It’s the aim of new legislation to give the New York Port Authority increased options for the location of the LaGuardia AirTrain.
New York legislators introduced legislation recently authorizing the state’s transportation department to seize public land to construct the new airport link, says Curbed.
New legislation paves the way for the New York Department of Transportation (NYDot) to take land within a two-mile-long corridor between LaGuardia and the Long Island Rail Road’s Mets-Willets Point station, if needed.
However, community groups have expressed opposition to the project. The East Elmhurst Corona Alliance, the Ditmars Blvd. Block Association, and Riverkeeper released a joint statement denouncing the construction of the AirTrain.
Frank Taylor, a longtime East Elmhurt resident and the president of the Ditmars Blvd. Block Association, said he believes the project will negatively impact quality of life for a service that is not needed, but Governor Andrew Cuomo begs to differ, saying the $2 billion project is an essential part of “transforming LaGuardia into a world-class transportation gateway and … ensuring rail mass transit access to the airport.”
