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Friday, June 03, 2005
The LIRR's Clear Expansion Priority  Mobilizing the Region recently had an item calling for the $2 billion that President Bush pledged for construction of a Long Island Rail Road link to the Financial District be re-routed to two other projects: The long overdue Second Avenue Subway and the LIRR-to-Grand Central Terminal link known as East Side Access.Nothing would be better for the long term economic and environmental health of the city than the construction of the Second Avenue Subway, so moving any funds to that project would be great. But the Feds, via the Bush Administration's Federal Transit Administration, have already pledged tremendous support for this project — recommending $1.3 billion for the first three stations and awarding only it and LIRR East Side Access the highest priority level for funding over 25 other projects across the nation. It is up to Albany, not the Federal government, to back it if it's to move forward. But most importantly: How could the LIRR link to Midtown be more important than a LIRR link to Downtown Manhattan? The Grand Central Terminal area is already the most heavily packed part of the country's largest central business district, and commands the highest office rents. It's probably the strongest business area in the country. Long Islanders can already get to Midtown with a one-seat ride. Providing further access to this already fully built-out area would be a huge waste of money, especially when the Financial District is struggling to maintain its status as a premier central business district. In addition, the city and state are trying to promote west Midtown as the future area of expansion, and encouraging people to use Grand Central at the expense of Penn Station would undermine their own objective. As Crain's New York Business has recently lamented, the Financial District recently fell to the fourth largest CBD in the country, after having been the third largest for longer than anyone can remember. Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki are constantly trying to offer incentives to get businesses to locate there, as seen in yesterday's press release about Morgan Stanley taking space there. But a more effective and permanent incentive to keep for businesses in the Financial District would be to make it a one-seat ride for the Long Islanders who now have to transfer to the subway at Penn Station or Flatbush Avenue to get to work. Don't get me wrong. As noted previously, I support all three projects, but the priority for the LIRR has got to be the connection to Downtown, lest we allow it to wither completely.- Posted at 7:06 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 | Post a Comment | |
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