Rep. Maloney Report: Jobs, local economy get boost from federal rail grant
Written by jrood
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Queens, Manhattan) and other officials issued a report outlining the thousands of jobs and other economic benefits that will be created through the new, $295 million federal high-speed rail grant to improve Harold Interlocking, a junction point in Sunnyside Yards through which trains from three major transit systems must pass on their way into and out of New York. The grant will help relieve major delays at the junction that have plagued New York travelers for years and pave the way for high-speed rail from New York to Boston. The funding is part of $2 billion in high-speed rail grants announced by the federal government last week. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and MTA Chairman Jay Walder applied for the grant in April after the governor of Florida rejected high-speed rail funding. The Harold Interlocking junction is located in Maloney's Congressional district and the Congresswoman has been a strong supporter of the grant. Maloney's report finds that the new grant will: • Create 9,213 jobs over the five-year life of the project; • Boost economic activity in the region by $585.9 million; • Induce tens of thousands of jobs throughout the economy; • Bring in millions in tax revenue; • Result in reduced commuting times for LIRR, Amtrak and NJ Transit passengers by eliminating the bottleneck at Harold Interlocking; and • Pave the way for high-speed rail along the Northeast Corridor, which will create roughly 44,000 jobs and $33 billion in wages annually over the project's 25-year construction cycle. "Florida's loss is a 9,200-job gain for New York. This project will relieve one of the worst choke points in our entire transit system, pave the way for high-speed rail and boost the economy by more than a half-billion dollars," Maloney said. "New Yorkers know the value of investing in transit and we didn't think twice about pursuing this funding after Florida foolishly rejected it."
