Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, Port Authority Bus Terminal Replacement Project, City of New York, New York County, New York

Stephen Goodman
Federal Transit Administration
4 June 2021

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 106 (Friday, June 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30075-30078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11729]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, 
Port Authority Bus Terminal Replacement Project, City of New York, New 
York County, New York

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

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

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as lead Federal 
agency, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) as 
local project sponsor and joint lead agency, intends to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate potential benefits and 
impacts of the PANYNJ proposal (the Proposed Project) to construct a 
new Bus Terminal and associated infrastructure (the Replacement 
Facility) in Midtown Manhattan in the City of New York, New York. The 
Proposed Project to be evaluated in the EIS includes both the 
Replacement Facility, and four private, high-rise buildings (three 
commercial and one mixed-use retail/residential) to

[[Page 30076]]

be built on PANYNJ property consistent with present as-of-right zoning. 
The Replacement Facility is necessary because the existing Port 
Authority Bus Terminal (PABT) has significant capacity and operational 
constraints, is aging and obsolete, and cannot meet forecasted 
increases in bus service demand. FTA, in coordination with PANYNJ, will 
prepare the EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA), the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), 
and, as appropriate, the New York State Environmental Quality Review 
Act (SEQRA) and City of New York's City Environmental Quality Review 
(CEQR). This Notice of Intent (NOI) initiates public scoping for the 
EIS, and provides information on the Proposed Project, the Project's 
purpose and need, and the alternatives being considered for evaluation 
in the EIS. This NOI invites public comments on environmental impacts 
that may be associated with the Proposed Project and alternatives. 
Interested members of the public, tribes, and agencies are invited to 
submit comments on the proposed scope of the EIS, PANYNJ's purpose and 
need, the identification of alternatives to be considered, the 
environmental benefits and impacts to be evaluated, and any other 
project-related issues or analyses. In consideration of the Federal 
Government's COVID-19 Emergency Declaration dated March 13, 2020, FTA 
has determined that virtual public meetings and hearings are a 
permissible and useful tool to provide for public involvement in the 
NEPA process.

DATES: The 45-day public scoping period will begin on the date of 
publication of this Notice and continue through July 19, 2021. Written 
comments may be submitted in hard copy via mail, electronically via 
email, and through the project website to the addresses listed in 
ADDRESSES below. Comments may also be provided via voicemail at (929) 
502-7304. Although the public can send comments through the mail, due 
to the COVID-19 national emergency, we recommend using the other 
communication methods to provide any scoping comments.
    Instructions for participating in the livestream virtual scoping 
meetings are available at www.pabtreplacement.com, along with scoping 
material. The registration instructions will be available on the Port 
Authority project website a minimum of two weeks prior to the public 
meeting. PANYNJ will conduct livestreamed virtual public scoping 
meetings on June 23 and 24, 2021, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and from 
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
    Individuals who require special assistance, such as translation, 
captioning, or signing services, to participate in the scoping meeting 
should make the request by calling (929) 502-7304 or emailing 
PABTReplacementNEPA@panynj.gov by June 17, 2021.
    To ensure consideration during the development of the EIS, written 
comments on the scope of the EIS must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on July 
19, 2021. The date of all public scoping meetings will be announced at 
least 15 days in advance of the actual meetings through a notice to be 
published in local newspapers and online on the project's website at 
www.pabtreplacement.com.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to: The Port Authority of New 
York and New Jersey, World Trade Center, 150 Greenwich Street, 25th 
Floor, New York, NY 10007; Attention: Elizabeth Rogak.
    Or Project Email: PABTReplacementNEPA@panynj.gov.
    Or leave a comment via voicemail at: (929) 502-7304.
    Information about the Proposed Project, scoping, and the EIS will 
be available on the project's website at www.pabtreplacement.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald Burns, FTA Director of Planning 
and Program Development, Email: Donald.Burns@dot.gov; Telephone: (212) 
668-2203.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Proposed Project. PANYNJ is proposing to replace the existing PABT 
and associated facilities, including the terminal and ramps. Completion 
of the Replacement Facility is anticipated by 2032 and the four 
private, high-rise buildings by 2040. The project contemplates use of 
PANYNJ land and air rights for private development to help fund the 
Replacement Facility. PANYNJ allocated $3.5 billion towards the 
Replacement Facility in its 2017 ten-year capital program, and PANYNJ 
intends to seek financial support for the project from the United 
States Department of Transportation, including FTA funding. The 
Replacement Facility is included in the Metropolitan Transportation 
Plans of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council and the North 
Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, as a regionally significant 
project.
    Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Replacement Facility. The 
Replacement Facility's primary purpose is to meet the forecasted Trans-
Hudson commuter and intercity bus and passenger demand for bus services 
that operate within the PABT. The proposed Replacement Facility is 
intended to: (1) Address capacity constraints and operational 
limitations of the existing PABT; (2) improve bus storage and staging 
to reduce bus idling and on-street congestion; and (3) improve bus 
network reliability. The existing PABT suffers from the pressures of 
accommodating growing travel demand with aging infrastructure and 
systems, increasingly problematic functional and physical obsolescence 
of assets and facilities, and fundamental capacity challenges. Without 
significant investment, the existing PABT South Wing bus operating 
levels are likely to be functionally obsolete between 2027 and 2037. In 
addition, the system of roadways, tunnel facilities, and services 
connecting to the Midtown core and the PABT are increasingly sensitive 
to disruption.
    Based on the above purpose and need, PANYNJ established the 
following project goals for the Replacement Facility:
     Improve Trans-Hudson bus operations;
     Improve the passenger experience within the Terminal;
     Provide seamless passenger accessibility (including, as 
applicable, ADA-compliant accessibility) to Eighth Avenue mass transit 
options;
     Strive to achieve consistency with local and regional land 
use plans and initiatives;
     Develop a project that optimizes life-cycle costs; and
     Reduce the impacts of bus services on the built and 
natural environment.
    Objectives were identified to assess achievement of each project 
goal in the Final Scoping Report.
    Scoping. Consistent with NEPA, PANYNJ conducted early scoping and 
planning to identify a Locally Preferred Alternative, which FTA will 
consider during the NEPA scoping process. PANYNJ released its Draft 
Scoping Document on May 23, 2019, commencing a 120-day public comment 
period on the Project. PANYNJ held public meetings in New York City and 
New Jersey on July 10, 2019 and September 5, 2019.
    PANYNJ released a Final Scoping Report on January 21, 2021. In the 
Final Scoping Report, PANYNJ summarizes the process and evaluations 
undertaken since the Draft Scoping Document, as well as the public 
outreach conducted during early scoping. For this phase of the Project 
the NEPA Scoping Information Packet released with the NOI can be found 
on the project website.

