Just hours after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced his resignation in light of sexual harassment allegations, staff members of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey urged the agency’s leaders to halt development of one of his pet projects—the $2.1-billion AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport.
Cuomo has long defied heavy criticism of the 1.5-mile automated system that would transport an estimated 9,100 passengers daily to airport terminals from a transfer station serving New York City’s No. 7 subway line and Long Island Rail Road’s Port Washington branch. Opponents counter that the AirTrain approach is inherently inefficient, and that less expensive transit alternatives were available. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) greenlighted the LaGuardia AirTrain last month.