[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 64 (Thursday, April 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16343-16346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-8136]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement for the Fulton Street Transit 
Center in New York, NY

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS).

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SUMMARY: The FTA, in cooperation with the Metropolitan Transportation 
Authority (MTA) and New York City Transit (NYCT), intends to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a proposal to create the Fulton 
Street Transit Center in Lower Manhattan, New York, NY. The proposed 
project would consist of six distinct elements: (1) A new mass transit 
``Center'' at street and subsurface levels on Broadway between Fulton 
and John Streets that would provide consolidated access to, and 
transfers between nine different subway lines; (2) rehabilitation of 
the 4/5 line Fulton Street Station and the 2/3 line Fulton Street 
Station; (3) improvements to the mezzanines and platform access at the 
A/C line Fulton Street Station that would facilitate way-finding, 
circulation and access to the street and to the platform; (4) an 
underground concourse below Dey Street between Broadway and Church 
Street that would connect the N/R line and the area west of Church 
Street with the 4/5 line and the area east of Broadway; (5) a 
pedestrian and passenger connection located beneath Church Street that 
would link the Cortlandt Street Station on the N/R line with the E line 
terminal station at the former World Trade Center site and include a 
new transfer between N/R platforms; and (6) various improvements to 
street entrances to the subway to provide better access for all users, 
including Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant access. The 
location for these proposed improvements is in Lower Manhattan in the 
area bounded by Church Street to the west, William Street to the east, 
Fulton Street to the north and Dey Street and John Street to the south.
    The EIS is being prepared in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the applicable regulations 
implementing NEPA, as set forth in 23 CFR part 771 and 40 CFR parts 
1500-1508. As co-sponsors of the proposed project, the MTA and NYCT 
will ensure that the EIS and the environmental review process also 
satisfy the requirements of the New York State Environmental Quality 
Review Act (SEQRA) as may be applicable.
    The EIS will evaluate a No Action Alternative, various Build 
Alternatives, and any additional alternatives generated by the scoping 
process. Scoping will be accomplished through meetings and 
correspondence with interested persons, organizations, and Federal, 
state, regional, and local agencies.

DATES: The public is invited to participate in project scoping on April 
29, 2003 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the location identified under 
ADDRESSES below to ensure that all significant issues are identified 
and considered. Poster boards depicting the project concept will be 
available for review at the meeting location from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. A 
formal presentation by MTA and NYCT regarding the project will be made 
at 6 p.m., followed by the opportunity for the public to ask questions 
and make comments on the scope of the EIS. MTA and NYCT representatives 
will be available for informal questions and comments during the 4 to 6 
p.m. poster session. Those wishing to speak are requested to register 
at the meeting location before 7 p.m. Additional speakers will be 
invited until there are no more requesting to be heard. Subsequent 
opportunities for public involvement will be announced on the Internet, 
by mail, and through other appropriate mechanisms, and will be 
conducted throughout the study area. Additional project information may 
be obtained from the MTA Web site: http://www.mta.info (click ``Inside 
the MTA'' then ``Planning Studies,'' and ``Fulton Street Transit 
Center''). Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to 
the MTA Project Manager by May 13, 2003 at the address given under 
ADDRESSES below.

ADDRESSES: The public scoping meeting will be held at The Alexander 
Hamilton U.S. Custom House, One Bowling Green, Lower Level Auditorium, 
New York, NY. The scoping meeting site is accessible to mobility-
impaired people and interpreter services will be provided for hearing-
impaired people upon request. Written comments will be taken at the 
meeting or may be sent to the following address at any time during the 
scoping period: Mr. William Wheeler, Director, Special Project 
Development and Planning, Fulton Street Transit Center, C/O Government 
and Community Relations, MTA New York City Transit, 130 Livingston 
Street, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11201. The scoping packet may also be 
requested by writing to this address or by calling (718) 694-5160. 
Requests to be placed on the project mailing list may also be made by 
calling this number or by writing to the project address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan E. Schruth, Director, Lower 
Manhattan Recovery Office, Federal Transit Administration, One Bowling 
Green, Room 429, New York, NY 10004; Telephone: (212) 668-1770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Scoping

    FTA and MTA/NYCT invite interested individuals, organizations, and 
Federal, state, and local agencies to provide comments on the scope of 
the Fulton Street Transit Center EIS. During the scoping process, 
comments should focus on specific social, economic, or environmental 
issues to be evaluated, and on suggesting alternatives that may be less 
costly or have fewer

[[Page 16344]]

environmental impacts while achieving similar transportation 
objectives. To assist interested parties in formulating their comments, 
a scoping information packet has been prepared and is available on the 
MTA Web site address noted above, or upon request from the MTA 
representative identified above. The scoping information packet 
includes the project's purpose and need, goals and objectives, a 
preliminary list of alternatives, and environmental areas that will be 
addressed during the course of the study. An outline of the on-going 
public participation program is also contained in the information 
packet and on the Internet site given above.

