LaGuardia AirTrain Link Moves Forward Under New Bill

FLUSHING, QUEENS -- A new AirTrain connecting Midtown Manhattan to LaGuardia Airport is one step closer to reality after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill on Monday that would allow the state's Department of Transportation to acquire public land for it to be built on.

The new law will allow for an environmental review to be conducted later this year on the AirTrain LGA project, which is planned between the airport, the Long Island Rail Road and the 7 subway train at Mets-Willets Point in Flushing, Gov. Cuomo said.

"The new LaGuardia Airport will provide an improved customer experience with better access to airlines and public transportation for all passengers - essential to the airport's transformation," Governor Cuomo said.

The posed mass-transit link is designed to offer New Yorkers "a more efficient means of travel" that reduces traffic congestion and boosts flyer growth at the airport by connecting to transit hubs in Manhattan and on Long Island, Cuomo said. Construction is on track to begin by 2020 and could finish as early as 2022.

The posed AirTrain would offer flyers in Manhattan and Long Island a less-than-30-minute trip between LaGuardia and New York Penn Station or Grand Central Terminal.

The new bill identifies a corridor in which the AirTrain could be built, which was selected after consultations with local community members and elected officials, the Governor's Office said. An official route will be finalized after the environmental review led by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Under the legislation, the state DOT will be authorized to acquire land owned by the City or the MTA within that corridor. The environmental review is slated to finish by the end of 2019.

"For too long, LaGuardia Airport has had the dubious distinction of being the only major East Coast airport without a rail link, and that is unacceptable," said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton.

"Simply put, a 21st century airport must meet global standards, and that requires rail mass transit access. The AirTrain will complement the ongoing $8 billion redevelopment of LGA into a world-class airport worthy of New York."

(Lead image via the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo/Flickr)