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.
Pataki and Bloomberg say the rail link is a major step toward reinvigorating the Downtown economy. "By creating this new rail link, we will provide dramatically improved access to Lower Manhattan and re-attract the tens of thousands of jobs that were lost after Sept. 11th," Pataki says.
In February, Bush pushed to extend the Liberty Bonds program, which is set to expire this year. The extension of the Liberty Bonds program, which is now pending in Congress, is also considered critical for the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site and the revitalization of Lower Manhattan.
The $2 billion possibly generated by this reallocation would be added to $560 million from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and an expected $400-million contribution from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. They would represent a down payment toward the project, which is expected to cost a total of $6 billion.
In the months following the attacks of Sept. 11th, the federal government approved a $20-billion aid package to New York, including over $5 billion in tax incentives to spur redevelopment in Lower Manhattan.
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