Is This The New LaGuardia Airport?

New York Governor Cuomo released a video today outlining the plans for the new LaGuardia Airport outside of Manhattan. It comes after Cuomo was quoted as saying, “LaGuardia Airport is un-New York.”

In it, he describes the problems with the airport currently, and proposed resolutions.

• A 200+ room hotel attached to the airport (currently, there’s no hotel attached to the terminals)
• A single runway adjacent to the Grand Central Parkway
• Improved shopping and dining (hey, there is a Centurion Lounge, though…)
• Moving the terminals closer to the Grand Central Terminal allowing improved movement of planes
• More parking
• Air Train System (there’s no train system linking the New York Subway system or Long Island Railroad)
• High Speed Ferry Service (which would go directly to Manhattan from the Marine Air Terminal, perfect for those flying Delta and the hourly shuttle)
• On-Site automated tram for moving passengers within the terminal

The cost will be over $4 Billion dollars, and take an estimated 18 months to complete, starting in 2016. Personally, I don’t think this will ever happen, because if you’ve ever seen any public service project competed in New York, you know it takes way longer than 18 months…

LaGuardia is a mess. It really is. Not only is it dated, but the air traffic delays are extensive. Both Delta and American operate hourly shuttles throughout the Northeast, putting pressure on the amount of departures coming in and out of this prime real estate. It’s the closest airport to downtown Manhattan, and a commuter-heavy environment. If you’ve ever been to LaGuardia, you know the mess that it is. Heck, it just feels like New York… 😉 Even Vice President Biden thinks it is a mess, in his famous quote from last year: “If I took you and blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York you must think, ‘I must be in some third world country.”

What do you think of the plans for the new LaGuardia Airport in New York?