AirTrain LaGuardia: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|ProposedUnbuilt people mover system at LaGuardia Airport in New York City}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=DecemberJuly 20212024}}

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| name = AirTrain LaGuardia

| image = File:AirTrain LGA.jpg

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| caption = Rendering of future AirTrain LaGuardia

| type = [[People mover]]

| system =

| status = ProposedCanceled

| locale = [[Queens]], [[New York City]]

| start = Mets–Willets Point stations ([[Mets–Willets Point station (LIRR)|LIRR]] and [[Mets–Willets Point station (IRT Flushing Line)|subway]])

| end = [[LaGuardia Airport]]

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| owner = [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]]

| operator = Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

| character = Elevated

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| linelength = {{convert|1.5|mi|abbr=on}}

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uexhSTRle\BL!~uexKACCeq~~ ~~Mets—WilletsMets–Willets Point

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'''AirTrain LaGuardia''' iswas a proposed {{convert|1.5|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} [[people mover]] system and [[elevated railway]] in [[New York City]], [[United States]], that would provide service to [[LaGuardia Airport]] in [[Queens]]. It would connecthave connected with the [[New York City Subway]] and [[Long Island Rail Road]] (LIRR) in [[Willets Point, Queens|Willets Point]], similar to how the existing [[AirTrain JFK]] system connects [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]]’s's sixfive terminals to the LIRR in southern Queens at [[Jamaica station]] and to the subway at both [[Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport station]] and [[Howard Beach-JFKBeach–JFK Airport station]]; and how the existing [[AirTrain Newark]] station connects [[Newark Liberty International Airport]]’s's three terminals to [[NJ Transit Rail Operations]] and [[Amtrak]] at [[Newark Liberty International Airport Station|a dedicated station]].

IfThe built,system thewas systemto wouldhave bebeen constructed and operated under contract to the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]] (PANYNJ), thewhich operator ofoperates the airport, and the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] (MTA). In 2015, former New York Governor [[Andrew Cuomo]] announced a plan to build a people mover similar to the AirTrain JFK, and in 2018, the [[New York State Legislature]] approved a law for the AirTrain LaGuardia project. Construction was to begin in 2021, with a projected opening in 2024; however, the project was indefinitely postponed in late 2021. In March 2023, the project was officially abandoned after the estimated cost reached $2.4 billion, five times the initial estimate.

The AirTrain project hashad been highly controversial. ProjectAdvocates advocates saysaid that it would improve access to the airport byfrom the subway and LIRR, alleviate traffic congestion, and alleviatereduce air pollution in and around East Elmhurst. However,The theproject construction of the AirTrain has beenwas opposed by residents of nearby communities, as well as some transit advocates who have objected to its indirect route to Midtown Manhattan, high cost estimate, and potential to prevent further rail transit connections to LaGuardia.

LaGuardia Airport had no rail service when the AirTrain was proposed in 2014. The only public transportation is by bus via the {{NYC bus link|Q47|Q48|Q70 SBS|Q72|M60 SBS|prose=y}} routes, all of which connect to the subway. The Q70 also connects to the LIRR at [[Woodside station (LIRR)|Woodside station]], while the M60 SBS runs to Manhattan, connecting with the [[Metro-North Railroad]] at [[Harlem–125th Street station]] as well as with several subway routes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/airport.htm|title=mta.info {{!}} Services to LaGuardia and Kennedy Airports|website=web.mta.info|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110075552/http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/airport.htm|archive-date=November 10, 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=December 21, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://laguardiaairport.com/getting-to-from/by-public-transit/|title=By Public Transit – LaGuardia Airport|website=LaGuardia Airport|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029232555/http://laguardiaairport.com/getting-to-from/by-public-transit/|archive-date=October 29, 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=December 21, 2016}}</ref> In 2014, 8% of LaGuardia's 27 million passengers took the bus, compared to the 12% of the 53 million passengers using [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] who took [[AirTrain JFK]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Long Island News & PRs|url=http://www.longisland.com/news/02-12-15/airtrain-jfk-reaches-record-high-ridership-in-2014.html|title=Governor Cuomo Announces AirTrain JFK Reaches Record High Ridership in 2014|work=LongIsland.com|date=February 12, 2015|access-date=February 13, 2015|archive-date=February 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213191902/http://www.longisland.com/news/02-12-15/airtrain-jfk-reaches-record-high-ridership-in-2014.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, in 2008, 75% of LaGuardia's passengers took a taxi or car service, but only 16% rode a bus or van.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2016/30/airtrain_2016_06_10_q.html|title=First contracts awarded for LaGuardia AirTrain project|last=Parry|first=Bill|date=July 28, 2016|newspaper=TimesLedger|access-date=December 21, 2016|archive-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221234831/http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2016/30/airtrain_2016_06_10_q.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The New York metropolitan area's other two major airports have rail connections. [[AirTrain Newark]], the [[monorail]] at [[Newark Liberty International Airport]], opened in 1996, has connected that airport to commuter trains since 2000.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/01/nyregion/new-jersey-daily-briefing-monorail-opens-with-spat.html|title=NEW JERSEY DAILY BRIEFING;Monorail Opens With Spat|last=Sharkey|first=Joe|date=June 1, 1996|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 21, 2016|archive-date=March 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319080433/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/01/nyregion/new-jersey-daily-briefing-monorail-opens-with-spat.html|url-status=live}}</ref> AirTrain JFK, the [[people mover]] at JFK Airport, opened in 2003.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/14/travel/travel-advisory-a-train-to-the-plane-at-long-last.html|title=TRAVEL ADVISORY; A Train to the Plane, At Long Last|last=Stellin|first=Susan|date=December 14, 2003|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 21, 2016|archive-date=December 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222002141/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/14/travel/travel-advisory-a-train-to-the-plane-at-long-last.html|url-status=live}}</ref> AirTrain LaGuardia iswas proposed to be a people mover like the one at JFK.<ref name=":0Durkin 2015">{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/cuomo-announces-plan-building-airtrain-laguardia-airport-article-1.2085807|title=Andrew Cuomo Announces $450M Plan to Build AirTrain Connecting LaGuardia Airport to the Subway|last=Durkin|first=Erin|date=January 20, 2015|work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York|access-date=January 21, 2015|archive-date=January 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121082819/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/cuomo-announces-plan-building-airtrain-laguardia-airport-article-1.2085807|url-status=live}}</ref>

