Remaining alternatives are: 1) extension of the "N" subway line north along 31st Street to 19th Avenue and then east on 19th Avenue to the airport, with stops at all terminals, and 2) new track departing from the N line at Queensboro Plaza, through the Sunnyside Yards and along the BQE (near St. Michael's cemetery) and Grand Central Parkway to the airport. This line would would not stop at the Marine Air Terminal, which houses Delta's Boston and Washington shuttles. Since the 19th Avenue alignment directly extends N service, it could be run without displacing existing rush hour N & R subway service through the 60th Street Tunnel. However, the Sunnyside Yard option would essentially create a new service that could further crowd the tunnel.

Although $100 million has been pledged by the state for the project (See MTR #187,) sources at the MTA said that the 19th Avenue option would cost $1.04 billion, and the Sunnyside Yard alignment would cost $1.8 billion. Although it is unclear which agency will be responsible for certain costs -- such as rolling stock -- a likely scenario would be for MTA will pick up the off-airport costs and the PA the on-airport costs. Mayor Giuliani and Queens Borough President Shulman are strong supporters of LaGuardia rail access, but any construction project will have to queue up among a growing list of very costly rail capacity expansion proposals.

The MTA is holding public comment "scoping meetings" on LaGuardia airport access on May 11th (in Astoria, Queens) and May 12th (in Manhattan). See the MTR calendar for details, or the MTA website: http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mta/communications/meeting-lag.htm