Archinect - News

Port Authority releases 14 alternatives to the LaGuardia AirTrain project

2022-03-04T12:47:00-05:00

One of Governor Kathy Hochul’s first moves in office was to pause her predecessor’s plans for a $2 billion AirTrain at LaGuardia Airport and ask the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to come up with other options. On Wednesday, the Port Authority released sketches for 14 alternatives, including light rail, bus routes and subway extensions. It’s now seeking community input before moving forward.

A questionnaire detailing the options and the factors being considered in evaluating the proposals was sent to more than 70 key stakeholders, including elected officials and community organizations. The alternatives include two potential subway extensions, five potential routes for fixed guideways for light rail connections, five potential bus routes, ferry service, and “emerging technologies.” At the end of their document, the Port Authority lists further potential options, such as “narrow tunnels with electric vehicles” and autonomous shuttles or buses.

Previously on Archinect: Port Authority officially halts the LaGuardian AirTrain project

There currently aren’t any listed costs for the proposals. In mid-March, two in-person public workshops will be held to gather input from the community.

Port Authority officially halts the LaGuardian AirTrain project

2021-10-19T12:05:00-04:00

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has officially halted plans to build the $2.1 billion LaGuardia AirTrain, a project heavily pushed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo. The announcement came just a week after Cuomo’s successor Kathy Hochul called on the agency to seek alternative transit solutions to LaGuardia Airport.

Previously on Archinect: Governor Hochul seeks alternative to Cuomo's controversial LaGuardia AirTrain project

“At Governor Hochul’s request, the Port Authority is undertaking a thorough review of potential alternative mass transit options to LaGuardia Airport,” reads a statement released by the Port Authority. “The agency will work in close consultation with independent experts and stakeholders, and will complete its work as expeditiously as possible, consistent with the need for the review to be thorough and rigorous. During the review, the Port Authority will pause further action with respect to the LaGuardia AirTrain project.”

The controversial project ha...

Governor Hochul seeks alternative to Cuomo's controversial LaGuardia AirTrain project

2021-10-08T15:05:00-04:00

Several New York state lawmakers are calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to kill the plans for a $2.1 billion AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport. Hochul released a statement Monday calling on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an agency she has at least partial control over, to look for alternative options.

“I have asked the Port Authority to thoroughly examine alternative mass transit solutions for reducing car traffic and increasing connectivity to LaGuardia Airport,” said Hochul in a statement. “We must ensure that our transportation projects are bold, visionary, and serve the needs of New Yorkers. I remain committed to working expeditiously to rebuild our infrastructure for the 21st century and to create jobs — not just at LaGuardia but at all of our airports and transit hubs across New York."

Hochul’s remarks came just before a rally on Monday in Corona, Queens at a site along the potential AirTrain route held by project opponents, including State Senators Jessica Ramos, Leroy Comrie, Michael Gianaris, and John Liu, who pushed the governor to terminate the project altogether rather than just explore other options.

Previously on Archinect: FAA approves $2.1 billion LaGuardia AirTrain

Noting the damages and ongoing clean-up from Hurricane Ida, along with the community’s experience ...

Port Authority workers call on leadership to halt LaGuardia AirTrain project following Cuomo's departure from office

2021-08-13T14:05:00-04:00

Within hours following New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation from office after a slew of sexual harassment accusations, Port Authority workers issued a letter to executive director Rick Cotton calling for the termination of the former governor’s controversial LaGuardia AirTrain proposal.

An excerpt from the letter, according to the New York Daily News, reads: “For too long, Gov. Cuomo and his staff have repeatedly pushed the agency to make non-transparent, politically motivated decisions, including decisions that squander the trust and money of our bondholders, customers, and the general public.” The letter also calls for the Port Authority Inspector General to examine whether Cuomo tried to unfairly influence the federally-mandated environmental impact statement process to approve the plan despite other alternatives and the protests of transit experts.

