My Letter to NYCT President Andy Byford Requesting Air Quality Monitoring Along the Route of the L-Train Mitigation Project

October 26, 2018

Andy Byford

President                                                                                                            

MTA-New York City Transit

2 Broadway

New York, NY 10004

Dear President Byford:

As elected officials representing constituents affected by the L Train Tunnel Closure mitigation plan (the “project”), we are writing to formally request the MTA commit to installing ambient air monitors along the route of the project. 

As you know, the project includes the deployment of 185 diesel buses departing approximately every two minutes, so it is understandable that constituents along the route have expressed concerns about the impact on air quality in their communities.

We therefore request your commitment to the following:

Implement ambient air monitors along the route throughout the entirety of the shutdown period, including time to establish baseline readings; and
Make data from such ambient air monitors available to the public in a timely manner.

According to the NYC Department of Health, an estimated 2,700 people die prematurely each year in New York City as a result of air pollution, in addition to many more who experience poor health, costing the healthcare system hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Given these statistics, air quality data is essential to assess the extent of pollution resulting from the project in order to take the steps necessary to protect human health and the environment.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We greatly appreciate your leadership and continued outreach and cooperation with our constituents on the project. Should you have any questions or follow-up, please contact any one of our offices.

Sincerely yours,

Brad Hoylman

State Senator

Gale Brewer

Manhattan Borough President

Harvey Epstein

Assembly Member

Carolyn Maloney

Member of Congress

Jerrold L. Nadler

Member of Congress

Nydia Velázquez

Member of Congress

Corey Johnson

NYC Council Speaker

Eric Adams

Brooklyn Borough President

Martin Malave Dilan

State Senator

Brian Kavanagh

State Senator

Liz Krueger

State Senator

Maritza Davila

Assembly Member

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Deborah J. Glick

Assembly Member

Richard N. Gottfried

Assembly Member

Joseph R. Lentol

Assembly Member

Yuh-Line Niou

Assembly Member

Margaret Chin

NYC Council Member

Stephen Levin

NYC Council Member

Keith Powers

NYC Council Member

Antonio Reynoso

NYC Council Member

Carlina Rivera

NYC Council Member