MTA, PANYNJ Begin Public Outreach on Jamaica Station Redesign
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Ray Raimundi / MTA
NEW YORK CITY - MTA and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced it will begin an in-person outreach program at the Jamaica Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station for an upcoming station redesign project.
According to the MTA, it will host a table at the station to engage with the public on the project and to make sure the public’s voice is heard. MTA staff, Port Authority officials, and local elected officials will be at the desk to ask questions. This is in conjunction with a customer survey that was previous announced. That customer survey will remain live until Friday, May 8, MTA says.
Jamaica Station is a vital connection for millions of New Yorkers, making it the fourth busiest commuter rail station in the country. Each weekday, more than 1,000 subways and LIRR trains pass through the station with 200,000 passengers. It was last upgraded 23 years ago when the AirTrain JFK began operating in 2003. Modernizing the station would help create a better flow of traffic and reduce crowding while maintaining connections between AirTrain JFK, LIRR, and NYC Transit. For the station’s redesign, New York Governor Hochul has committed $50 million in the executive budget to fund the redesign planning.
“Jamaica Station is a key access point to JFK Airport for customers coming from New York City and from Long Island, as well as Westchester and Connecticut thanks to the new connection at Grand Central Madison,” said Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free. “A newly redesigned Jamaica will improve the customer experience and meet the increasing service demands of the millions of customers who connect there. Customer feedback means we’ll know exactly what those millions of riders want to see in their new station.”
“Jamaica Station is a critical transportation hub for the entire region, connecting millions of riders to their destinations every year,” said MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. “As we plan for the future of the station, rider feedback will ensure the improvements we deliver reflect the needs and priorities of the people who use this station every day.”
“A project that will bring long overdue upgrades to Jamaica Station is about improving the experiences of the riders who use it, and we can’t do that effectively without feedback from LIRR commuters, straphangers, and the thousands of airline passengers and employees who use the station to connect to AirTrain JFK every day,” said Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia. “With Governor Hochul’s support, we are transforming JFK into a world-class global gateway that will be served by an equally world-class AirTrain and Jamaica Station.”
