Notice of Withdrawal of the Record of Decision for the LaGuardia Airport Access Improvement Project

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Published

September 14, 2023

Effective

September 1, 2023

Issuing agencies

Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration

Abstract

The FAA is withdrawing the July 2021 ROD for the Project. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has notified the FAA of its intent to terminate the Project and pursue alternative access improvements to LGA. Accordingly, the components identified in the LGA Access Improvement Project ROD are no longer needed at this time. Following the issuance of the ROD, New York Governor Kathy Hochul tasked the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey with reexamining alternative mass transit options to LGA. The resulting recommendations from the corresponding study identified improvements to an existing bus service and construction of a new non-stop airport shuttle service. On July 20, 2023, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as the airport sponsor, notified the FAA of its intent to officially abandon the Project as approved by the FAA's ROD in favor of pursuing the recommended bus service and shuttle improvements. In response to this decision, the FAA has withdrawn the ROD for the LGA Access Improvement Project. Accordingly, all approvals for FAA actions within the ROD are also withdrawn. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey must reinitiate any requests for FAA review and approval as necessary for all aspects of the Project contained within the now-withdrawn ROD should it wish to proceed with any component of the Project, in part or as a whole.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 177 (Thursday, September 14, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 177 (Thursday, September 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63194-63195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19850]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Notice of Withdrawal of the Record of Decision for the LaGuardia
Airport Access Improvement Project

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Withdrawal of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the LaGuardia
Airport (LGA) Access Improvement Project (Project).

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SUMMARY: The FAA is withdrawing the July 2021 ROD for the Project. The
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has notified the FAA of its
intent to terminate the Project and pursue alternative access
improvements to LGA. Accordingly, the components identified in the LGA
Access Improvement Project ROD are no longer needed at this time.
Following the issuance of the ROD, New York Governor Kathy Hochul
tasked the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey with reexamining
alternative mass transit options to LGA. The resulting recommendations
from the corresponding study identified improvements to an existing bus
service and construction of a new non-stop airport shuttle service. On
July 20, 2023, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as the
airport sponsor, notified the FAA of its intent to officially abandon
the Project as approved by the FAA's ROD in favor of pursuing the
recommended bus service and shuttle improvements. In response to this
decision, the FAA has withdrawn the ROD for the LGA Access Improvement
Project. Accordingly, all approvals for FAA actions within the ROD are
also withdrawn. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey must
reinitiate any requests for FAA review and approval as necessary for
all aspects of the Project contained within the now-withdrawn ROD
should it wish to proceed with any component of the Project, in part or
as a whole.

DATES: The effective date of the FAA's Withdrawal Order for the LGA
Access Improvement Project ROD is September 1, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Brooks, Environmental Program
Manager, Eastern Regional Office, AEA-610, Federal Aviation
Administration, 1 Aviation Plaza, Jamaica, NY 11434. Telephone: 718-
553-2511.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2015, former New York Governor Andrew
Cuomo convened an Airport Advisory Panel to address the deficiencies of
LGA as a major transportation facility. The resulting report
recommended that the redevelopment of LGA include new ways to access
the airport, including a future AirTrain.
In 2018, based on recommendations from the Airport Advisory Panel,
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority), as
operator of LGA, proposed the Project to construct and operate a new
Automated People Mover (APM) system to provide a reliable transit
alternative for air passenger and employee access to the Airport. The
Project would connect two on-Airport stations with an off-Airport
transfer station at Willets Point. The off-Airport station would
provide connections to the Mets-Willets Point stations of the Long
Island Railroad (LIRR) Port Washington Branch and the New York City
Transit (NYCT) Subway Flushing Station (7 Line). The off-Airport
station would also provide a connection to a new off-Airport employee
parking option located at

[[Page 63195]]

Willets Point. After preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS),
the FAA signed a ROD approving the Project on July 20, 2021.
Following the issuance of the ROD, New York Governor Kathy Hochul
directed the Port Authority to review alternative mass transit options
to the Airport. In November 2021, per the governor's request, the Port
Authority assembled a 3-person panel to oversee the study and provide
recommendations based on the study's results.
In March 2023, the Port Authority released the ``Options for Mass
Transit Solutions to LGA'' report, which included the panel's
independent analysis of 14 different mass transit options to LGA. The
panel recommended that the Port Authority proceed with implementing
improvements to the existing Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(MTA) Q70 LaGuardia Link bus service and constructing a new non-stop
airport shuttle service from Ditmars Boulevard, the terminus of the N/W
subway line in Astoria, Queens. Due to foreseeable construction and
cost constraints, the expert panel recommended that the Port Authority
focus on improving bus services at LGA in the near-term to provide more
efficient transit capabilities, and to focus on implementing the
shuttle service in the long-term. The Port Authority indicates that
improved bus service is projected to serve approximately 5 million
passengers annually and cost an estimated $500 million compared to
costs ranging from $2.4 billion to $6.2 billion for alternative light
rail options (Port Authority Board of Commissioners Approves $30
Million for Planning and Preliminary Design to Improve Mass Transit
Access to LaGuardia Airport, https://www.panynj.gov/port-authority/en/
press-room/press-release-archives/2022-press-releases1/port-authority-
board-of-commissioners-approves_30-million-for-p.html). On June 22,
2023, the Port Authority Board of Commissioners approved $30 million in
funding to plan and develop preliminary designs for the bus service
improvements at LGA as recommended by the panel. On July 20, 2023, the
Port Authority notified the FAA of its intent to officially abandon the
Project as approved by the FAA's ROD in favor of pursuing the
recommended bus service improvements from the ``Options for Mass
Transit Solutions to LGA'' report.
Based on consideration of this substantial new information and the
changed circumstances concerning the Port Authority's planned access
improvements at LGA as discussed above, the July 2021 ROD for the LGA
Access Improvement Project has been withdrawn. Accordingly, all
approvals for FAA actions within the ROD are also withdrawn. The Port
Authority must reinitiate any requests for FAA review and approval as
necessary for all aspects of the Project contained within the now-
withdrawn ROD should it wish to proceed with any component of the
Project, in part or as a whole.

Issued in Jamaica, New York, September 8, 2023.
Evelyn Martinez,
Manager, New York Airports District Office, Eastern Region.
[FR Doc. 2023-19850 Filed 9-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P

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