Members of the Land Use Committee, the City Council has a critical role to play in considering the merits of the Port Authority's AirTrain proposal. Never before has the Council been asked to approve a single project of this scale, and the thorough review being undertaken by this committee and the entire council is both justified and warranted by the importance of this proposed public investment. The Building Congress applauds your close attention to every possible implication of this project.
In our judgement, there are few public improvements that will benefit this City more. The AirTrain is long overdue and will substantially enhance airport transportation access and circulation. It will create both immediate construction employment and long-term economic opportunity and development. It is highly significant that affected local community boards in Queens, the borough Board, and the City Planning Commission all have endorsed the AirTrain.
This is because there is an exceptionally strong case for a rail connection between Kennedy Airport and the public transportation system. The AirTrain is critically essential to effective utilization of the more than $7 billion in new construction at Kennedy, which already is the largest center of development in New York City and the surrounding metropolitan region. These investments simply will not work together without transportation improvements, especially the AirTrain.
Every possible aspect of this project should be weighed by the Council before approval. But approval must be forthcoming, if New York City and the Borough of Queens are to take the benefits of Kennedy Airport's resurgence. Without the new rail link, the overall rebuilding program at the airport will not work. We do not have the luxury of starting over, not when Newark Airport is so far ahead of us. The AirTrain is not only a well conceived project, it is also a solid basis for future enhancements to create the best possible transportation system between Manhattan, LaGuardia, and the entire transit system.
In previous correspondence with members of the Council, the Building Congress addressed a number of common mis-perceptions about the AirTrain proposal. We are convinced that it will be a much more effective linkage with the public transportation system than commonly acknowledged - certainly more effective than the system for Newark Airport. It will provide a rapid connection with Manhattan and serve a wide variety of travel demands. It is not a second best solution but much more a first-class service in every possible way.
The Building Congress and its 1,200 individual members urge the Land Use Committee to recommend approval by the full City Council. By linking Kennedy Airport with the regional transportation system at the Howard Beach and Jamaica stations, AirTrain will provide New York with a 21st Century solution to a decades-old problem. It will be the most impressive greeting to passengers from around the world. When completed in 2002, the AirTrain will compliment and extend the overall revival of what is becoming America's preeminent international airport.
