Port Authority Hits The Brakes On LaGuardia AirTrain Plan

EAST, ELMHURST, QUEENS — Transportation leaders officially hit the brakes on Andrew Cuomo's $2.1 billion LaGuardia Airport AirTrain plan, which a growing list of leaders have opposed since he stepped down as governor.

The Port Authority, which is responsible for building the AirTrain, said on Tuesday afternoon that it will "pause further action" on the project — an announcement that comes about a week after Governor Kathy Hochul asked the agency to look into alternatives to her predecessors plan.

Hochul's statement follows a recent onslaught of opposition to Cuomo's plan from politicians and advocates alike, which ramped up after his resignation.

Many local leaders and transit experts, however, have long maligned Cuomo's plan — which would link LaGuardia Airport with a 7- and LIRR-train station at Willets Point — arguing that it would increase travel time and isn't worth the cost.

While Hochul didn't oppose the plan outright, she expressed skepticism about its hefty price tag, and asked the Port Authority to look into alternative plans.

At the behest of the Governor, the Port Authority agreed on Tuesday to review alternative plans "in close consultation with independent experts and stakeholders."

This process, which the agency said it will conduct "expeditiously" and rigorously, mirrors what happened last year, when a call for AirTrain proposals brought forth 46 different options — all of which the federal government ruled as infeasible, save from Cuomo's plan.

Days after Cuomo resigned, however, Port Authority staffers demanded an end to the AirTrain, claiming that the former governor might have exerted "undue influence" in order to get his multi-billion-dollar plan approved.

Community groups leveled a similar critique against the Federal Aviation Administration — or the FAA — in a lawsuit last month, claiming that it illegally ruled out alternative plans based on criteria specifically constructed to exclude every option except for Cuomo's.

"The public simply has no way to determine whether the AirTrain is in the best interests of the region with the least impact on local communities and the environment," the suit reads.

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