Just last month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the estimated $2.1 billion project, which would see th...

New York City is moving its planned COVID memorial from Battery Park after protests

2021-07-09T16:55:00-04:00

Ten days after Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed plans to build a new monument in Lower Manhattan honoring New York's essential workers who served on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state is now working out a new plan after protesters detoured construction in Battery Park City.

The state had already broken ground on the project late in June before backing out this week thanks to an incredible amount of public backlash against it. The governor’s plan for the monument was so fast-moving that it had initially been slated to open on Labor Day before this week’s pause.

A petition drive had garnered over 8,000 votes online before the announcement. There will be a committee meeting to discuss a potential new location on Wednesday. Gothamist has more on the protest and relocation effort here.

After brief uncertainty, 9/11 memorial display to go ahead as usual

2020-08-17T15:56:00-04:00

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum’s Tribute in Light will shine this year after all, officials said on Saturday. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said the state would provide the health personnel and supervision so that the display, which has memorialized the attacks on the Twin Towers since 2002, could safely continue.

The Museum had previously canceled this year's display due to coronavirus concerns for the workers paid to install the 88 light bulbs that make up the installation. After New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and other stepped into insure safety for these workers, however, memorial officials changed course and will produce the familiar twin towered memorial light display for this year's 9/11 anniversary.

CetraRuddy to bring 291-unit affordable housing complex to Brooklyn

2020-07-22T14:53:00-04:00

New York City-based firm CetraRuddy Architecture and a project team that includes the office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects, and nonprofit housing developer CAMBA Housing Ventures have announced a plan to bring a 291-unit affordable housing complex to central Brooklyn.

The project aims to bring housing, supportive services, a design studio and exhibition space, recreational areas, and other neighborhood-serving amenities to the area as part of a larger, $1.4 billion housing and services project slated for the neighborhood.

The development, which is wrapped in grey and white bricks and features punched window openings, includes rooftop terraces and generously planted ground level spaces. Of the 291 units, 146 homes will be set aside for youth aging out of foster care, formerly incarcerated individuals, and formerly homeless young adults, according to an announcement from Governor Cuomo's office.

Construction continues on some of NYC’s “essential” projects

2020-04-06T16:55:00-04:00

One developer who spoke anonymously to discuss a sensitive issue, said he was uncomfortable requiring construction workers to leave their homes and come to sites that can be crowded and unsanitary. Others are trying to strike a balance between business interests, housing needs and public health.

The New York Times reporter C. J.Hughes surveys how a recent executive order calling for a halt in most construction projects from New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo has been interpreted across project sites in New York City.

The order carves out exceptions for “essential” building types, including hospital, affordable housing, hotel, and other uses. The somewhat open-ended nature of these requirements, in a city driven by mixed-use development, has lead some developers and builders to question the effectiveness of the order.

2,500-bed hospital conversion at NYC’s Javits Center opens

2020-04-03T18:59:00-04:00

This week, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that work on the plan to convert the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan into a 2,500-bed temporary hospital has been completed.

The temporary hospital facility is one of four sites currently under construction across the region, facilities that will make up the first phase of an effort launched by the Governor to increase the number of hospital beds across the downstate area. The conversions are being handled by a federal response team led by the Army Corps of Engineers. Additional project partners include: The state of New York, the city of New York, the New York National Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the General Services Administration, the Defense Department, and members of the United States armed forces, according to the the US Department of Defense website.

In the case of the Javits Center, the expansi...

New York State pauses all "non-essential" construction projects

2020-03-27T15:00:00-04:00

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today that construction projects across the state must stop work in order to comply with efforts to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carving out exceptions for hospital construction, transit infrastructure projects, utility repairs, affordable housing, and homeless shelters, the governor's latest executive order reiterates that construction sites that remain open must do so while "maintaining social distance, including for purposes of elevators/meals/entry and exit."

