According to the mayor and governor, the link would "increase the global competitiveness of New York while helping hundreds of thousands commuters on Long Island and boosting the long-term job creation efforts in the city." A number of senior business executives representing 18 Downtown firms noted that this rail link will create 56,000 jobs in Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn and produce more than $6 billion in economic output annually.

However, the rail link is not without its critics. A study of Lower Manhattan residents conducted earlier this year found that the rail link connection is not a popular use for the remaining funds. In a survey conducted by the Fiscal Policy Institute and Regional Plan Association, residents listed their priorities for the funds as housing (39%); followed by local economic development (23%); community services and facilities (17%); arts and culture (15%); and 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, when the survey was released.