As currently planned, the AirTrain LaGuardia would have run from LaGuardia Airport with two stops within the airport, before running over the Grand Central Parkway for {{Convert|1.5|miles|km}} before terminating in [[Willets Point, Queens|Willets Point]] near [[Citi Field]] and [[Flushing Meadows–Corona Park]], and would connecthave connected there with the [[New York City Subway]]'s {{NYCS trains|Flushing}} at the [[Mets–Willets Point (IRT Flushing Line)|Mets–Willets Point]] station and, via an existing passenger bridge, with the [[Long Island Rail Road]]'s [[Mets–Willets Point (LIRR station)|Mets–Willets Point]] station.<ref name=":1ny.gov" /><ref name=":2Maps of proposed Airtrain LGA route at ny" /><ref name=":3Grynbaum 2015" /> The AirTrain trip would takehave taken 6 minutes, and the LIRR ride to Manhattan would takehave taken another 20 minutes.<ref name=":9Rivoli 2018">{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-laguardia-airport-airtrain-cuomo-20180625-story.html|title=LaGuardia AirTrain moves forward after Cuomo signs bill|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=June 25, 2018|website=nydailynews.com|access-date=June 26, 2018|archive-date=June 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625234604/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-laguardia-airport-airtrain-cuomo-20180625-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Mets-Willets Point subway stop would behave been rebuilt, and $50 million hashad been allocated toward planning and designing this work in the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Program. Also as part of that Capital Program, the LIRR stop wouldwas beto have been rebuilt for $75 million. The subway station and the LIRR station wouldwere beto have been integrated with nearby buses as part of the overhaul for greater intermodal connectivity.<ref name=":4mta.info 2017">{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/pdf/WEB2015-2019Program_reduced.pdf|title=Amendment to the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Plan|date=May 2017|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=June 11, 2017|archive-date=April 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402222007/http://web.mta.info/capital/pdf/WEB2015-2019Program_reduced.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp|4, 8, 37, 56, 118, 140}} The station couldwas alsoplanned to possiblypotentially hold ancillary airport functions, employee parking, and a Consolidated Rent-a-Car facility.<ref name=":5Port Authority of New York and New Jersey 2017" />{{Rp|30–31}} To allow for the AirTrainconstruction stationof inthe Willets Point toAirTrain be builtstation, the [[Casey Stengel Bus Depot]] will needwas to behave been relocated. $50 million was allocated in the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Program to acquire property for a replacement depot.<ref name=":4mta.info 2017" />{{Rp|6, 37, 45}}

