And the John F. Kennedy International Airport's new AirTrain service enters its final phase with construction of the modal Jamaica Control Center. The Port Authority is collaborating with Tishman Construction Corp., which in a joint venture with Bechtel Infrastructure, is serving as construction manager for the seven-story, 250,000-sf interconnecting terminal and office. This final phase involves building a mezzanine bridge, a segmented-arch, barrel-vault "portal" overhead and links to subways and the Long Island Rail Road.

At a forum on the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan the overwhelming majority of more than 150 residents said the remaining $1.2 billion in federal rebuilding funds should be allocated toward bettering and increasing housing, local economic development and other amenities, instead of a proposed rail link to JFK. The event, hosted by Fiscal Policy Institute and Regional Plan Association as part of the "Beyond 16 Acres" series, featured surveyed participants about the funds. Responses included: $468 million for housing (39%); $276 million for local economic development (23%); $204 million for community services and facilities (17%); $180 million for arts and culture (15%); and $72 million for the JFK/LIRR tunnel (6%).

"There is clearly a consensus forming in Lower Manhattan that the remaining rebuilding funds should support neighborhood projects, not a rail link to the airport," said David Dyssegaard Kallick, senior fellow at FPI. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which controls the remaining funds, is expected to release the results of an airport access study and financing plan in April.