The directive adds, "Sites that cannot maintain distance and safety best practices must close and enforcement will be provided by the state in coordination with the city/local governments. This will include fines of up to $10,000 per violation."

In a press conference covering the contents of the order, Cuomo, as reported by Gothamist, stated, "We're closing now non-essential construction sites. Some construction is essential right? To keep the place running, but non-es...

US Army Corps of Engineers has a plan to convert hotels into “ICU-like” facilities

2020-03-23T21:47:00-04:00

In the mad dash to make up for a decades-long decline in overall medical capacity in the United States that has come into full relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Army Corps of Engineers has had to step in and help create makeshift hospitals across the country so that people suffering from the disease can receive the treatment they need.

As previously reported, states and local municipalities across the country are working to retrofit existing buildings, including bankrupt hospitals, empty convention centers, and increasingly, hotels, to meet the growing need for Intensive Care facilities.

Previously on Archinect: “NYC considers converting Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to temporary medical facility.” Photo by Flickr user ajay_suresh, licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0

Those municipalities are largely putting into effect a plan developed by the Army Corps that was communicated in a press briefing given on Friday, March 20th via the US Army’s Twitter acc...

NYC considers converting Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to temporary medical facility

2020-03-21T13:39:00-04:00

[Gov. Andrew Cuomo] has requested four field hospitals of 250 beds each from the federal government, for a total of 1,000 beds. He is looking at Javits for all of those. He's also asked for four Army Corps of Engineers temporary hospitals. For those, he's looking at the Javits Center; SUNY Stony Brook; SUNY Old Westbury; and the Westchester County Center, another events venue.

Gov. Cuomo's renovation plan for NYC’S Penn Station takes shape

2020-01-09T09:00:00-05:00

Empire Station

New York State officials led by Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a plan this week to expand rail capacity at Penn Station in New York City by as much as 40% through the addition of a new bay of passenger rail concourses just south of the existing station.

More specifically, the so-called Empire Station Complex plan would bring four new train concourses (and eight lengths of track) to an adjacent site currently packed with existing buildings, lending the chronically under-sized Penn Station complex an opportunity to grow and absorb an anticipated jump in rail traffic set to take shape over the next few decades. The plan would take over the entirely of the block situated between 30th and 31st streets and between 7th and 8th avenues immediately south of the station, enabling capacity at the station to grow by an estimated 175,000 passengers per day when fully completed. The station currently funnels over 650,000 commuters through its low-ceilinged and circuitous passages ...

Santiago Calatrava's Greek Orthodox church at World Trade Center site to restart construction

2020-01-07T16:26:00-05:00

Two years after a lack of funds halted construction of a marble-clad Greek Orthodox church at New York's World Trade Center site, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Greek Orthodox officials announced plans Thursday to resume construction with the goal of finishing the rebuilding by the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The troubled Santiago Calatrava-designed St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center appears to have received the blessing from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo after the project fell victim to acute cost overruns and had to eventually halt construction in December 2017.

Rendering of the proposed church. Image: Santiago Calatrava/Greek Orthodox Church in America

Under the leadership of the newly formed Friends of St. Nicholas organization, church leaders aim to finish the building by September 11, 2021, the twentieth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

"The new entity has been formed to ensure that the sacred space is completed as expeditiously as possible and can begin welcoming visitors from around the world," explains a statement issued by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America after Cuomo's meeting with Archbishop Elpidophoros on Thursday. "The Friends of St. Nicholas will aim to resume construction with a two-year target to complete th...

Staten Island outlet mall is a mysterious black hole for public funds

2019-08-28T15:00:00-04:00

The Cuomo administration is tapping two discretionary funds to steer nearly $47 million to an outlet mall on Staten Island, a multi-pronged subsidy that increased after the developers contributed $85,000 to the governor's campaign. The Empire State Development corporation last month approved $21.9 million in subsidies for Empire Outlets [...] That's on top of a $25 million grant awarded last April by the state's Dormitory Authority.