A rail link to LaGuardia Airport had been proposed since 1943, when the city [[New York City Board of Transportation|Board of Transportation]] proposed an extension of the [[New York City Subway]]'s [[BMT Astoria Line]] (currently served by the {{NYCS trains|Astoria}}) from its terminus at [[Astoria – Ditmars Boulevard (BMT Astoria Line)|Ditmars Boulevard]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Post-War Plans List 2 Subway Links for Boro|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/52647686/?terms=|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|newspaper=[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|access-date=July 19, 2015|date=August 8, 1943|archive-date=December 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230044711/https://www.newspapers.com/image/52647686/?terms=|url-status=live}}</ref> This was the first of 20 proposals for direct links to New York-area airports, all of which were canceled.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/02/nyregion/officials-agree-on-modest-plan-for-a-rail-link-to-one-airport.html|title=Officials Agree On Modest Plan For a Rail Link To One Airport|last=Newman|first=Andy|date=October 2, 1997|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 1, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902010206/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/02/nyregion/officials-agree-on-modest-plan-for-a-rail-link-to-one-airport.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1990, the MTA proposed the [[New York City airport rail link]] to LaGuardia and JFK airports, which would be funded jointly by agencies in the federal, state, and city government.<ref name=":8a">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/18/nyregion/mta-proposes-rail-line-to-link-major-airports.html|title=M.T.A. Proposes Rail Line to Link Major Airports|last=Sims|first=Calvin|date=March 18, 1990|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 24, 2016|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309040906/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/18/nyregion/mta-proposes-rail-line-to-link-major-airports.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The rail line was to begin in Midtown Manhattan, crossing the [[East River]] via the [[Queensboro Bridge]]'s lower-level outer roadways, which had been formerly used by trolley cars.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/01/nyregion/port-authority-may-scale-back-airport-rail-line.html|title=Port Authority May Scale Back Airport Rail Line|last=Levy|first=Clifford J.|date=February 1, 1995|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 1, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901210405/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/01/nyregion/port-authority-may-scale-back-airport-rail-line.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It would stop at [[Queens Plaza (Queens)|Queens Plaza]], then use the right-of-way of the [[Sunnyside Yards]] and [[Brooklyn-Queens Expressway]] to access LaGuardia Airport.<ref name="Firestone 1994">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/31/nyregion/push-for-link-airports-port-authority-confident-rail-plan-despite-opposition.html|title=The Push Is On for Link to Airports;Port Authority Confident of Rail Plan Despite Opposition|last=Firestone|first=David|date=July 31, 1994|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 1, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902003242/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/31/nyregion/push-for-link-airports-port-authority-confident-rail-plan-despite-opposition.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After stopping at LaGuardia, the line would continue parallel to the [[Grand Central Parkway]] with an intermediate stop near [[Shea Stadium]] in [[Willets Point, Queens|Willets Point]], with a connection to the {{NYCS trains|Flushing}} at [[Mets–Willets Point (IRT Flushing Line)|Willets Point Boulevard]].<ref name=":8a" /><ref name="Firestone 1994"/> Continuing down the parkway, the line would have another intermediate stop in [[Jamaica, Queens|Jamaica]], connecting to the LIRR at [[Jamaica (LIRR station)|Jamaica Station]], and then proceed nonstop down the [[Van Wyck Expressway]] to JFK Airport.<ref name=":8a" /><ref name="Firestone 1994"/> The Port Authority seriously considered the proposal,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/21/nyregion/dream-train-to-airports-takes-step-nearer-reality.html|title=Dream Train to Airports Takes Step Nearer Reality|last=Dao|first=James|date=December 21, 1992|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 1, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902013011/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/21/nyregion/dream-train-to-airports-takes-step-nearer-reality.html|url-status=live}}</ref> commissioning an [[environmental impact statement]] (EIS) for the rail link.<ref name="Firestone 1994"/> However, due to rising costs, the Port Authority canceled the direct rail link between LaGuardia/JFK and Manhattan in May 1995.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/20/nyregion/neighborhood-report-howard-beach-rethinking-plans-for-those-trains-to-the-planes.html|title=NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: HOWARD BEACH; Rethinking Plans For Those Trains To the Planes|last=Herszenhorn|first=David M.|date=August 20, 1995|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=July 24, 2016|archive-date=September 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929230430/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/20/nyregion/neighborhood-report-howard-beach-rethinking-plans-for-those-trains-to-the-planes.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/boroughs/jfk-light-rail-moves-article-1.701283|title=JFK LIGHT RAIL MOVES FORWARD|last=Donohue|first=Pete|date=August 2, 1995|work=NY Daily News|access-date=September 1, 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/02/nyregion/a-monorail-for-kennedy-is-granted-key-approval.html|title=A Monorail For Kennedy Is Granted Key Approval|last=Levy|first=Clifford J.|date=August 2, 1995|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 1, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901210509/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/02/nyregion/a-monorail-for-kennedy-is-granted-key-approval.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Prior to the construction of [[AirTrain JFK]] in 1997, Mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]] opposed the AirTrain at JFK because of a monetary dispute between the state, city, and Port Authority.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/14/nyregion/disagreement-over-rent-stalls-airport-rail-project.html|title=Disagreement Over Rent Stalls Airport Rail Project|last=MacfarquharMacFarquhar|first=Neil|date=June 14, 1997|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 1, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902012933/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/14/nyregion/disagreement-over-rent-stalls-airport-rail-project.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Giuliani wanted the Port Authority to study the possibility of extending the BMT Astoria Line to LaGuardia Airport, among other things.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/13/nyregion/agency-says-jfk-rail-plan-is-ready-but-mayor-balks.html|title=Agency Says J.F.K. Rail Plan Is Ready, but Mayor Balks|last=MacfarquharMacFarquhar|first=Neil|date=March 13, 1997|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 1, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902012634/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/13/nyregion/agency-says-jfk-rail-plan-is-ready-but-mayor-balks.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that year, Giuliani agreed to the AirTrain JFK plan, and the Port Authority agreed to conduct a feasibility study on a similar LaGuardia rail link.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/jfk-rail-plan-rudy-article-1.779302|title=JFK-RAIL PLAN TO GET RUDY'S OK|last=Feiden|first=Douglas|date=October 1, 1997|work=NY Daily News|access-date=September 1, 2017|language=en|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902003743/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/jfk-rail-plan-rudy-article-1.779302|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2003, $645 million was budgeted to extend the Astoria Line to the airport, but the extension was never built due to [[NIMBY|community opposition]] in Queens.<ref>{{cite news|first=Christopher|last=Robbins|url=http://gothamist.com/2014/02/06/dream_direct_rail_service_to_la_gua.php|title=Here's Why You Can't Get to Laguardia Airport by Train|work=Gothamist|date=February 6, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404184320/http://gothamist.com/2014/02/06/dream_direct_rail_service_to_la_gua.php|archive-date=April 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=June 27, 2007|title=Flashback To 1999 - Onorato Opposes LaGuardia Rail Link|website=Queens Gazette|url=http://www.qgazette.com/news/2007-06-27/Features/Flashback_To_1999_001.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322134801/http://www.qgazette.com/news/2007-06-27/features/flashback_to_1999_001.html|archive-date=March 22, 2016|access-date=March 25, 2014}}</ref>

