Strong Connections: Improving Accessibility and Promoting Economic Development

Posted October 19th, 2009 in Leading Voices

By Seth Pinsky

A critical component of economic growth in any region is its accessibility both to and from other regions and within the region itself. Without this accessibility, a region will undoubtedly suffer a competitive disadvantage and, as a result, experience economic decline. New York City and its metropolitan region are no exception. Indeed, among the most significant reasons why New York’s economy is the world leader that it is today is because of its accessibility via multiple modes of transportation, including air, land, and sea, together with the multiple modes of transportation that exist within the region to move people and goods once they have arrived.

The New York region’s strong foundation notwithstanding, however, there remains room for improvement. For example, even with its extensive network, during 2007, residents in the New York region lost an average of 44 hours and 28 gallons of fuel sitting in traffic – delays that translated into a total economic loss for the region in that year of over $8 billion, according to a report by the Texas Transportation Institute.

Recognizing this, the Bloomberg administration, including the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), together with our regional partners, has been actively working to improve accessibility through a variety of programs, policies, and capital projects. Achieving this aim will help fulfill the Mayor’s larger Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan to implement a long-term, strategic economic development vision for the City. A sample of these initiatives is provided below.

Public Transit

One way we are working to increase accessibility within the New York region is by investing in public transit infrastructure. Using a financing mechanism unique in the City’s history, the City successfully raised $2 billion to extend the No. 7 subway line from its current terminus at Times Square to a new terminus at 11^th Avenue and 34^th Street. This project, which represents the first major expansion of the subway in a generation, is underway and serves as the cornerstone of a major Bloomberg Administration initiative to expand Manhattan’s Midtown central business district west to the Hudson Yards area, unlocking some 40 million square feet of mixed-use development.

For New Yorkers who commute via the City’s waterways, meanwhile, NYCEDC continues to roll out new East River Ferry Service, connecting the rapidly-developing waterfronts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. These new ferry services, which are being developed in conjunction with the New York City Department of Transportation, will simultaneously foster new transit-oriented development in neighborhoods that have seen little investment in years, while also significantly reducing commute times for many in areas that have not traditionally been well-served by public transportation.

Maritime Freight Rail

Improving accessibility in the New York region also applies to the efficient movement of goods. To this end, in the late 1990s, NYCEDC and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) invested over $300 million to reactivate the Howland Hook Marine Terminal in Staten Island. This deep water container terminal, now known as the New York Container Terminal (NYCT), has provided those looking to ship goods in and out of the metropolitan area with a new alternative. Today, over a dozen shipping lines make port calls at NYCT, moving an estimated $30 billion in goods to and from our shores and accounting for almost 18 percent of total container cargo volume in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Another initiative aimed at moving cargo in and out of the region more efficiently is the reactivation of the Staten Island Railroad in 2007, which was accomplished by NYCEDC and PANYNJ.  This project, linking NYCT, the New York City Department of Sanitation’s containerized waste transfer facility and other Staten Island businesses to the national freight rail system, not only lowers costs to those that it serves, but also results in less congestion on our roads. In fact, since opening in April 2007, the SIRR has taken almost 200,000 trucks off of the region’s roadways.

Building on this success, NYCEDC is moving to improve rail service to another of the five boroughs: Brooklyn. There, NYCEDC is spending over $14 million to rehabilitate freight rail lines along the waterfront in Sunset Park. Improved service on the waterfront will provide businesses in this important industrial center with a cost-competitive alternative to truck transportation, thereby both strengthening their bottom line profits and, as importantly, reducing congestion and pollution.

Aviation

Of course, the battle against congestion is fought not only on the ground, but also in the air. The New York metropolitan region handles over 100 million passengers annually, a volume far surpassing any other U.S. market and second only to London worldwide. Given this heavy volume, it is not surprising that nearly three-quarters of all national flight delays can be traced back to the New York City area, impacting air transportation across the country and costing our region over $2.6 billion in lost economic activity annually. For this reason, NYCEDC, in collaboration with the PANYNJ, passenger and cargo airlines, and the multitude of businesses supporting our aviation system, are working together to address this serious issue.

For example, we are seeking to accelerate the implementation of a next generation air-traffic control system in the United States that will be designed to improve operating efficiencies and enhance safety – an initiative that ultimately will rely on federal resources. Not only do we support this important investment, but we believe that its implementation must begin in the New York metropolitan area and must begin immediately.  In the meantime, we are also supportive of interim measures that, though likely still to leave this major national issue unresolved, could at least begin to lessen its impact on both the regional and national economies.

With a $1.2 trillion economy, New York and its region represent one of the most dynamic engines of economic growth in the United States.  However, we at NYCEDC realize that, even with all of its strengths, the region is only as strong as its connections – internal and external. By developing new transportation alternatives and mitigating existing congestion, NYCEDC is working to expand and improve these connections. In so doing, we are ensuring not only that the City and region remain places where people will want to work and live, but, as importantly, that they remain global economic leaders.