Downtown Rail Links on Track-But Which Tracks?

 by Etta Sanders

Direct rail service from Lower Manhattan to JFK Airport and Long Island is on the fast track to development, provided officials can figure out how to get the trains from there to here.
Scene from “The Orchid Show,” a “mock opera” at the Flea.

The Port Authority and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) presented four scenarios at a press briefing on Feb. 4, all of which would use existing LIRR railroad tracks from Jamaica or Howard Beach with stops at Atlantic Avenue. Three of the proposals would utilize tunnels into Manhattan currently used by subway lines. A fourth option would require construction of a new railway tunnel from Brooklyn to Downtown.

Over the next couple of months, transit officials will study the costs, ease of construction, ridership capacity, travel times and affects on subway service before selecting a final plan in April. Kevin Rampe, president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), said they would also solicit public input during that time. The price tag and the sources of the funding won't be determined, officials said, until the details are worked out.

The goal is to have the service, which has strong support from both Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg, running within 10 years. Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff called it "absolutely critical" to Downtown revitalization. "If we are successful, in less than a decade New Yorkers and visitors will enjoy the first new train to Downtown in more than 50 years," he said.

Downtown Alliance president Carl Weisbrod said a faster and easier commute from Long Island, Queens and JFK will be a boon to the business community. "What Lower Manhattan really needs is more business and more workers. One of the reasons why retail in Lower Manhattan has been hurting is because of the loss of workers."

While much of the emphasis was on benefits to commuters and businesses, Downtown officials said the train service would have advantages to residents as well. "Getting to the airport has always been an issue down here," said Madelyn Wils, chairwoman of Community Board 1. At community workshops last year, she said, "The number one residential priority, other than walking and driving across town, was airport access."



CB1 Applauds PATH Terminal Architect

Later in the day, another transportation project, the permanent PATH terminal, received a round of applause at a presentation by architect Santiago Calatrava to the Community Board's redevelopment committee. Calatrava not only impressed the board with his the bird-like glass and steel design, but charmed them with pastel sketches and eloquent symbolism. In the terminal he said, "there is a message if lightness and hope."

"It's a fantastic design," said Michael Connolly, "I hope you will do everything in your power to keep from changing it."

Calatrava also answered questions of function over form, like how the 150-foot soaring glass "wings" would be kept clean. Calatrava said maintenance would not be an issue, adding that the glass would also act as a passive energy source, by creating a greenhouse effect in winter.

Board members addressed more pointed questions to Anthony Cracchiolo, director of priority capital programs at the Port Authority, about how they plan to minimize disruptions from the multiple construction projects, including the new Fulton transit hub, that will be getting underway by the end of this year. Cracchiolo said the Port Authorty, MTA, as well as state and city departments of Transportation, will meet weekly to coordinate truck routes and schedules.

"We all realize that we have very narrow streets and very crowded streets," he said, "We don't have the luxury of ignoring what the guy down the street is doing."