Agency Requests Disaster Relief Funds for Dubious Capital Improvement Project 

(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) casts doubt on the legitimacy of the New York and New Jersey Port Authority’s request for $29.6 million in emergency relief to build additional exits on two transit stations in Greenwich Village.  The ensuing controversy sparked a grassroots campaign to stop the project, while the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) brought it to a standstill, saying the project may not be an appropriate use of emergency funds.

“It appears the Port Authority may have raided federal emergency relief funds to build what amounts to a needless capital improvement project entirely unrelated to Sept. 11,” says Tom Schatz, President of CAGW.  “It is frustrating that FEMA would have authorized this project had it not been for the vigilant opposition of local residents.  FEMA deserves some of the blame for almost approving this boondoggle.”

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a self-supporting public agency controlled by the governors from both states, runs the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rapid transit system that links commuters from New Jersey to lower Manhattan.  Since the PATH station in the World Trade Center (WTC) was destroyed on 9/11, commuters ride PATH to Greenwich Village where they transfer to subways going downtown.  The Port Authority’s original reason for wanting additional exits at the Christopher Street and 9^th Street stations was to handle the short term passenger flow created by the closing of the WTC station.

Area residents and CAGW have identified several problems surrounding the project proposal:

• The traffic “overflow” at both stations has visibly subsided since it was measured shortly after 9/11.
• The authorities have not seriously considered an immediate, cost-free alternative: encouraging commuters to ride the train two minutes longer to 14^th Street, which has immediate access to most uptown and downtown subway trains.
• The construction will take a year and a half to complete. A temporary WTC station will be operational in early 2004, rendering the $30 million project almost immediately obsolete and unnecessary.

In May, the Port Authority changed the rationale for the project to fire safety.  The Port Authority says it will tap into its own capitol improve funds if FEMA doesn’t hand over federal tax dollars.

“Fire safety is a maintenance issue to be financed internally,” says Tom Schatz. “For an organization that prides itself on being ‘self-supporting,’ it seems awfully hypocritical to ask for disaster relief money in order to finance a capital improvement project.  The Port Authority’s behavior fits the disgraceful pattern of ‘war profiteering’ that has sadly characterized some government spending since the tragedy on Sept. 11.”

“While FEMA deserves credit for stopping this project, questions remain as to how it was ever approved in the first place,” concludes Schatz. “FEMA should cancel all funding permanently and take punitive measures against the personnel responsible for letting it pass.  A mere slap on the wrist will bring serious discredit to FEMA’s role in 9/11 recovery efforts, and foment more cynicism in a citizenry already pessimistic about the sincerity of government officials.”