Brooklyn elected officials warned against any attempt to appropriate subway infrastructure for the Lower Manhattan-Jamaica/JFK Airport rail project under consideration by the MTA, Port Authority and NYC agencies. 

Talk of taking a subway tunnel and adapting it for suburban commuter trains has been in the air since the idea of a Long Island Rail Road line to lower Manhattan became a fixation for downtown business leaders and Governor Pataki. A hearing for the environmental impact statement that has just begun  for the idea is considering the use of the Montague Street subway tunnel — now used by the M and R subway lines – to reach lower Manhattan from the LIRR terminal at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues. 

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz called for construction of a new tunnel instead, noting that Brooklyn’s transit service is already inadequate and the proposed rail link should be developed to accommodate growth in Brooklyn.  Assemblywoman Joan Millman and Councilman David Yassky also opposed any use of existing Brooklyn subway capacity to facilitate the project.

It is also unclear whether the project would cause the closure of Brooklyn LIRR stations at Nostrand Avenue and East New York.

The Tri-State Campaign noted that the proposed rail link is likely to serve a relatively small number of air travelers and Long Island commuters. “This project is not at all in demand on Long Island. Meanwhile, it has the potential to shrink the mass transit system available to most Brooklynites while improving it for a small handful. Is that what we want?” asked the Campaign’s Teresa Toro. 

The Campaign also cited the high cost and low priority of this project in comparison to other MTA system expansion projects like the Second Avenue subway and LIRR East Side access — it could break the already under-funded MTA capital program, and create pressure on the Port Authority’s budget and compete for funding with the new commuter rail tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan.  The rail link proposal, and contact information for submitting comments (deadline September 17), are online: www.mta.info/mta/planning/lmlink/index.html

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