On January 20, 2015, New York Governor [[Andrew Cuomo]] announced a plan to build a people mover similar to AirTrain JFK.<ref name=":0Durkin 2015" /> It would follow the [[Grand Central Parkway]] for one and a half miles, similar to how the AirTrain JFK runs along the median of the [[Van Wyck Expressway]] between Jamaica and JFK. The line would terminate in [[Willets Point, Queens|Willets Point]] near [[Citi Field]] and [[Flushing Meadows–Corona Park]], and would connect there with the [[New York City Subway]]'s {{NYCS trains|Flushing}} at the [[Mets–Willets Point (IRT Flushing Line)|Mets–Willets Point]] station and, via an existing passenger bridge, with the [[Long Island Rail Road]]'s [[Mets–Willets Point (LIRR station)|Mets–Willets Point]] station on the [[Port Washington Branch]].<ref name=":1ny.gov">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/ABNY_airtrain.pdf|title=Building A New New York|website=ny.gov|publisher=[[Government of New York (state)|Government of New York]]|access-date=December 21, 2016|archive-date=December 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222182122/https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/ABNY_airtrain.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2Maps of proposed Airtrain LGA route at ny">[{{Cite web |url=https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/ABNY_airtrain.pdf |title=Maps of proposed Airtrain LGA route at ny.gov] |access-date=April 6, 2015 |archive-date=April 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419043543/https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/ABNY_airtrain.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3Grynbaum 2015">{{cite web|last1=Grynbaum|first1=Michael M.|title=Cuomo Wants Elevated Train Link Built to Ill-Served La Guardia Airport|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/nyregion/cuomo-proposes-train-link-to-la-guardia-airport.html?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=July 9, 2015|date=January 20, 2015|archive-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723012402/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/nyregion/cuomo-proposes-train-link-to-la-guardia-airport.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref> The governor's office estimated the cost for the project to be $450 million, which later increased to $1.5 billion.<ref>{{cite web|last=Honan|first=Katie|date=January 20, 2015|title=Cuomo Announces AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport from Subway, LIRR|url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150120/east-elmhurst/cuomo-announces-airtrain-laguardia-airport-from-subway-lirr|work=DNAinfo|access-date=January 20, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120233716/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150120/east-elmhurst/cuomo-announces-airtrain-laguardia-airport-from-subway-lirr|archive-date=January 20, 2015}}</ref><ref name=":5Port Authority of New York and New Jersey 2017" /> Unlike the other proposed AirTrain routings, the Willets Point route was to be located on government-owned land and would not require [[eminent domain|capture of private property]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 25, 2018|title=Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation Advancing Laguardia Airtrain Project|url=https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-signs-legislation-advancing-laguardia-airtrain-project|access-date=October 7, 2020|website=Governor Andrew M. Cuomo|language=en|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010001255/https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-signs-legislation-advancing-laguardia-airtrain-project|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The first contracts for the AirTrain itself were awarded in May 2016. A pair of contracts, totaling $7.5 million, were awarded for preliminary engineering work at the two Willets Point stations and expected to be completed in 2017.<ref name=":0Durkin 2015" /> One contract, costing $4.6 million and awarded to STV Inc, was for studies of the LIRR station's platform lengthening and an [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990|ADA-accessibility]] retrofit. The other, a $2.9 million contract given to HDR Architecture and Engineering PC, was for studies regarding the subway station's complete renovation and ADA-accessibility.<ref name=":0Durkin 2015" /> The airport renovation as a whole started construction on June 14, 2016.<ref name="Rauh 2016">{{cite web|url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2016/06/14/lga-airtrain-groundbreaking-.html|title=Biden Joins Cuomo for Groundbreaking for Expansion of LaGuardia Airport|last=Rauh|first=Grace|date=June 14, 2016|website=TWC News|access-date=August 20, 2016|archive-date=August 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819180031/http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2016/06/14/lga-airtrain-groundbreaking-.html?|url-status=live}}</ref> $1.5 billion was allocated for the construction of the rail link as part of the introduced 10-year $29.5 billion plan for the Port Authority. New York Commissioner Kenneth Lipper tried to have the plan amended with all funding for the AirTrain removed, citing concerns that the project would leave the agency in financial difficulty.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/2017/01/billions_for_path_extension_bus_terminal_included_in_pa_spending_plan.html|title=Billions for PATH extension, bus terminal included in PA spending plan|last=Higgs|first=Larry|date=January 5, 2017|newspaper=NJ.com|access-date=January 5, 2017|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902013816/http://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/2017/01/billions_for_path_extension_bus_terminal_included_in_pa_spending_plan.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2017, the PANYNJ released its 10-year capital plan that included AirTrain LaGuardia funding. Construction is projected to start in 2019, with passenger service in 2023.<ref name=":5Port Authority of New York and New Jersey 2017">{{cite web|url=http://corpinfo.panynj.gov/files/uploads/documents/financial-information/budget-capital-plan/Proposed_Capital_Plan_2017-2026_HZ1oF7A.pdf#page=35|title=PANYNJ Proposed Capital Plan 2017-2026|date=January 11, 2017|publisher=[[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]]|access-date=February 7, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202044205/http://corpinfo.panynj.gov/files/uploads/documents/financial-information/budget-capital-plan/Proposed_Capital_Plan_2017-2026_HZ1oF7A.pdf#page=35|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Rp|35}} On February 6, 2017, the PANYNJ announced that it had opened a four-week-long [[request for proposal]]s. The firm that is awarded the RFP would design three AirTrain stations—two inside the airport's new terminals and one at Willets Point—as well as plan the [[Right-of-way (transportation)|right of way]] from Willets Point to the airport.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/laguardia-airtrain-planning-begins-with-request-for-proposals-1.13072720|title=PA takes major step in planning for LaGuardia AirTrain|last=Barone|first=Vincent|date=February 6, 2017|newspaper=am New York|access-date=February 7, 2017|language=en|archive-date=February 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207020352/http://www.amny.com/transit/laguardia-airtrain-planning-begins-with-request-for-proposals-1.13072720|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2017, [[WSP USA]] was hired to design the AirTrain.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-firm-hired-design-14-6m-airtrain-laguardia-airport-article-1.3148361|title=NYC firm hired for $14.6M to develop LaGuardia AirTrain proposal|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=May 9, 2017|work=NY Daily News|access-date=May 9, 2017|language=en|archive-date=May 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512021940/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-firm-hired-design-14-6m-airtrain-laguardia-airport-article-1.3148361|url-status=live}}</ref> The PANYNJ awarded another $55 million to the project in November 2017, bringing the total funds allocated for planning to $75 million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/laguardia-airtrain-planning-sees-55m-boost-port-authority-article-1.3638417|title=LaGuardia AirTrain planning sees $55M boost from Port Authority|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=November 16, 2017|work=NY Daily News|access-date=November 19, 2017|language=en|archive-date=November 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117022403/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/laguardia-airtrain-planning-sees-55m-boost-port-authority-article-1.3638417|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":6Barone 2017">{{Cite news|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/laguardia-airport-airtrain-1.15004542|title=LaGuardia Airport's AirTrain plan continues to roll forward|last=Barone|first=Vincent|date=November 17, 2017|work=am New York|access-date=November 19, 2017|language=en|archive-date=November 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119060757/https://www.amny.com/transit/laguardia-airport-airtrain-1.15004542|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2018, the Port Authority ruled out the possibility of routing the AirTrain along Grand Central Parkway, after consultation with residents of nearby [[East Elmhurst, Queens|East Elmhurst]] who opposed such a routing. The other options for routing the AirTrain included either placing it on a promenade adjacent to [[Flushing Bay]], or over the bay itself.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/laguardia-airtrain-won-t-be-on-the-gcp/article_a39bebc3-1037-58e1-bc14-8e85bcb01e25.html|title=LaGuardia AirTrain won't be on the GCP|date=April 26, 2018|last=O'Reilly|first=Anthony|website=Queens Chronicle|access-date=September 1, 2018|archive-date=August 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830070501/http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/laguardia-airtrain-won-t-be-on-the-gcp/article_a39bebc3-1037-58e1-bc14-8e85bcb01e25.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2018, the [[New York State Legislature]] approved a law for the AirTrain LaGuardia project. This allowed the PANYNJ to start acquiring public land for the AirTrain's route, as well as for environmental impact studies to be conducted.