II. Description of the Project Area

    The MTA/NYCT subway system is the largest in North America, serving 
4.6 million trips daily and is the main public transit service to Lower 
Manhattan. The largest and most heavily used subway lines providing 
access to Lower Manhattan converge at or near the Fulton Street--
Broadway Nassau Subway Station Complex in Lower Manhattan. This station 
complex consists of four separate stations serving a total of nine 
subway lines, including: (1) The 4/5 line Fulton Street Station below 
Broadway; (2) the A/C line Broadway Nassau Station below Fulton Street; 
(3) the J/M/Z line Fulton Street Station below Nassau Street; and (4) 
the 2/3 line Fulton Street Station below William Street. In 
combination, this station complex is the ninth largest of over 400 
stations citywide, serving over 225,000 movements (passengers entering, 
exiting or transferring) each day, and is among the oldest in the City. 
The complex is one block (450 feet) east of the site of the former 
World Trade Center (WTC).
    One block (approximately 450 feet) to the west of this station 
complex is the N/R line Cortlandt Street Station below Church Street, 
immediately adjacent to the WTC site. Two blocks (approximately 400 
feet) further to the north, the E line below Church Street terminates 
in a station at the WTC site. Immediately west of the study area is the 
1/9 line Cortlandt Street Station at the WTC site. None of these 
stations have underground connections to each other or to the Fulton 
Street--Broadway Nassau Subway Station Complex. Also located to the 
west is the proposed restoration of Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) 
service and the existing trans-Hudson ferry service at the World 
Financial Center, neither of which is directly connected to any of the 
subway lines.

III. Problem Identification

    The four separate stations comprising the Fulton Street--Broadway 
Nassau Subway Station Complex were built at different times since the 
early 1900s. Because these stations were separately conceived and were 
connected after their construction, a series of inefficient and 
circuitous connections were constructed between the individual 
stations. This group of stations is further characterized by: Crowded 
corridors, mezzanines and train platforms; lack of prominent surface 
visibility to aid customer entry and exit; and inadequate connections 
to other nearby subway and transit services. Despite the extraordinary 
density of transit services at the existing Fulton Street--Broadway 
Nassau Subway Station Complex, there is no quick and easy access to, 
from and among the other heavily-used subway lines in the vicinity or 
efficient connections between the subway network and the street. Given 
these deficiencies, the existing Fulton Street--Broadway Nassau Subway 
Station Complex is cumbersome to workers and others who access Lower 
Manhattan daily. Its improvement would address a long-standing obstacle 
to better transit access to Lower Manhattan.
    The importance of addressing Lower Manhattan transit access was 
further reinforced by the devastating impact of the terrorist attacks 
on Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001. These events caused serious 
disruption to the economy, infrastructure and quality of life, and have 
made travel to and from Lower Manhattan difficult and time consuming. 
Residents, businesses and jobs have been displaced, and there is a 
compelling need to restore and improve the transportation 
infrastructure and functionality in Lower Manhattan to allow for a full 
economic recovery.
    Millions of visitors are expected to visit Lower Manhattan as the 
planned World Trade Center memorial is anticipated to become one of the 
most important destinations in the United States. With 85% of all 
downtown access trips made by transit, Lower Manhattan urgently needs a 
clear, easily navigable, ``connected'' subway complex and visible 
gateway to support its economic recovery and provide access to the 
prospective WTC Memorial and other cultural resources for tourists.
    Because of the pivotal role that the Fulton Street--Broadway Nassau 
Subway Station Complex currently plays in providing transit access to 
Lower Manhattan, its existing deficiencies need to be addressed in 
order to improve upon the overall access to Lower Manhattan and in 
supporting its economic recovery and future growth.

IV. Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of the Fulton Street Transit Center is to create a 
functionally and visually unified transit facility with a central 
distinguishing portal by improving the existing Fulton Street--Broadway 
Nassau Subway Station Complex. This would reduce congestion at the 
existing subway platforms, improve the overall experience of transit 
users and provide improved pedestrian connectivity within the subway 
complex and with other subway and transit services to the west. In 
doing so, the proposed action would address the need for improved 
access to Lower Manhattan in support of economic recovery and resumed 
growth.
    Addressing the deficiencies at the Fulton Street--Broadway Nassau 
Subway Station Complex would create a facility that is less congested 
and circuitous, ADA accessible, easily identifiable at street level, 
and provide direct pedestrian access and streamlined transfers with 
other subway services. The proposed Fulton Street Transit Center would 
be designed to adequately accommodate present customer demands and 
anticipated 2020 levels of demand for movement to, from, and within the 
existing Fulton Street--Broadway Nassau Subway Station Complex.

