[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 177 (Thursday, September 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63194-63195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[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decision, the FAA has withdrawn the ROD for the LGA Access Improvement 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also withdrawn.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all aspects of the Project contained within the now-withdrawn ROD 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.

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.

    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]
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