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/6/25/17502336/laguardia-airtrain-legislation-governor-cuomo-airport|title=New looks at LaGuardia AirTrain, now one step closer to reality|last=Warerkar|first=Tanay|date=June 25, 2018|website=Curbed NY|access-date=June 26, 2018|archive-date=June 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625235608/https://ny.curbed.com/2018/6/25/17502336/laguardia-airtrain-legislation-governor-cuomo-airport|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-lawmakers-press-for-laguardia-airport-rail-link-1529338332|title=New York Lawmakers Press for LaGuardia Airport Rail Link|last1=Honan|first1=Katie|last2=Berger|first2=Paul|date=June 18, 2018|website=WSJ|access-date=September 1, 2018|archive-date=August 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831230519/https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-lawmakers-press-for-laguardia-airport-rail-link-1529338332|url-status=live}}</ref> Under the original plan, the AirTrain would start construction in 2020 and be complete by 2022.<ref name=":8Fitzsimmons 2018">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/nyregion/airtrain-la-guardia-manhattan-cuomo.html|title=Plans for AirTrain to La Guardia Airport Move Ahead Amid Criticism|date=June 25, 2018|last=Fitzsimmons|first=Emma G.|website=The New York Times|access-date=June 26, 2018|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626001251/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/nyregion/airtrain-la-guardia-manhattan-cuomo.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":9Rivoli 2018" /> The Port Authority subsequently began environmental studies for three possible routings of the AirTrain to Willets Point, as well as the no-build alternative.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/lga-airtrain-all-sides-prepping-for-the-plan/article_cb2274fa-a0ea-52b6-a9eb-06aeead91266.html|title=LGA AirTrain: All sides prepping for the plan|date=September 13, 2018|last=Gannon|first=Michael|website=Queens Chronicle|access-date=September 1, 2018|archive-date=September 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913210649/http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/lga-airtrain-all-sides-prepping-for-the-plan/article_cb2274fa-a0ea-52b6-a9eb-06aeead91266.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Some residents and environmental groups opposed the project and requested results from the EIS upon its completion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/lga-air-train-foes-seeking-pa-studies/article_7907cd27-c723-5e0e-a3b0-5d9709a8774e.html|title=LGA air train foes seeking PA studies|date=September 20, 2018|last=Gannon|first=Michael|website=Queens Chronicle|access-date=September 1, 2018|archive-date=September 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926211233/http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/lga-air-train-foes-seeking-pa-studies/article_7907cd27-c723-5e0e-a3b0-5d9709a8774e.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Environmental groups worried that the AirTrain's construction would pollute Flushing Bay, which had just been cleaned at that point.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/flushing-bay-laguardia-airtrain-1.21330599|title=LaGuardia AirTrain threatens Flushing Bay: Advocates|date=October 1, 2018|last=Colangelo|first=Lisa L.|website=am New York|access-date=September 1, 2018|archive-date=October 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001132741/https://www.amny.com/transit/flushing-bay-laguardia-airtrain-1.21330599|url-status=live}}</ref> A subsequent proposal to route the AirTrain over the waterfront was also met with opposition.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gannon|first=Michael|date=April 4, 2019|url=https://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/lga-airtrain-plans-shift-to-promenade/article_fe143c87-70bb-54fd-9ea9-f82da415b78a.html|title=LGA AirTrain plans shift to Promenade|website=Queens Chronicle|access-date=June 4, 2019|archive-date=June 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606004209/https://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/lga-airtrain-plans-shift-to-promenade/article_fe143c87-70bb-54fd-9ea9-f82da415b78a.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Cuomo announced in May 2019 that the MTA would partially pay for the AirTrain's construction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/port-authority-subsidize-mta-laguardia-airtrain-connection|title=Port Authority to subsidize MTA for LaGuardia AirTrain connection|date=May 30, 2019|last=Bredderman|first=Will|website=Crain's New York Business|language=en|access-date=June 4, 2019|archive-date=June 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606022859/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/port-authority-subsidize-mta-laguardia-airtrain-connection|url-status=live}}</ref> By late 2019, the Port Authority was planning to award contracts for the AirTrain in 2021, with the line opening in 2024.<ref>{{cite web|last=Spivack|first=Caroline|title=Port Authority approves billions for airport rail projects|website=Curbed NY|date=October 25, 2019|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2019/10/25/20931282/port-authority-approves-billions-airport-airtrain-projects|access-date=June 17, 2020|archive-date=June 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612233535/https://ny.curbed.com/2019/10/25/20931282/port-authority-approves-billions-airport-airtrain-projects|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Why the LaGuardia AirTrain plan has hit turbulence|website=Crain's New York Business|date=January 27, 2020|last=Flamm|first=Matthew|url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/instant-expert/why-laguardia-airtrain-has-hit-turbulence|access-date=June 17, 2020|archive-date=May 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501191000/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/instant-expert/why-laguardia-airtrain-has-hit-turbulence|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Federal Aviation Administration]] released a draft EIS and opened public comments for the project in August 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Acevedo|first=Angélica|date=August 22, 2020|title=You can make your case for or against proposed LaGuardia Airport AirTrain|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/you-can-make-your-case-for-or-against-proposed-laguardia-airport-airtrain/|access-date=August 23, 2020|website=amNewYork|language=en-US|archive-date=October 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001232807/https://www.amny.com/transit/you-can-make-your-case-for-or-against-proposed-laguardia-airport-airtrain/|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2021, the FAA released their final EIS on the project; at the time, work was supposed to commence in June 2021 and the AirTrain LGA would be opened by 2026.<ref>{{cite web|last=Carey|first=Liz|date=March 19, 2021|title=FAA releases Environmental Impact Statement on LaGuardia AirTrain project|url=https://transportationtodaynews.com/news/21887-faa-releases-environmental-impact-statement-on-laguardia-airtrain-project/|work=Transportation Today News|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200120/https://transportationtodaynews.com/news/21887-faa-releases-environmental-impact-statement-on-laguardia-airtrain-project/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Parry|first=Bill|title=LaGuardia AirTrain project moves forward following federal review|work=Queens Chronicle|date=March 16, 2021|url=https://qns.com/2021/03/laguardia-airtrain-project-moves-forward-following-federal-review/|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202559/https://qns.com/2021/03/laguardia-airtrain-project-moves-forward-following-federal-review/|url-status=live}}</ref> In June, the project was set for further review by the FAA after complaints that other options were not properly explored.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Berger|first=Paul|date=June 17, 2021|title=FAA Delays Start of LaGuardia Airport AirTrain|language=en-US|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/faa-delays-start-of-laguardia-airport-airtrain-11623961982|access-date=June 18, 2021|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=June 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617211040/https://www.wsj.com/articles/faa-delays-start-of-laguardia-airport-airtrain-11623961982|url-status=live}}</ref> The public provided 4,200 comments on the proposed Airtrain LGA before the FAA approved the project in July 2021.<ref>{{Cite news|last=McGeehan|first=Patrick|date=2021-07-July 20, 2021|title=$2.1 Billion AirTrain to La Guardia Gets Green Light from U.S.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/nyregion/laguardia-airport-train.html|access-date=2021-07-July 21, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721163743/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/nyregion/laguardia-airport-train.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Cook|first1=Lauren|last2=Mocker|first2=Greg|date=2021-07-July 20, 2021|title=Full steam ahead: FAA approves controversial LaGuardia AirTrain|url=https://pix11.com/news/local-news/laguardia-airtrain-gets-faa-approval-paving-way-for-divisive-project/|access-date=2021-07-July 21, 2021|website=PIX11|language=en-US|archive-date=July 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721163744/https://pix11.com/news/local-news/laguardia-airtrain-gets-faa-approval-paving-way-for-divisive-project/|url-status=live}}</ref> Several environmental lawsuits sued the FAA in September 2021,<ref>{{cite web | last=Young | first=Celia | title=Environmental Groups Sue to Block LaGuardia AirTrain | website=Commercial Observer | date=September 21, 2021 | url=https://commercialobserver.com/2021/09/environmental-groups-sue-to-block-laguardia-airtrain/ | access-date=October 4, 2021 | archive-date=October 4, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004230750/https://commercialobserver.com/2021/09/environmental-groups-sue-to-block-laguardia-airtrain/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Kaye | first=Jacob | title=Environmental groups take AirTrain to court | website=Queens Daily Eagle | date=September 21, 2021 | url=https://queenseagle.com/all/environmental-groups-take-airtrain-to-court | access-date=October 4, 2021 | archive-date=October 4, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004230750/https://queenseagle.com/all/environmental-groups-take-airtrain-to-court | url-status=live }}</ref> prompting the FAA to consider delaying the project.<ref>{{cite web | title=FAA considering pausing LaGuardia's AirTrain project after lawsuit filed | first=Lorena | last=Mongelli | date=October 3, 2021 | website=Newsday | url=https://www.newsday.com/long-island/transportation/airtrain-laguardia-faa-lawsuit-1.50379216 | access-date=October 4, 2021 | archive-date=October 4, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004231831/https://www.newsday.com/long-island/transportation/airtrain-laguardia-faa-lawsuit-1.50379216 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Postponement and cancellation===