The recently-opened mall, designed by SHoP Architects, is part of a larger collection of waterfront revitalization and densification projects taking shape on Staten Island.

JFK Airport invites ideas for new Central Hub, part of greater $13bn makeover

2019-07-19T16:02:00-04:00

[...] the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is issuing a Request for Information for the design and development of JFK Central, an approximately 14-acre, mixed-use space at the epicenter of the redeveloped John F. Kennedy International Airport. This new site offers a blank canvas to create a centrally-located commercial and recreational public space to serve today's travelers and employees, and capitalizes on the broader transformation of JFK currently underway.

"Airports are the front door to New York which is why it is so important that we transform JFK Airport into an innovative, modern, and accommodating space for domestic and international travelers," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in his announcement of the Request for Information for JFK Central Hub, part of the greater $13 billion airport redevelopment.

"We are moving ahead with a $13 billion transformation plan that will fundamentally reimagine the airport for the 21st century and as part of that effort JFK Central will create a more unified airport and further solidify New York's position as the premier entry point into our country for the rest of the world."

The RFI can be accessed here (PDF).

AirTrain price tag rises to $2 billion as LGA overhaul takes shape

2019-07-02T19:13:00-04:00

“These are expensive projects. There’s no question. But if we are to reap the benefits of mass transit, we have to provide mass transit that is attractive to individual travelers and their families,” said Rick Cotton, the executive director at the Port Authority, without explaining the rise in cost. “Experience shows that rail mass transit is the most attractive alternative, and we’re committed to provided that.”

While the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey works to implement an $8 billion overhaul of LaGuardia Airport, costs for a planned AirTrain link connecting the airport to regional mass transit continue to grow.

According to AM New York, when first proposed in 2014, the two-mile monorail was projected to cost $450 million to build. Now, five years later, the cost has ballooned to $2.05 billion, a 356-percent increase. Officials have not explained the reasons behind the sharp increase, but have indicated that most of the increases will come out of the Port Authority's coffers.

Rendering depicting the forthcoming concourse set to open fall 2019. Image courtesy of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office.

If completed as planned, the two-mile AirTrain line could connect the Willets Point Long Island Rail Road and the No. 7 subway to the airport, establishing the first public transit link to LaGuardia.

The cost increase comes as new renderings are unveiled for the LaGuardia Airport expansio...

Cuomo releases RFP for 5 World Trade Center, may include 900-foot tower and affordable housing

2019-06-26T12:10:00-04:00

The Port Authority and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation recently arrived at a deal to develop 5 World Trade Center, the last WTC site. Today, Governor Cuomo released a Request for Proposals, which allows for either commercial or mixed-use proposals for a 900-foot-tall building. Any proposals putting forth a residential component must include “onsite affordable units that comply with New York City’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program,” according to a press release.

Governor Cuomo announces $30 million "Buildings of Excellence" competition to promote low-carbon building design

2019-03-07T18:47:00-05:00

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced plans for a $30 million "Buildings of Excellence" Competition, to promote the design, construction and operation of low-carbon buildings across the state. The competition, announced yesterday morning, is part of the Governor's goal to reduce New York's greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. As building's account for 59% of statewide greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficient design solutions can be a powerful tool in helping achieve this goal.

Previously, Governor Cuomo has put forth an initiative for New York State's own version of a Green New Deal initiative to advance a clean energy future, promising New York State to be carbon free by 2040. On how the competition will further these goals, Governor Cuomo said, "the development of low- to zero-carbon buildings will create healthier living spaces and communities for all New Yorkers, while driving down harmful emissions from one of our highest contributing sect...

