BILL NUMBER: S9132
SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend chapter 544 of the laws of 2022, authorizing the city of
New York to discontinue a portion of real property in the county of the
Bronx as parkland and to grant easements for improvements to the rail-
road right-of-way to bring Metro-North railroad service to four new
stations in the Bronx and to Pennsylvania Station in the county of New
York, in relation to discontinuing additional parkland and granting
additional easements
 
PURPOSE:
This bill will amend Chapter 544 of the laws of 2022 (as amended by
chapter 231 of the laws of 2023), to add easements identified during
design refinement. This amended bill would authorize the City of New
York to alienate certain parcels of land to enable the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (MTA) to make critical improvements related to
the Penn Station Access Project which would enable Metro-North passen-
gers to travel directly into Penn Station.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Section 1 by inserting a reference to section three-b
to Chapter 544 of the laws of 2022 (as amended by chapter 231 of the
laws of 2023), which authorizes the City of New York to discontinue
select parkland to further the implementation of the Penn Station Access
Project.
Section 2 amends Section 4 by inserting a reference to section three-b
to Chapter 544 of the laws of 2022 (as amended by chapter 231 of the
laws of 2023), which requires that to the extent there was any federal
funding for the purchase, maintenance or improvement of the parklands
being discontinued, compliance with all federal requirements, with
respect to the appropriate consideration and recreational usefulness of
the lands being discontinued, have been met.
Section 3 inserts a new section three-b to Chapter 544 of the laws of
2022 to identify the metes and bounds of the additional portions of
parkland that are proposed to be discontinued as parkland. Section 4
provides that the bill shall take effect immediately.
 
EXISTING LAW:
Current legislation authorizes the City of New York to alienate certain
parcels of land to enable the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(MTA) and Metro-North Railroad company, a 2 subsidiary of the MTA, to
make critical improvements in connection with the Penn Station Access
Project.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The Penn Station Access Project seeks to allow commuters and other train
passengers in the Northern suburbs of the New York City Metropolitan
area and Connecticut to access the West side of Midtown Manhattan more
easily for working, business meetings, shopping, entertainment, dining,
and other purposes. Currently, such train passengers are limited to
Grand Central Terminal, and can only reach the West side through some
combination of walking, taxi, bus, or subway, each of which presents its
own obstacles of time, cost, and inconvenience. By bringing Metro-North
trains directly into Penn Station, The Metropolitan Transportation
Authority will provide an efficient and convenient method for seamless
integration of travel to destinations on the West side of Manhattan for
passengers who would otherwise be restricted to traversing through Grand
Central Terminal and engaging in supplemental travel by pedestrian, car,
bus, or subway service.
This project is intended to supplement The Metropolitan Transportation
Authority's related plan to bring trains of the Long Island Rail Road
directly into Grand Central Terminal commonly known as "East Side
Access" that promises to allow commuters and other train passengers
using the Long Island Rail Road to directly access the East side of
Midtown, Manhattan for working, business meetings, shopping, enter-
tainment, dining, and other purposes. Until now, Metro-North trains only
terminated at Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, and Long
Island Rail Road trains only terminated at Penn Station in Midtown
Manhattan (although some of these trains terminated at Atlantic Terminal
in Brooklyn). The Penn Station Access Project addresses half of this
situation by allowing Metro-North passengers direct access to the West
side of Midtown Manhattan, and the East Side Access Project addresses
the other half of this situation by allowing Long Island Rail Road
passengers direct access to the East side of Midtown Manhattan. This
integration is further bolstered by the fact that for the Penn Station
Access Project, Metro-North trains will be allowed to use existing
Amtrak rails along Amtrak's Northeast corridor to connect Metro-North's
exis ting rail lines to Penn Station. Metro-North plans to install and
construct four new station buildings along Amtrak's line to facilitate
better service availability for projected Metro-North customers seeking
quicker and easier access to the West side of Midtown Manhattan.
This bill will add new easements identified during design refinement to
Chapter 544 of the laws of 2022 (as amended by chapter 231 of the laws
of 2023) so legislation matches the actual and correct metes and bounds
description of parkland being alienated as set forth in the property
survey and the final easements transferring the property rights.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This bill is an amendment to Chapter 544 of the laws of 2022 with the
addition of new easements per design refinement.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.