Ever since former Vice President Joe Biden called LaGuardia “third-world”-like, Cuomo has made improving the airport's customer-facing experience a priority | Getty State prepares for next big step on LaGuardia Air Train

In an effort to fix LaGuardia Airport’s lack of rail access — a deficit Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called “inexcusable” — the governor is backing a bill that would give his transportation department the right to seize land along the path of the proposed train.

On Monday, Queens Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry introduced a bill on the governor’s behalf that would let the state use eminent domain to secure the corridor between Willets Point and LaGuardia. It would explicitly allow for the alienation of a sliver of Citi Field's parking lot, which sits on parkland that was the subject of a recent, contentious Court of Appeals case.


Aubry represents the neighborhood that would host the proposed train. He did not respond to a request for comment. The bill does not yet have a sponsor in the New York State Senate, and a spokesman for the Senate's Republican leadership did not respond to a request for comment either. A spokesman for the governor referred questions to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is spearheading the Air Train project with the help of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

"A direct rail link would provide timely trips to and from LGA for customers who now rely on vehicles on increasingly congested roadways between the airport and Manhattan and surrounding region," said Port Authority spokesman Benjamin Branham, in a statement. "As we continue the planning stage, it's critical that we do so with full community input."

Ever since former Vice President Joe Biden called LaGuardia “third-world”-like, Cuomo has made improving the airport's customer-facing experience — if not the airport’s capacity — a priority. He’s spearheading an $8 billion public-private partnership to rebuild the airport’s terminals. And he’s championed an Air Train to the only major airport in the metropolitan region without even a modicum of rail access.

But, to the consternation of critics who argue the proposed path is too circuitous, his administration has yet to reveal the real cost of the train or release a study of how many riders are expected to use it.

Roughly speaking, the train to LaGuardia would run parallel to the 7 subway line at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, then along the “the edge of the Citi Field parking lot previously alienated for stadium use,” according to the bill, and, finally, along the Grand Central Parkway to the airport.

According to the Port Authority, the corridor defined in the legislation does not represent the final alignment of the Air Train. Rather, it contains within it various alignment options — options that will be considered during the onerous federal environmental review process, which can begin once the legislature approves this bill .

Further, the state would only use eminent domain on public property, be it owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority or New York City, according to the Port Authority.

The proposal has the support of several business groups, including the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

“Anyone who lives or works in Queens County knows the highway system is already over capacity during peak hours,” said Thomas Grech, the Chamber's president, at the Port Authority’s most recent board meeting. “Putting travelers on rail and taking cars off the road will primarily benefit those who work and live in Queens.”

Bill Mahoney and Jimmy Vielkind contributed to this report.