:

Reinvent Albany
Common Cause/NY
Community Service Society
Environmental Advocates NY
Make the Road New York
NYPIRG/Straphangers Campaign
Riders Alliance
Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA (PCAC)
Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter
StreetsPAC
TransitCenter
Transportation Alternatives
Tri-State Transportation Campaign

The letters expressed concern regarding allegations by Port Authority staff of political manipulation by the Cuomo administration, as well as methodology issues raised by FAA officials in communications regarding the Environmental Impact Statement’s alternatives analysis. In documents obtained by Riverkeeper, FAA officials wrote that the Port Authority’s approach “leads to arbitrary and unevenly applied criteria.” The FAA added that the type of review conducted “only allows one alternative to possibly meet the criteria.” 

The groups therefore asked that the project be halted until allegations of manipulation are independently investigated, and a transparent and credible alternatives analysis is conducted by the Port Authority.

The three letters are available via pdf:

Civic groups letter to Governor Hochul and Legislative Leaders
Civic groups letter to NYC Metro Area Congressional Delegation
Civic groups letter to Federal Aviation Administration

The full text of the letter to Governor Hochul and State Legislative Leaders is below.

September 23, 2021

Kathy C. Hochul
Governor of New York State

Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
New York State Senate

Speaker Carl Heastie
New York State Assembly

Re: Request to halt the proposed Laguardia (LGA) AirTrain until a credible and transparent alternatives analysis is performed and alleged political manipulation of EIS by ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration is investigated.

Our groups write to ask you to halt the $2 billion LaGuardia Airtrain project until a credible and transparent alternatives analysis is performed. We are extremely concerned about allegations raised by members of the Port Authority staff to their board of directors in an August 11, 2021 letter that was reported by the NY Daily News. The letter alleges that ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration politically influenced the Port Authority to “…manipulate the Environmental Impact Statement process to… guarantee the selection of governor Cuomo’s predetermined preferred alternative.”

We note that the Sensible Way to LGA community coalition and the respected environmental group Riverkeeper, who have both been deeply engaged throughout the environmental review process, have also asked for a halt to the project and find the Port Authority’s whistleblower’s allegations credible enough to warrant an outside investigation.

FAA Concerns About Alternatives Analysis
In April 2021, Riverkeeper published a communication from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) showing FAA officials were concerned that the Port Authority’s EIS emphasis on certain criteria unfairly eliminated alternatives to the Port Authority’s preferred AirTrain. FAA officials wrote that the Port Authority’s approach “leads to arbitrary and unevenly applied criteria.” The FAA letter added that this type of review “only allows one alternative to possibly meet the criteria.”

AirTrain Proposed Before Major 2021 FAA Change Allowing Flexible Transit Funding
Early in 2021, the FAA revised its rules so that “rail lines that do not exclusively serve the airport are now eligible to be funded by Passenger Facility Charges.” The Port Authority started the LGA AirTrain in 2017 under old FAA rules that restricted Passenger Facility Charges to transit projects that solely served the airport. This is a major policy change by the FAA and should be fully factored into the alternatives analysis.

Port Authority’s Alternatives Analysis Criteria Ruled Out Bus Rapid Transit and Other MTA Options Using a Protected Right-of-Way. Oddly, Only Gondola Service and Other “Fixed Guideway” Airtrain-Type Proposals Came Close
In our review of the Port Authority’s alternatives analysis, it appears that the criteria used resulted in gondola service being the only alternative that was closely competitive with the “fixed guideway” airtrain-type proposals. The Port Authority’s proposed alternative was the only option which met all the criteria. Bus, ferry, and subway extension alternatives met even fewer of the Port Authority’s criteria, with faster buses failing to advance beyond step one of the two-step review. These limited conclusions for an environmental review are unusual and merit further review.

Again, we urge you to halt the LGA AirTrain project until an independent investigation can assess the claim that the alternatives analysis was manipulated by the previous governor’s office, and a new and transparent alternatives analysis is performed.

We thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

John Kaehny
Executive Director
Reinvent Albany

Susan Lerner
Executive Director
Common Cause/NY

David Jones
President and CEO
Community Service Society

Peter Iwanowicz
Executive Director
Environmental Advocates NY

Theo Oshiro
Co-Executive Director
Make the Road New York

Lisa Daglian
Executive Director
Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA (PCAC)

Betsy Plum
Executive Director
Riders Alliance

Blair Horner
Executive Director
NYPIRG/Straphangers Campaign

Roger Downs
Conservation Director
Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter

Eric McClure
Executive Director
StreetsPAC

David Bragdon
Executive Director
TransitCenter

Danny Harris
Executive Director
Transportation Alternatives

Renae Reynolds
Executive Director
Tri-State Transportation Campaign