$2B for JFK Rail Link In Bush Budget

President Bush will propose giving $2 billion in tax incentives toward building a rail link between lower Manhattan and John F. Kennedy Airport, Senator Schumer said yesterday.

New York lawmakers have spent years pushing for the funding, only to see it repeatedly get stripped out of various congressional spending bills, most recently in legislation that passed in December. Its reappearance in the Bush budget gives new hope to the effort's backers, which include lower Manhattan real estate interests who want an express train directly linking the southern end of Manhattan to Queens and Long Island.

Mr. Schumer is one of the key boosters of the rail link. He said administration officials told him the tax incentives would be a part of the proposed budget for the upcoming budget year.