V. Goals and Objectives

    In conjunction with the purpose and need for the proposed action, 
the following goals and objectives have been identified in support of 
improving transit access to Lower Manhattan and economic 
revitalization.
    The specific goals for the proposed action are to provide a 
prominent and effective downtown transit center that:
    [sbull] Facilitates access, improves wayfinding, and streamlines 
transfers;
    [sbull] Allows for intermodal connectivity (PATH, ferry service);
    [sbull] Promotes system flexibility in the event of service 
disruption;
    [sbull] Improves east-west pedestrian connectivity across Lower 
Manhattan;
    [sbull] Promotes safety and reduces congestion at heavily 
trafficked street crossings;
    [sbull] Supports current land use, and recovery and rebuilding of 
Lower Manhattan; and,
    [sbull] Improves travelers' experience and transit's overall 
attractiveness.
    In support of the above goals, the objectives are to:

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    [sbull] Create a Transit Center to better serve the complex of four 
stations located between Broadway and William Street: i.e., the 4/5, J/
M/Z and 2/3 Fulton Street Stations and the A/C Broadway Nassau Station;
    [sbull] Add a concourse beneath Dey Street to link the new Transit 
Center with the N/R Cortlandt Street Station, and allow for a 
connection with a proposed Port Authority of New York and New Jersey 
(PANYNJ) sponsored concourse that would continue into the WTC site, 
connect to the PATH and the 1/9 line Cortlandt Street Station, and 
potentially extend to the World Financial Center and trans-Hudson 
ferries;
    [sbull] Provide a visual presence by creating a street-level 
building and prominent point of access to the subway system;
    [sbull] Improve street access to the 4/5 line Fulton Street Station 
and the N/R line Cortlandt Street Station;
    [sbull] Improve the transfer between the 4/5 and A/C lines in 
particular, and all adjacent services in general;
    [sbull] Establish both a paid and unpaid connection between the N/R 
line Cortlandt Street Station and the E line Terminal at the WTC site;
    [sbull] Reduce dwell time and exposure to dwell delays for 4/5 and 
A/C trains at the Fulton Street Station;
    [sbull] Reduce commuter access time from the WTC site/World 
Financial Center and PATH to locations and subway stations east of 
Church Street;
    [sbull] Create Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant 
access;
    [sbull] Improve wayfinding; and
    [sbull] Improve safety.
    The proposed Fulton Street Transit Center project will be closely 
coordinated with the proposed PATH station reconstruction at the WTC 
site, the proposed WTC Transportation Hub project and the redevelopment 
of the WTC site.

