Res. No. 871

Resolution asking Congress to approve the conversion of $2 billion in Liberty Zone tax credit financing to help finance the construction of a JFK Lower Manhattan Rail Link.

By Council Members Sanders Jr. and Comrie

Whereas, The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), along with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), have proposed the construction of a Lower Manhattan Rail Link (LMRL); and

Whereas, The LMRL will allow those departing from Kennedy Airport heading towards Lower Manhattan to travel on the existing AirTrain tracks which would run along a viaduct in the middle of the Van Wyck Expressway to Jamaica, Queens; and

Whereas, The construction of a new 1,500 foot connector will carry trains from the existing AirTrain tracks to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) tracks heading into Brooklyn and upon reaching the Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, would enter a new three-mile long tunnel through Brooklyn and travel beneath the East River into Lower Manhattan; and

Whereas, The LMRL will as currently proposed will terminate near Hanover Square, which is also the proposed terminus of the prospective Second Avenue subway, and the “E” train at the World Trade Center Station, as well as the Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn; and

Whereas, The proposed LMRL, which is estimated to cost $6 billion for the construction of a new tunnel across the East River, is estimated to serve approximately 36.5 million passengers in its first year of operation, with a daily average ridership of 100,000 passengers; and

Whereas, It is vital that the financing for the LMRL does not take away funding from the Second Avenue Subway, or the East Side Access Projects, as all of these projects are of equal importance; and

Whereas, After the 9/11 attacks, Congress approved a $20 billion aid package to New York with $5 billion allocated as tax incentives for Lower Manhattan, and

Whereas, These tax incentives have greatly aided the City’s economy in recovering from the attacks, however a significant portion of these tax incentives still remain unused; and

Whereas, The Governor and Mayor have asked the federal government to agree to let New York “cash in” the unused portion of tax incentives for funds that may instead be spent on improving the downtown transportation infrastructure which will stimulate future economic growth; and

Whereas, With an approximate $560 million committed to the LMRL by the PANYNJ and an expected contribution of $400 million from the MTA, the additional $2 billion if converted from the tax incentives proposed by President Bush’s FY 2005 Budget could position the City and State to raise the remaining funds from other sources; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the City Council of the City of New York is asking Congress to approve the conversion of $2 billion in Liberty Zone tax credit financing to help finance the construction of a JFK Lower Manhattan Rail Link.

DGD

02/23/05

LS# 2032