In a Reversal, Mayor To Oppose Freight Rail Tunnel
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Mayor Bloomberg did an about-face yesterday, telling a community forum in Queens that he would stand against a controversial freight rail tunnel project that would link Brooklyn and New Jersey.
“I think in this case you really would destroy neighborhoods here in this area and you just can’t do that,” Mr. Bloomberg told an audience at Our Lady of Hope Church at Queens as residents roared their approval. “I think when you get done looking at all of the pros and cons, the answer is that we should not build this tunnel.”
Mr. Bloomberg’s opposition to the project flies in the face of his support for the plan in April 2003, and puts him foursquare against the man in Washington who represents Manhattan’s West Side and the Brooklyn waterfront, Jerrold Nadler, and a roster of Democrats who hope to replace the mayor in November.
Mr. Nadler had been the project’s champion for decades, saying the tunnel could eliminate up to 1 million truck trips on Hudson River crossings and produce a large reduction in air pollution. Three of the four Democrats vying for Mr. Bloomberg’s job – the speaker of the City Council, Gifford Miller, of Manhattan; Rep. Anthony Weiner, who represents a Brooklyn-Queens district, and the borough president of Manhattan, C. Virginia Fields – have all come out in support of the multibillion dollar project.
“Ultimately the mayor’s support is not central to this project. Most of the funding is federal,” Mr. Nadler’s spokesman, Reid Cherlin, told The New York Sun. “My take on this is that the mayor is caving in to pressure from this community, which is politically expedient for him.”
Mr. Nadler’s office released a statement expressing disappointment in Mr. Bloomberg’s reversal on the issue.
“His [Mr. Bloomberg’s] public stance, however, is not a central force in its advancement. The tunnel is primarily a federal concern, and the business of securing it is moving forward as it would otherwise,” Mr. Nadler’s statement said. He also cited a “growing consensus” that the city needs the tunnel.
Mr. Miller, for his part, said Mr. Bloomberg’s change of heart was driven by politics. “Mayor Bloomberg is letting thousands of New Yorkers continue to have their health at risk from diesel truck traffic,” he said in a statement.