How New York won Amazon: See the official proposals for each NYC neighborhood

2018-12-11T20:36:00-05:00

Officials lured Amazon to New York with an extensive pitch, complete with four suggested neighborhoods. In exchange for 25,000 new jobs, Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio are offering Amazon nearly $3 billion in incentives. And while Amazon selected the Queens neighborhood of Long Island City as its new home, officials had proposed bringing Amazon’s campus to the Farley Building, 3 World Trade Center, Brooklyn Height’s Watchtower building, Bjarke Ingels’ The Spiral, and even Governors Island.

Cuomo reveals new LIRR entrance and public plaza at Penn Station

2018-09-06T17:50:00-04:00

At a well-timed press event this morning, Governor Cuomo announced that the dire safety, security, and circulation situation at Penn Station cannot wait two more years. While construction wraps up at the LIRR and Amtrak’s future home at the Moynihan Train Hall, the state will build a new LIRR facility in the existing Penn Station. The proposal will double access to the trains with new entrances and an enlarged concourse and will create a permanent public plaza at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue.

Going from bad to worse: Penn Station's massive tunnel system is aging rapidly

2018-01-11T17:35:00-05:00

I’d been assigned to write a story about Pennsylvania Station, but I wanted to get a caboose-eye view of the decaying tunnels leading up to it, because the only imaginable way the station could be any worse is if it were underwater. Penn, the Western Hemisphere’s busiest train station, serves 430,000 travelers every weekday—more than LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark airports combined.

"As the gateway to America’s largest city," Devin Leonard writes in his piece for Bloomberg Businessweek, "Penn Station should inspire awe, as train stations do in London, Paris, Tokyo, and other competently managed metropolises. Instead, it embodies a particular kind of American failure—the inability to maintain roads, rails, ports, and other necessary conduits."

Aaaand it's back: Heatherwick's Pier 55 happening after all

2017-10-26T13:03:00-04:00

Pier 55, the elaborate $250 million performing arts center on an undulating pier in the Hudson River, is back from the dead. Forty-three days ago, Barry Diller, the entertainment mogul behind the plan, pulled the plug on the project [...] Now, in an agreement brokered by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Mr. Diller agreed to revive the project, known as “Diller Island,” and opponents who had filed a series of lawsuits to stop the plan agreed to drop their legal battle.

In never-ending-money-and-politics-tale news: "Diller Island," the controversial Pier 55 park structure floating in New York's Hudson River, isn't so dead after all after reports of a Governor Cuomo-brokered agreement between billionaire financier Barry Diller and opponents surfaced yesterday.

"In return, Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, has promised to complete the 4.5-mile-long Hudson River Park," the New York Times writes, "which stretches along the waterfront from Battery Park City to 59th Street and includes Pier 55 at the foot of 14th Street — and to protect the marine estuary from development."

We're holding our breath.

Cuomo releases new renderings of Moynihan Station as major construction gets underway

2017-08-18T09:04:00-04:00

At a press conference this morning in the under-construction space, Governor Cuomo announced that major work has begun on transforming the James A. Farley Building into the state-of-the-art, 225,000-square-foot Moynihan Train Hall. Along with the news that the $1.6 billion project will create 12,000+ construction jobs and 2,500 permanent jobs, come new renderings of the station, showing more exterior views and looks at the 700,000-square-foot shopping and dining concourse.

Via office of Governor Cuomo

Construction officially underway at Delta’s new $4B LaGuardia facilities, new renderings and details

2017-08-09T12:44:00-04:00

Since Governor Cuomo unveiled his plans for a revamped LaGuardia Airport two years ago, the cost has ballooned from $4 to $8 billion, with $4 billion alone going towards Delta’s rebuilt facilities. Construction has finally begun on this part of the project, with the Port Authority signing a long-term lease with Delta Air Lines, which “marks the beginning of construction on the final component of the entirely new, unified airport at LaGuardia," according to a press release from the Governor.

Amid MTA's disastrous Summer, Cuomo moves forward with expensive plan to turn NY's bridges into a light show

2017-07-20T14:58:00-04:00

The project, part of a broader plan called “New York Crossings,” would outfit the MTA’s seven bridges and two tunnels — and the Port Authority’s George Washington Bridge — with pulsating, multicolored LED lights that can be choreographed with each other, with the Empire State Building and with One World Trade.

