Transit groups urging governor to scrap rail plans to LaGuardia

Several advocacy groups are urging the governor to scrap five of 14 public transportation proposals to LaGuardia Airport, which potentially could leave LIRR commuters without any rail connections and having to consider busing options instead.

The Port Authority, which operates the airport, released the plans earlier this month after Gov. Kathy Hochul shelved the $2 billion AirTrain project last year. Favored by former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, AirTrain was considered a key part of LaGuardia’s nearly complete $8 billion overhaul. It would have connected to the airport from the Long Island Rail Road’s Port Washington line at the Willets Points station near Citi Field, where the 7 subway line also stops.   

While it’s still not off the table, the project was criticized by several elected officials and community groups, who called the route inconvenient and claimed it was unfairly pushed ahead of other plans that were not given equal consideration. There are two other LIRR-to-LGA light rail proposals, one from Jamaica and another from the 61st St.-Woodside station.

Transit advocacy groups, including Riders Alliance, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and Reinvent Albany, a government watchdog, wrote a letter to Hochul asking her to dismiss all five light rail plans that “bear all the hallmark failures of the AirTrain project."

Without the rail plans, LIRR commuters would have no train access to LaGuardia. Transit advocates told Newsday that one of the proposals, which calls for improving the bus system from the LIRR's Woodside Station to LGA, would be equally practical. 

It’s unclear whether revamping the Q70 city bus from the 61st St.-Woodside Station by adding dedicated bus lanes would make it more appealing to Long Islanders.

“It is about two miles, and with significant improvements to the street infrastructure, the bus ride could be a very consistent seven minutes," said Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director at the Riders Alliance. "It would basically be an around-the-clock, inexpensive, dependable, airport shuttle direct from the Long Island Rail Road. It wouldn’t be on rails, but it would be vastly cheaper and easier to implement and much more direct."

The feasibility of widening lanes on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Grand Central Parkway for two miles would have to be assessed, as well as the feasibility of adding bus lanes by removing parking spaces on already-congested roads.

In the letter to the governor, the groups are asking the governor to build on the city's existing bus and subway system.

“We know the traffic from Long Island is really tough, and the more options that are reliable and efficient and convenient for people on Long Island to reach the airport in the city, the better,” said Felicia Park-Rogers, director of regional infrastructure projects at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

Currently, 90% of passengers who fly out of LaGuardia travel there by car.

Gerard Bringmann, co-chair of the LIRR Commuter Council, does not believe buses are the solution and instead prefers the seven-mile rail proposal from the LIRR's Jamaica Station to LaGuardia.

“Transferring to a bus, especially if you have luggage, is too inconvenient for most people,” Bringmann said.

“The Jamaica plan would benefit 90 percent of our riders,” he added, noting it also connects to three city subway lines. His second pick is the three-mile rail plan from the 61st St.-Woodside Station, but like AirTrain, that would force Long Islanders to head farther west before going east again. The Woodside rail plan, along with two proposals to extend the subway lines in Astoria, would have to overcome significant hurdles, including going underground to avoid conflict with LaGuardia’s runway 4.

“There isn’t going to be a quick decision. It’s going to take a long time for them to analyze it and figure out everything that goes into it, including community opposition, total cost and the actual convenience of it,” Bringmann said, adding that he wasn’t a fan of AirTrain, which only connected to one LIRR line.

For some Long Islanders, taking a bus to the airport would not be the preferred mode of travel.

“No, I would never use one of those buses to get to an airport," said Matt Alevy, of Port Washington. "They are not reliable, get stuck in traffic, and the idea does not appeal to most Long Islanders."

Alevy added that it would be challenging to board with luggage. He still likes the idea of the Willets Point AirTrain, but wasn’t sure if the branch could handle additional passengers. 

Mary White, 63, of Mineola, who drives or gets a lift to the airport, said: “The more complicated you make it, the harder it will be for people to take it.

“Maybe just do buses until you get rail service up and running. If you’re putting all this money into a new airport, then you should do it right and do rail," she added.

Sean Hassett, of Port Washington, questioned whether new infrastructure makes sense — when the city’s current transit system works for him.

“A part of me was wondering, do we really need this? A few years ago, pre-COVID, I took a train into Woodside and then got on a free bus to the airport. It didn’t take any time at all, and it was pretty efficient. Does the environmental benefit and cost of a new train work out better than the existing bus?” Hassett said.

Hochul spokesperson Hazel Crampton-Hays did not immediately respond to comment about the advocates' concerns, but repeated a prepared statement: “Governor Hochul directed the Port Authority to thoroughly examine alternative mass transit solutions to increase connectivity to LaGuardia Airport, and we look forward to reviewing input on these options to help ensure world-class transportation to the airport.”

A three-person expert panel established by the authority will guide the review. Any proposal will be evaluated on multiple factors, including the ability to accommodate travel demand, estimated ridership, construction feasibility, operating and project costs, plus community and environmental impact.  

Rachel Weinberger, a senior fellow at the Regional Plan Association, an urban planning group based in Manhattan, said she's waiting to learn more about what will work best for the region.

“Real access to LaGuardia has been an issue for many, many years," Weinberger said. "There are now new technologies, different people, different thoughts and ideas about climate change. It seems like it’s a whole new world. They’re taking a close look, and we’re very eager to see what they come up with."