VI. Alternatives

    The EIS will evaluate alternatives and options for the proposed 
action which will: (1) Be feasible and cost-effective, and provide 
beneficial transit improvements that enhance connections to the 
existing transportation system and Lower Manhattan land uses; (2) meet 
the anticipated increase in transit use in Lower Manhattan; and (3) 
enhance Lower Manhattan and the region's economic vitality and quality 
of life.
    Based on previous planning studies, and with the cooperation of 
public and agency work groups, a preliminary list of alternatives has 
been developed to address the purpose and need of this facility. The 
alternatives identified to date, which may be supplemented or further 
developed during the scoping process, have been organized as follows: 
(A) No Action Alternative; (B) Transit Center and Concourse Full Build 
Alternative; (C) Partial Build Alternatives. The Full Build Alternative 
under consideration includes a transit center building with a 
subsurface passenger concourse connecting several existing subway 
stations. The Partial Build Alternatives include: a subsurface 
passenger concourse connecting several existing subway stations without 
a transit center building; and a combination of improvements, 
rehabilitations, and enhancements to existing stations. The full set of 
project alternatives are further described as follows:
    A. No Action Alternative. This alternative provides for minor 
improvements, repairs, and other maintenance actions to the existing 
Fulton Street--Broadway Nassau Subway Station Complex and the N/R line 
Cortlandt Street Station.
    B. Transit Center and Concourse Full Build Alternative. This 
alternative provides for construction of the following six main 
elements:
    1. A new transit ``Center'' at street and subsurface levels on 
Broadway between Fulton and John Streets. The ``Center'' would serve 
the large ridership of Lower Manhattan, facilitate pedestrian access 
and transfer between subway lines, reduce 4/5 and A/C train platform 
congestion and dwell times, improve wayfinding between stations, 
improve street access and street-level visibility, and provide 
consolidated downtown access.
    2. Rehabilitation of the 4/5 line Fulton Street Station and the 2/3 
line Fulton Street Station. This element would incorporate the 
necessary measures to bring these stations to a state of good repair 
and provide operational and infrastructure improvements consistent with 
NYCT station planning, accessibility and design guidelines.
    3. Improvements to the mezzanines and platform access at the A/C 
line Fulton Street Station. These improvements would facilitate 
wayfinding, circulation and access to the street and to the platform 
for all users, including those subject to the Americans with 
Disabilities Act (ADA). They would address current and future 
overcrowded circulation conditions.
    4. An underground concourse beneath Dey Street between Broadway and 
Church Street. This concourse would connect the N/R line with the 4/5 
line and the area west of Church Street with the area east of Broadway. 
The concourse would improve pedestrian connectivity between subway 
lines, particularly east-west across Lower Manhattan, and pedestrian 
safety, comfort, and convenience, and would provide intermodal 
connectivity between NYCT services and prospective PATH services west 
of Church Street.
    5. A pedestrian and passenger connector between N/R and E service. 
This connector would improve west side access to Lower Manhattan and 
would improve operational flexibility by permitting customers to 
transfer between the services without payment of additional fares. This 
connector would run along Church Street, linking the northern end of 
the N/R line Cortlandt Street Station with the southern end of the E 
line terminal at the World Trade Center, and would include a new 
transfer between N/R platforms.
    6. Improved street access to the subway. This element would provide 
better access for all users through the provision of wider and more 
direct stairways, access for disabled customers and new street 
entrances from the 4/5 and N/R platforms.
    In combination, the above-stated six elements encompass the Transit 
Center and Concourse Full Build Alternative.
    C. Partial Build Alternatives. Various combinations of subsets of 
the six project elements described under the Full Build Alternative 
above will be considered. For example, one possibility is construction 
of only the underground concourse beneath Dey Street between Broadway 
and Church Street. This partial-build alternative would connect the N/R 
and 4/5 subway lines with a fully accessible subsurface concourse under 
Dey Street. FTA and MTA/NYCT specifically seek comment during scoping 
on appropriate combinations of project elements that should be 
evaluated as detailed alternatives in the EIS.
    Although compatible with and contributing to the functionality of 
the overall Transit Center, some elements of the Full Build 
Alternative, such as the station rehabilitation elements, are 
functionally independent of the other elements of the proposed action. 
Although the current plan is to evaluate all of these geographically 
contiguous elements in the EIS, as the project elements are developed 
and as schedules and construction phasing plans develop, it is possible 
that some of the independent elements may be advanced via separate 
environmental evaluations under NEPA.

VII. Potential Adverse Effects

    Upon its completion, the proposed Fulton Street Transit Center is

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anticipated to eliminate the existing deficiencies in Lower Manhattan 
subway service noted above and generate positive impacts for Lower 
Manhattan businesses, residents, workers, and visitors. In light of 
this, and in consideration of other new construction activity that is 
expected to occur in Lower Manhattan over the next decade, it is 
anticipated that construction-related impacts from the proposed project 
may be the most important aspect of the environmental evaluation under 
NEPA. Potential effects associated with the construction phase include 
noise, business disruption, and impacts on pedestrian and vehicular 
traffic, air quality, and historic resources. The cumulative effects of 
construction of this project and other Lower Manhattan recovery 
projects will be a major focus of the evaluation.
    The long-term operational issues and impacts of the alternatives to 
be considered in the EIS include economic development; land 
acquisition; historic, archaeological, and cultural resources; visual 
and aesthetic qualities; air quality; noise and vibration; safety and 
security; utilities; and transportation impacts. In addition, the EIS 
will describe the methodology used to assess impacts; identify the 
affected environment; and identify opportunities and measures for 
mitigating adverse impacts. Principles of environmental construction 
management, resource protection and mitigation measures, and NYCT's 
``Design for the Environment'' guidelines (2002) will be considered for 
incorporation into the Build Alternatives.

VIII. FTA Procedures

    During the NEPA process, FTA will also comply with the requirements 
of the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 4(f) of the 
Department of Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 303), the Clean Air Act, 
and other applicable environmental statutes, rules, and regulations, in 
accordance with FTA procedures.
    Through the NEPA scoping process and as project development 
advances, it will be determined whether certain elements of the Full 
Build Alternative should be advanced independently or in combination 
with other elements, or be deferred for evaluation at a future time, in 
order to meet the transportation needs of redeveloping Lower Manhattan 
with minimal impact and in a timely manner.
    If there are no major changes to the proposed action, a Draft EIS 
will be prepared and made available for public and agency review and 
comment. One or more public hearings will be held on the Draft EIS. On 
the basis of the Draft EIS and the public and agency comments thereon, 
a locally preferred alternative will be selected and will be fully 
described and further developed in the Final EIS.

    Issued on: March 31, 2003.
Susan E. Schruth,
Director, Lower Manhattan Recovery Office.
[FR Doc. 03-8136 Filed 4-2-03; 8:45 am]
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