MTA's crumbling infrastructure has been making headlines since April and the situation does not appear to be getting any better for NYC transiters; three-quarters of the city's subway lines are plagued by chronic delays and frustrated riders continue to overcrowd the system.

While the parties involved point fingers and place blame every which way they can, New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has faced growing pressure to fix the system.

Among the list of complaints being lodged against the Chief of State, are critiques of his plan to turn the region's bridges into a choreographed light show in concert with the city's skyscrapers. The cost of the lighting scheme has not been revealed though an early internal estimate put the price tag at $350 mill. In addition, where funding will come from remains unclear—a spokesman for Cuomo stated that "this is definitively NOT being paid for by the MTA," though a meeting back in January had suggested otherwise. Regardless of who picks up the tab, c...

Will NY Governor Cuomo be able to fix Penn Station's problems?

2017-05-01T14:39:00-04:00

The urgency to fix the station has reached a peak. But this also creates a great occasion to get something done — something grander than Mr. Cuomo's current plan, a project born of political expediency.

For the majority of commuters in New York, New Jersey and the surrounding areas, Penn Station has been the source of many headaches, late arrivals to work, and chaos as of late. Throughout the month of April, multiple trains have been derailed, a train got stuck at Penn Station, there have been ongoing power problems, and a false-alarm of a gunshot caused a stampede injuring 16. All of these incidents have caused massive delays further congesting an already cramped transit system and instilling fears of safety. The issues have been so disruptive that there is even a social media push, #NoPayMay, for commuters to use April's tickets stubs in May due to the substandard service in the past month.

On Thursday, Amtrak officials revealed they would be closing several tracks over the summer but have yet to say how many, or for how long. While the need for improvements are highly recognized, many fear that Amtrak's approach to tackling the deteriorating infrastructure will strain the alread...

Cuomo announces 750-mile Empire State Trail, a continuous trail connecting NYC to Canada

2017-01-10T17:18:00-05:00

This morning Governor Cuomo announced that the state would invest in building a $200 million Empire State Trail that would span 750 miles connecting the bottom of Manhattan all the way to the border of Canada. The project would build upon two existing but incomplete trailways—the Hudson River Valley Greenway and the Erie Canalway—and become the largest, state multi-use trail in the nation.

The New LaGuardia Airport: Not Functional, Not Inspiring, Not an Icon

2015-08-10T13:06:00-04:00

The published renderings that accompanied the announcement were not terribly reassuring, as they depicted a very long curved terminal with gangly tentacles raised over plane taxiways that hinted at torsos of praying mantises: an awkward rather than a graceful vault.

A new LaGuardia is the "airport that New York deserves", says Gov. Cuomo

2015-07-30T15:00:00-04:00

'We are transforming LaGuardia into a globally-renowned, 21st century airport that is worthy of the city and state of New York. It’s the perfect metaphor for what we can achieve with the ambition and optimism and energy that made this the Empire State in the first place, and I want to thank our many partners for joining us to build the airport that New York deserves.' — Gov. Cuomo

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo alongside Vice President Joe Biden officially unveiled the proposed design for the new LaGuardia Airport earlier this week. The $4 billion revamp will transform the airport into a single, structurally unified main terminal, including expanded transportation access and increased taxiway space, and new top-notch passenger amenities.

The overhaul aims to alleviate the air-ground congestion and gate delays that have long plagued the airport — to the point where Biden previously described it as a place one would find in "some third world country". According to a report by the Governor’s Airport Master Plan Advisory Panel, the LaGuardia Airport is "consistently rated as among the worst airports in the world".

Groundbreaking of the first half of the project is expected to start in 2016, once the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey grants final approval. The first half is expected to open to passengers in 2019, and full completion...