QUESTION
How are environmental studies conducted for airport upgrades, and what strategies are addressed for managing project congestion?
1:03:23
·
4 min
The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) discusses the process for monitoring air quality and managing emissions during the JFK terminal redevelopment and explores congestion management strategies for large-scale projects.
- Jennifer Sun indicates the need to consult the Port Authority on air quality monitoring and emissions management during construction and operation phases.
- For large-scale projects, EDC collaborates with the Port Authority and terminal operators to assess construction coordination needs.
- The barge service for transporting construction materials is highlighted as a model for using alternative transportation modes.
- Waterways and rail are proposed as alternative modes for moving construction materials, with EDC supporting the transition to alternative fuels or electric vehicles.
- Incentivizing public transportation use for workers is briefly mentioned as a beneficial strategy.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:03:23
I have just two questions.
1:03:26
1 is a little bit related to Comes member Abby Les says questions about climate our climate response.
1:03:32
Can you just tell me in the kind of multi year and multi terminal upgrade of the airport, how an environmental study is is done and at what point and who is responsible for that, particularly with respect to air quality.
1:03:52
And then my second question is just in relation to other really big projects in Queens, one that I think will happen, you know, soon, not too far from JFK, but just with relation to congestion, how are you all or how is CDC in the Port Authority.
1:04:13
And, you know, I would ask them, but they never come.
1:04:16
How what is the best way to work through something as massive as a JFK construction project and and other really massive infrastructure projects or stadium projects, for example, in in the borough of Queens.
1:04:32
How what is the response to New Yorkers and particularly queen's residents with regards to an uptick in congestion within the next 5 to to 10 years won't these 2 big projects are happening.
1:04:45
Thank you.
Jennifer Sun
1:04:47
So with respect to air quality monitoring, maybe which is what you asking during the construction period of the JFK terminal redevelopment.
1:04:56
We would need to ask the port authority about what sort of ongoing monitoring and sort of performance management, you know, is in place to ensure that the terminal developers and operators are minimized emissions during the construction period, and then, of course, during operations as well.
1:05:13
And then I think EDC would work closely with the port authority and the terminal operators to assess whether there is a need for construction coordination in anticipation of large scale projects and will its point, for example, coming online?
1:05:30
And then where possible, I think the barge service that the port authority has put in place to bring construction materials in and CND materials out might be a good model for us to explore, like, where possible to continue to use more alternative modes of transportation to support the construction of not only the JFK project, but other projects too.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:05:53
What what would alternative mode look like?
1:05:57
Waterways, particularly?
Jennifer Sun
1:05:58
Waterways of course, if there's waterfront access, understanding that it's not that's not always the case or rail, for example, or something that CDC is really, you know, is trying to support the industry to do is to try to transition to alternative fuels or electric bucks.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:06:14
Thank you.
1:06:15
And I just in my 7 seconds, I just wanna uplift what counts, ma'am, Robula said about incentivizing workers to have some kind of a a discount so that they can utilize public transportation.
1:06:26
Thank you.
1:06:26
Thank you,
Mikelle Adgate
1:06:28
Cher, can I add some additional info information?
1:06:30
So thank you for the question council member.
1:06:33
I think one thing I would add and this is my understanding having not you know, been a part of this as the redevelopment was the process was being a established, but there was an environmental review process.
1:06:50
My understanding is, with the FAA, again, that federal regulator being part of that process, I believe that environmental information is available online, publicly available the same way like environmental review materials for city projects.
1:07:05
Are available and that it did contemplate air quality monitoring.
1:07:10
And then I think from my, you know, EDC's experience with working on large scale redevelopment projects where we do environmental review.
1:07:18
We look at, you know, traffic impacts, construction impacts.
1:07:22
The longstanding impacts of a specific project.
1:07:26
It's our experience that we coordinate with other projects that are nearby to understand sort of the network of what is happening.
1:07:34
And while I can't speak directly to what took place back in 2021, I would imagine something similar occurred.