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In Shift, Officials Will Weigh Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel
New York Times, October 17, 2007
By Patrick McGeehan
Two years after turning its back on $100 million in federal funds for planning better ways to move freight, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has spun around and decided to accept the money.
The money was earmarked by Congress more than two years ago for the study and planning of ways to improve the movement of freight to New York City from New Jersey. One proposed solution is a rail tunnel under the harbor between Jersey City and Brooklyn, which could cost as much as $7 billion.
The commissioners of the Port Authority are scheduled to vote tomorrow to sponsor the project and spend the money to study the costs and potential effects on the environment and economy.
"It makes sense for us to look at the feasibility of the tunnel and its impacts on quality of life and other issues, and at the same time, take advantage of some significant federal funds that are available," said Stephen Sigmund, a spokesman for the authority.
The city's Economic Development Corporation conducted a preliminary study on the feasibility of a cross-harbor tunnel a few years ago. But after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg withdrew his support for the idea in 2005, city officials abandoned it.
In 2005, Representative Jerrold L. Nadler, a Democrat from Manhattan who has been the tunnel's most prominent champion, helped secure $100 million from Congress for the authority to take over the project. The agency expects to spend about $10 million of the federal money on the study itself.
"We want the Port Authority to take a hard look at it again, and we're confident they will come to the same conclusion," said Robert M. Gottheim, district director for Mr. Nadler.
Brad Lander, director of the Pratt Center for Community Development in Brooklyn, a proponent of the freight tunnel, said the authority's move would be "a very important step forward."
He added that "It doesn't guarantee that it's getting built." But, he said, "These are critical steps that you wouldn't take unless you were really serious about building it."
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