When [[Kathy Hochul]] succeeded Cuomo as governor in late 2021, andcritics opponentsof hadthe project called for Hochulher to cancel the projectit.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Jimmy |last=Vielkind|date=2021-09-September 23, 2021|title=Plans for AirTrain to LaGuardia, Other New York Projects in Doubt With Andrew Cuomo Departure|language=en-US|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/plans-for-airtrain-to-laguardia-other-new-york-projects-in-doubt-with-andrew-cuomo-departure-11632398492|access-date=October 4, 2021-10-04|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=October 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004230750/https://www.wsj.com/articles/plans-for-airtrain-to-laguardia-other-new-york-projects-in-doubt-with-andrew-cuomo-departure-11632398492|url-status=live}}</ref> InHochul said in October 2021, Hochul saidthat she had directed the PANYNJ to consider alternatives for the project.,<ref>{{cite web | last=Duggan | first=Kevin | title=Hochul seeks 'alternatives' to LaGuardia AirTrain | website=amNewYork | date=October 4, 2021 | url=https://www.amny.com/transit/hochul-seeking-alternatives-to-laguardia-airtrain/ | access-date=October 4, 2021 | archive-date=October 4, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004182818/https://www.amny.com/transit/hochul-seeking-alternatives-to-laguardia-airtrain/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Secrist | first=Clare | title=NYC's proposed LaGuardia rail service sparked lawsuits. Now Hochul is supporting alternatives | website=WSHU | date=October 4, 2021 | url=https://www.wshu.org/post/nycs-proposed-laguardia-rail-service-sparked-lawsuits-now-hochul-supporting-alternatives | access-date=October 4, 2021 | archive-date=October 4, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004230805/https://www.wshu.org/post/nycs-proposed-laguardia-rail-service-sparked-lawsuits-now-hochul-supporting-alternatives | url-status=live }}</ref> Theand PANYNJthe authority presented 14 alternativesoptions in March 2022, including [[BMT Astoria Line#Extension proposals|extending the BMT Astoria Line]] to provide service to the airport.<ref>{{cite web|last=Duggan|first=Kevin|title=Port Authority reveals possible alternatives to LaGuardia AirTrain|url=https://www.amny.com/politics/port-authority-alternatives-laguardia-airtrain/|work=AM New York|date=March 2, 2022|access-date=August 17, 2022|archive-date=June 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610073802/https://www.amny.com/politics/port-authority-alternatives-laguardia-airtrain/}}</ref><ref name="Nessen 2022">{{cite web | last=Nessen | first=Stephen | title=After scrapping Cuomo’sCuomo's AirTrain, Port Authority releases 14 other options | website=Gothamist | date=March 3, 2022 | url=https://gothamist.com/news/after-scraping-cuomos-airtrain-port-authority-releases-14-other-options | access-date=August 17, 2022 | archive-date=August 17, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817184930/https://gothamist.com/news/after-scraping-cuomos-airtrain-port-authority-releases-14-other-options | url-status=live }}</ref> Meanwhile, Hochul announced that, starting on May 1, 2022, the Q70 bus would no longer charge fares starting on May 1, 2022, as a temporary measure while the New York state government studied alternatives to the planned AirTrain LaGuardiaplan.<ref name="NBC New York 2022">{{cite web | title=Q70 Bus to LaGuardia Is Free for All Starting May 1, Hochul Says | website=NBC New York | date=April 27, 2022 | url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/q70-bus-to-laguardia-airport-free-for-all-starting-may-1-hochul-announces/3666084/ | access-date=April 28, 2022 | archive-date=June 11, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611080228/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/q70-bus-to-laguardia-airport-free-for-all-starting-may-1-hochul-announces/3666084/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Izzo 2022">{{cite web | last=Izzo | first=Justin | title=Q70 bus to LaGuardia to be free, Hochul says | website=Spectrum News NY1 New York City | date=April 27, 2022 | url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2022/04/27/q70-bus-to-laguardia-to-be-free-while-other-transit-options-studied--hochul-says | access-date=April 28, 2022 | archive-date=August 7, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807172630/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2022/04/27/q70-bus-to-laguardia-to-be-free-while-other-transit-options-studied--hochul-says | url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Opposition =Reception==

