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October 20, 2020

FAA’s Public Comment Period for AirTrain LaGuardia Project Concludes with Extensive and Broad-Based Support from Diverse Array of Voices including Labor, Community Organizations, Transportation Experts, MWBEs and Small Business, Environmental Advocates, the Tourism Industry and Others  

The public comment period for the AirTrain LaGuardia project closes today. We are pleased that the project has received extensive and broad-based support during the 60-day comment period that extended from August 21 to October 20.

During three days of public hearings held in September, more than 120 speakers provided oral comments. More than 80% of those who expressed an opinion on the project supported it.

During the public comment period, vigorous public support came from nearly 100 separate organizations representing labor unions, community organizations, environmental advocates, minority-owned and women-owned businesses, civic and planning groups, the hotel and tourism industry, Chambers of Commerce in all five boroughs, city-wide business organizations, and individual companies.

A dozen well-respected, long-time transportation experts with long careers in public transportation spoke out in support of the project.

We are also pleased to announce that, during the public comment period, nearly 1,700 individuals used our "A Better Way to LGA" website to submit comments in favor of AirTrain LaGuardia.

Transit Experts

  • Twelve of the region's leading transit experts -- former NYSDOT commissioners, former NYSTA Executive Directors, former NYC traffic commissioners, and former MTA leaders -- submitted a letter of support, noting it would be a "much-needed, regionally beneficial transportation infrastructure advancement."

Local Labor Unions

  • 48 local unions endorsed the job-creating project, and approximately 50 representatives spoke at the weekday public hearings. Their support centered around the need for a strong economic recovery and good paying jobs. Like Carmine D’Amato, Assistant Business Manager for Laborers’ Union Local No. 731, wrote, "we can no longer afford to waver and delay before moving forward. Waiting is not an option during an economic crisis. Now is the time to invest in a 21st century infrastructure for a 21st century post-Covid economy by moving forward with AirTrain LaGuardia."

Community Organizations

  • Community leaders and small business owners also stood up virtually to address the need for this project, especially in the light of the current economic crisis. They echoed the sentiment of Hope Knight of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation who said, "if AirTrain is only partially as successful in the communities around LaGuardia as it has been in Jamaica, we predict it will have been well worth the investment as we all work to rebound from our current crisis and rebuild smarter and stronger for a more equitable future.”

  • Other prominent community organizations and local institutions who have voiced their support include the Queens Chamber of Commerce, the Flushing Chinese Business Association, Vaughn College, and the Queens Economic Development Corporation.

Environmental Advocates

  • During the comment period, the New York League of Conservation Voters, New Yorkers for Parks, and the Trust for Public Land released a statement endorsing the environmental benefits of AirTrain LaGuardia and the significant, much needed investment in improving the Flushing Bay Promenade as the reasons for their support. Our coalition will continue to work with those groups on the upcoming improvements to the Flushing Bay Promenade which the Port Authority has committed to as part of the project.

Civic & Planning Groups

  • The Regional Plan Association announced its support for the AirTrain with a public statement from President and CEO Tom Wright at the Thursday evening hearing. Wright said, "a rail transit link to LGA is critical for the success of the region, and [the Port Authority's] proposal is the best way to accomplish that."

  • The Association for a Better New York and the New York Building Congress – two broad-based membership associations promoting economic growth and renewal – served as two of the co-chairs of A Better Way to LGA and voiced their support for rail link. In the words of NYBC CEO Carlo Scissura, “at a time of unprecedented economic crisis in our city, state and truly in our nation, this investment in reliable and sustainable mass transit is needed for our community and for the future of the entire New York region.”

Hotel & Tourism Industry

  • The Hotel Association of New York City, which represents nearly 300 top hotels, publicly stated its support for the AirTrain LGA. In a public endorsement published on October 6thin Crain’s NY, Vijay Dandapani, President and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City recently wrote: "restoring our economy and returning New York to its status as the top destination in America will take both private and public investment. That’s why we strongly support the LaGuardia AirTrain, a transportation project proposed by the Port Authority that we believed was necessary to maintain our economic vitality before the pandemic and that has only become even more critical to our economic revival today."

  • NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organization and convention and visitors bureau for the five boroughs and representing the interests of nearly 2,000 member organizations, spoke at the hearing and emphasized how such a long-needed rail link to LGA will be critical to the recovery of the region’s tourism industry.

Local & Minority & Women-Owned Businesses

  • Minority and Women-Owned Businesses have played a critical role in building the entirely new LaGuardia Airport. At the virtual public hearings, MWBE speakers voiced their support for the opportunities and jobs AirTrain LGA will bring. Notable speakers included the Tri-State Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors – representing more than 200 organizations and MWBEs – and McKissack and McKissack – the oldest woman/minority-owned professional design and construction firm in the United States – and RCGA Architects, the Queens-based firm considered one of the most respected architectural and design firms in New York.

New York Business Community

  • The leadership of each of five boroughs’ chambers of commerce signed a letter stating their full support for AirTrain LGA, emphasizing that it presents an “opportunity to not only rebuild our local economy, but to make it stronger, fairer, and more resilient than it ever was before."

  • The project also received the support of four of the city’s major business improvement districts: Downtown Alliance, Grand Central Partnership, Long Island City Partnership, and the Times Square Alliance. Together these BIDs comprise hundreds of company headquarters, thousands of employers, and hundreds of thousands of workers and residents.

  • A wide range of additional private sector organizations expressed their support including the Real Estate Board of New York, the General Contractors Association of New York, Tech: NYC, the Business Council of New York State as well as individual companies such as Delta, LaGuardia Gateway Partners, JetBlue, United Airlines, the New York Mets and others. For a complete list of the nearly 100 organizations who endorsed AirTrain LGA, view the open letter they issued at the beginning of the public comment period.

We are proud to stand with these leaders. The project will now receive a final review from the FAA.

We also applaud the initiative of the NYC Parks Department and the Port Authority to seek input from residents in further meetings and to consult with a local community advisory committee on improvements to the Flushing Bay Promenade that will be undertaken as part of the AirTrain LGA Project.

With this momentum, "A Better Way to LGA" looks forward to the issuance of the federal record of decision next year and the groundbreaking for this long-overdue rail link to the new LaGuardia Airport.