New York's Senator
CHARLES E. SCHUMER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 7, 2000

SCHUMER ANNOUNCES OVER $45 MILLIONFOR NYC TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS

38^th Street, Whitehall and St. George Ferry Terminals, Jamaica Station and LaGuardia Airport Will All Receive Federal Money

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the House and Senate both passed the FY01 Transportation Appropriations bill, which contains $45,170,000 for a series of transportation projects in the New York City area. Projects receiving funding include the East Side Access Project, Whitehall and 38^th Street Ferry Terminals, Jamaica Station, the Van Wyck Expressway Corridor and LaGuardia Airport. Schumer requested funding for the projects earlier this year.

"The Big Apple can't be the financial capital of the world if its transportation infrastructure fails to keep pace with the speed of business," said Schumer. "Today's funding will help city authorities make a host of important improvements to ensure that people and products can get where they need to go quickly and effectively."

Under the conference report, the City of New York will receive $2.5 million for improvements to the Whitehall and St. George Ferry terminals. The money comes on the heels of the $153 million federal loan the city secured last week for the complete rehabilitation of the two terminals. The appropriations money will be used to create direct connections between city subway and bus systems and the ferry at the Whitehall terminal and to complete safety and traffic improvements to the St. George terminal.

The City will also receive $16.3 million to move forward with the design and construction of a new ferry terminal on West 38^th Street to provide service to and from New Jersey. Ferry travel is fast becoming a preferred means of commuting between New York and New Jersey, with over 27,000 riders using ferries every day. The State of New Jersey is simultaneously constructing a terminal in Weehawken to complement the 38^th Street facility.

The Greater Jamaica Development Corporation will receive separate appropriations of $930,000
and $1 million for the Jamaica Station Development and the Van Wyck Expressway Corridor programs. The Jamaica Station money will go towards a series of projects to prepare for the arrival of the AirTrain connector from JFK Airport, including pedestrian mobility improvements, marketing initiatives and information kiosks. The Van Wyck funding will help develop a plan to determine how to ease congestion and improve JFK-to-Jamaica travel on the Van Wyck Expressway. Congestion on the Van Wyck currently carries an annual economic cost of over $400 million.

"The Van Wyck is currently the only major thoroughfare for the $109 billion in goods that pass through JFK every year. It simply cannot continue to be one of the worst traffic nightmares in America," said Schumer. "This money is a first step towards coming up with a solution to ease congestion on the crowded expressway."

The appropriations bill also includes $24.33 million for the Port Authority to make improvements to LaGuardia Airport and $1 million for Soundview Greenway, an initiative to build stretches of parkland throughout New York City.

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