The proposal hashad been strongly criticized by transit advocates as being slower than existing transit modes and likely to increase loads on the {{NYCS trains|Flushing}}, which already operate at full capacity. This would behave been alleviated somewhat by the [[Signaling of the New York City Subway#Automation|automation]] of trains on the [[IRT Flushing Line]], which would allowhave allowed more {{NYCS trains|Flushing|time=nolink}} to run every hour.<ref name="amny 201507">{{cite news|last1=Harshbarger|first1=Rebecca|title=New AirTrain not worth the trip thanks to crowded 7 train: transit advocates|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/450m-airtrain-not-worth-the-trip-thanks-to-crowded-7-train-say-transit-advocates-1.10689345|access-date=July 31, 2015|work=AM New York|date=July 30, 2015|archive-date=July 31, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731053613/http://www.amny.com/transit/450m-airtrain-not-worth-the-trip-thanks-to-crowded-7-train-say-transit-advocates-1.10689345|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Rivoli|first1=Dan|title=Congestion on the chronically crowded 7 train a worry should it link up to LaGuardia Airport|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/congestion-7-train-worry-link-lga-article-1.2310084|access-date=July 31, 2015|work=New York Daily News|date=July 30, 2015|archive-date=August 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801055728/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/congestion-7-train-worry-link-lga-article-1.2310084|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the proposed AirTrain transfer at Willets Point would stillhave bebeen 20 stations away from the [[34th Street–Hudson Yards (IRT Flushing Line)|34th Street–Hudson Yards]] station, the western terminus of the {{NYCS trains|Flushing|time=nolink}} (10 stations away via the rush-hour peak-direction express).<ref name="amny 201507" /> It was estimated that transferring from the subway to the AirTrain would takehave taken longer than transferring from the subway to the [[Q70 (New York City bus)|Q70 LaGuardia Link]] bus at [[61st Street–Woodside (IRT Flushing Line)|61st Street–Woodside]], which is eight local stops closer to Manhattan than the Willets Point station is. The AirTrain would also not behave of use tobenefited many LIRR riders as well, since; the Port Washington Branch is the only LIRR route that does not go through [[Jamaica station]], so riders from the rest of Long Island would have had to make a transfer at the LIRR's [[Woodside station (LIRR)|Woodside station]] to access the Port Washington Branch.<ref name=":7Freemark 2015" /><ref name=":6Barone 2017" />

