Cuomo Seeks $4.2B For Projects, Including LaGuardia Train

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday he wants to spend $4.2 billion on infrastructure projects, including a train to LaGuardia Airport and additional funding for the MTA and the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

The proposals will be included in the budget the governor will unveil Wednesday, which he is combining with the annual State of the State address. At least $1.8 billion comes from a $5 billion surplus resulting from legal settlements with banks.

“We must rebuild over the next few years,” Cuomo, a Democrat, said Tuesday at the Association for a Better New York meeting in Manhattan. “We have not kept pace with the rest of the world and our competitors.”

The 1.5-mile $450 million LaGuardia train, the first to the Queens airport, will run along the Grand Central Parkway. It will connect to the 7 train and LIRR and complements a competition the state is holding to redesign and modernize LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airport. It’s expected to be built within five years.

“You can’t get to LaGuardia by train today, and that really is inexcusable,” Cuomo said.

This article appeared in print on page 16 of the January 21st, 2015 edition of Hamodia.