The Biden administration approved disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $2.1 billion pet project “AirTrain” between LaGuardia Airport and eastern Queens in July based on a “cherry-picked” environmental review that willfully overlooked possible alternatives, preservation groups and a local block association charged in in court on Monday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is mulling whether to move ahead with the shovel-ready monorail project, which is confusingly routed to carry Manhattan-bound riders east, away from the island. The proposal would connect the airport to the Long Island Rail Road and subway near Citi Field.
Critics including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez question the logic — arguing that the route would encourage driving instead of transit.
The lawsuit filed in federal court Monday by Riverkeeper, Guardians of Flushing Bay and the Ditmars Boulevard Block Association accuses the Federal Aviation Administration of “creating eight arbitrary screening criteria to preempt consideration of 45 transit alternatives,” in order to speed up approval of the eastward route at Cuomo’s behest.
As a result, alternatives like ferries, buses or extending existing mass transit were never considered, according to the suit — even though 2019 documents obtained by Riverkeeper in April through a Freedom of Information request showed FAA believed the railway would likely be slower than just driving to the airport.
The plaintiffs want the court to immediately halt the project.
“FAA didn’t do the transit alternatives analysis it was required to do, so the public has no way of knowing whether this is the best option for the region,” Riverkeeper attorney Mike Dulong told The Post. “The analysis was biased and uneven.”
FAA also “inappropriately granted” the Port Authority the ability to use AirTrain fares to pay for off-site parking to make space at the airport for concessions, according to the suit. The lawsuit further accuses the FAA of failing to evaluate alternatives to mitigate impacts of the monorail’s route along Malcolm X Promenade on Flushing Bay.
“If FAA is going to allow Port Authority to use parkland, it must determine that there are no feasible alternatives, and must do all possible mitigation,” Dulong said.
The FAA did not immediately return a request for comment.
In a statement, a rep for Port Authority touted the project’s endorsement from “the Biden Administration’s transportation experts.”
“We are confident that the panel of federal judges who will now independently review this matter will affirm that the AirTrain is now ready to be built,” the spokesperson said. “This green infrastructure project will give travelers a reliable rail mass transit link to the airport… without taking any private property or going through any neighborhood.”
Pro-AirTrain group “A Better Way to LGA,” consisting of business and labor leaders, defended the project — which they claimed would take one million cars off the road.
“During the process, the FAA received more than 4,200 comments on the project from Queens and across the region, with 80 percent in favor of AirTrain LGA,” said the statement signed by heads of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, General Contractors Association, New York Building Congress and Association for Better New York.
“The project will create 3,000 union construction jobs, $500 million in contracting opportunities for MWBEs and local businesses, and target local residents for new, permanent operations and maintenance jobs,” the titans of commerce said. “AirTrain LGA is a win for travelers, small businesses, the environment, and our local communities.”