According to one critic, even with a capacity increase, the new route mightwas not be worth the triptraveling due to its distance from most of the rest of the city, as "transit travel times from LaGuardia to destinations throughout New York City—from [[Grand Central Terminal|Grand Central]] in [[Midtown Manhattan]] to [[Brooklyn Borough Hall|Borough Hall]] in [[downtown Brooklyn]] to [[Jamaica, Queens|Jamaica]] in central Queens to [[Yankee Stadium]] in [[the Bronx]]—would be longer for passengers using the AirTrain than for passengers using existing transit services already offered by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority."<ref name=":7Freemark 2015">{{cite news|last1=Freemark|first1=Yonah|title=For LaGuardia, an AirTrain that will save almost no one any time|url=http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2015/01/21/for-laguardia-an-airtrain-that-will-save-almost-no-one-any-time/|access-date=July 31, 2015|work=The Transport Politic|date=January 21, 2015|archive-date=August 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821095428/http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2015/01/21/for-laguardia-an-airtrain-that-will-save-almost-no-one-any-time/|url-status=live}}</ref> A writer from ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' called the project itself "dumb," saying that the project was a [[:wikt:pet project|pet project]] for Cuomo and an "egregious misuse of money and initiative, in a city whose everyday transit functions are at capacity, to extend such a gift to airport travelers, of all people."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/06/14/laguardia_airport_renovation_still_includes_that_dumb_air_train_why.html|title=Andrew Cuomo Keeps Pushing Ahead With One of the Worst Transit Ideas in America|last=Grabar|first=Henry|date=June 14, 2016|newspaper=Slate|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339|access-date=August 20, 2016|archive-date=August 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818213916/http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/06/14/laguardia_airport_renovation_still_includes_that_dumb_air_train_why.html?|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[The Village Voice]]'' called the project an "unmitigated disaster" for its convoluted, unwieldy route, and asked, "Why would [Cuomo] build [the AirTrain's] terminal at Willets Point, which is even further from the city than the airport itself?"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/02/07/cuomos-laguardia-airtrain-possibly-nys-worst-transit-idea-is-actually-happening/|title=Cuomo's LaGuardia AirTrain, Possibly NY's Worst Transit Idea, Is Actually Happening|last=Rivlin-Nadler|first=Max|date=February 7, 2017|website=Village Voice|access-date=September 1, 2017|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902004912/https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/02/07/cuomos-laguardia-airtrain-possibly-nys-worst-transit-idea-is-actually-happening/|url-status=live}}</ref> One alternative suggestion involved the previously rejected proposal to extend the [[BMT Astoria Line|Astoria Line]] to LaGuardia Airport rather than building the AirTrain to Willets Point.<ref name=":8Fitzsimmons 2018" /> Another critic called the $2.05 billion estimated construction cost "exorbitant" and proposed dedicated busways as a more direct and cost-effective solution.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Harris|first=Connor|date=July 3, 2019|title=The LaGuardia AirTrain project is a truly stupendous waste|url=https://nypost.com/2019/07/02/the-laguardia-airtrain-project-is-a-truly-stupendous-waste/|access-date=October 7, 2020|website=New York Post|language=en-US|archive-date=October 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014172042/https://nypost.com/2019/07/02/the-laguardia-airtrain-project-is-a-truly-stupendous-waste/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2020, U.S. Representative [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]], who represents Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst, wrote to the FAA asking why 46 alternatives were rejected and noting that over 60% of the 414 public comments collected by the FAA were in opposition to the proposed routing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/ocasio-cortez-challenges-cuomos-laguardia-airtrain-project|title=Ocasio-Cortez challenges Cuomo's LaGuardia AirTrain project|date=January 13, 2020|last=Flamm|first=Matthew|website=Crain's New York Business|language=en|access-date=January 14, 2020|archive-date=January 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114135236/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/ocasio-cortez-challenges-cuomos-laguardia-airtrain-project|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Guse 2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-lga-airtrain-pushback-queens-residents-20200113-urcar56curelxpebvwl4kup2t4-story.html|title=AOC leads familiar fight over train to LaGuardia Airport|last=Guse|first=Clayton|date=January 13, 2020|website=nydailynews.com|access-date=January 14, 2020|archive-date=January 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114012725/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-lga-airtrain-pushback-queens-residents-20200113-urcar56curelxpebvwl4kup2t4-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Hiram Monserrate]], the area's Democratic District Leader, also objected that the FAA's approval had bypassed a [[Uniform Land Use Review Procedure]] analysis, as would have been mandated for other large projects.<ref name="Guse 2020"/> The same month, residents and business owners along the AirTrain's proposed route protested against the construction of the AirTrain on that route.<ref name="Acevedo 2020">{{cite web|url=https://qns.com/story/2020/01/13/queens-protesters-say-theyre-getting-third-world-treatment-over-lga-airtrain/|title=Queens protesters say they're getting 'third-world' treatment over LGA AirTrain|last=Acevedo|first=Angélica|date=January 13, 2020|website=QNS.com|access-date=January 14, 2020|archive-date=January 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114135237/https://qns.com/story/2020/01/13/queens-protesters-say-theyre-getting-third-world-treatment-over-lga-airtrain/|url-status=live}}</ref>