NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document
Going forward, Lower Manhattan is in a position to match or surpass these other central busi
ness districts by offering airport access not only to one, but to three national and international
airports. The distance from Lower Manhattan to Newark Liberty International Airport,
L/aGuardia Airport, and JFK is relatively short, and recent investments have provided improved
airport connections. These include the AirTrain Newark, which is already in service to the
Newark Airport rail station and from which Amtrak and New Jersey Transit provide regional rail
connections to midtown Manhattan and Newark Penn Station (PATH will re-connect Lower
Manhattan to Newark Penn Station when World Trade Center service re-opens later this year).
By year's end, another project, the AirTrain JFK, will bring air passengers either to the newly
refurbished Jamaica Station, accessible by the LIRR and the J, Z, and E subway lines, or to
Howard Beach Station accessible to the A subwav line.
These measures are a first step forward for the region in providing more convenient and efficient
airport access. As previously noted, current travel times for Lower Manhattan passengers arc
long, convenience is limited, and passenger experience is poor. However, building upon existing
and planned systems, new investment can make Lower Manhattan the major airport center for
the region, with service to all three major airports from a grand arrival and departure facility in
the heart of downtown. The infrastructure investments required for airport access would also
provide improved commuter access, thus addressing two of the region's most pressing transporta
tion needs at once. The following chart outlines some of the options proposed to achieve these
goals.
56 l .ower .ManhattiUi Transporration .Strategics
NYC-WTC_000143112
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