Groups Ask Gov. Hochul to Make the MTA a full partner in a revised LaGuardia transit access project

Below and in PDF here is a letter sent from civic, transit and watchdog groups regarding the Port Authority’s LGA transit access initiative.

Hon. Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York State
State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

November 16, 2021

VIA EMAIL

Re: Make the MTA a full partner in a revised LaGuardia transit access project

Dear Governor Hochul:

We write to urge you to ensure the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s LaGuardia AirTrain initiative is a fully joint project between the Port Authority and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

Any mass transit solution for reducing car traffic and increasing connectivity to LaGuardia Airport will inevitably involve MTA bus and/or subway services. A joint Port Authority/MTA approach accords with your direction to “thoroughly examine alternatives.” It would give the MTA an important role in shaping the project, while retaining the Port Authority’s need to plan on-airport elements

We are particularly concerned that re-examination by the Port Authority alone in the context of the current environmental impact statement may likely result in little change. It is highly unusual for a “lead agency” on such a project to justify its preferred alternative in reliance on actions proposed to be undertaken by a separate agency such as the MTA without its full participation. Additionally, the scope of the recent AirTrain project was tightly defined around specific Port Authority concerns such as relocating employee parking, but not explicitly designed to improve transit connectivity or create a higher transit share of overall travel to LaGuardia.

An airport access project that builds on existing transit networks is most likely to provide mobility benefits across the city and region, and attract greater numbers of airport employees and passengers, with the environmental and congestion benefits of higher transit use.
An additional factor in favor of a new, joint MTA/Port Authority project is the FAA rule revision in early 2021 stating that “rail lines that do not exclusively serve the airport are now eligible to be funded by Passenger Facility Charges. “(FAA PFC Update 75-21). The Port Authority began the LGA Airtrain in 2017 under old FAA rules that restricted Passenger Charges to transit projects that solely served the airport.

Thank you for your attention to LaGuardia transit access issues to date. We believe making the MTA an equal partner in a new approach is the next logical step in progress toward the goals you have stated.

Sincerely,

Frank Taylor
President
Ditmars Boulevard Block Association

Rebecca Pryor
Executive Director
Guardians of Flushing Bay

Susan Lerner
Executive Director
Common Cause/NY

John Kaehny
Executive Director
Reinvent Albany

Danny Pearlstein
Policy & Communications Director
Riders Alliance

Michael Dulong
Senior Attorney
Riverkeeper

Eric McClure
Executive Director
StreetsPAC

David Bragdon
Executive Director
TransitCenter

Danny Harris
Executive Director
Transportation Alternatives

Renae Reynolds
Executive Director
Tri-State Transportation Campaign

Cc. Janno Lieber, Acting Chair/CEO, Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Rick Cotton, Executive Director, Port Authority of NY and NJ