[[Page 30077]]

    Screening of Potential Alternatives. PANYNJ identified 13 potential 
alternatives for the Proposed Project in the Draft Scoping Document, 
drawn from extensive earlier planning and public outreach. PANYNJ 
screened these alternatives and narrowed them to the three listed below 
based on criteria requiring that an alternative: (1) Meet projected 
demand for bus passenger service in 2040, and (2) not utilize 
significant private property.
     The Build-in-Place Alternative, which would replace the 
current terminal at its same location;
     The Perkins Eastman Design and Deliverability Alternative, 
which would place all operations at the lower levels of the Jacob K. 
Javits Convention Center (Javits Center); and
     The Regional Plan Association (RPA) Alternative, which 
would locate commuter operations at a rehabilitated terminal at the 
present location, and intercity bus operations and storage/staging in a 
portion of the lower level of the Javits Center.
    Based on public comments, PANYNJ developed a third screening 
criterion: (3) Maintain the present seamless passenger connectivity to 
the Eighth Avenue mass transit options and pedestrian accessibility to 
those options and Midtown. As noted in the Final Scoping Report, this 
criterion eliminated the remaining two alternatives that used the 
Javits Center, which is remote from the Eighth Avenue mass transit 
options and Midtown, with the Build-In-Place Alternative remaining.
    The Enhanced Build-in-Place Alternative. PANYNJ incorporated public 
and stakeholder comments into its planning process, as well as two 
concepts received during early scoping: (1) Construct an additional 
structure within PABT property to accommodate certain curbside 
intercity buses and bus storage/staging operations, rather than utilize 
local streets/surface lots; and (2) have this additional structure 
serve as ``swing space'' for bus terminal operations during 
construction of the new PABT, allowing continuous bus service 
operation. After conducting further design and analysis, PANYNJ 
developed an Enhanced Build-in-Place Alternative (the Locally Preferred 
Alternative) that would comprise:
     Passenger operations in an East (or Main) Facility, 
generally occupying the footprint of the existing PABT and ramps 
between Eighth Avenue and Ninth Avenue between 40th Street and 42nd 
Street, with an enclosed multi-level portion extending across Ninth 
Avenue between 40th Street and 41st Street, an enclosed multi-level 
portion extending across 40th Street between Ninth Avenue and Tenth 
Avenue, and an underpass under Ninth Avenue between 40th Street and 
41st Street linking Dyer Avenue to the Lower Level;
     A new building (the West Adjunct) for permanent commuter 
bus storage and staging, as well as permanent intercity bus storage and 
intercity bus operations, occupying the western portion of the block 
between Ninth Avenue and Tenth Avenue between 39th Street and 40th 
Street, connected to the East Facility through an enclosed pedestrian 
and vehicular structure crossing 40th Street;
     A new ramp structure located west of Tenth Avenue (on 
Galvin Plaza between Eleventh Avenue and existing Ramp 96), with new 
ramps crossing Tenth Avenue to connect to the East Facility; and
     Open space/green space on two blocks: Lot 9, between 37th 
Street and 38th Street and Ninth Avenue and Tenth Avenue, and Lot 10, 
between 38th Street and 39th Street and Ninth Avenue and Tenth Avenue. 
During phased construction, deck-overs of these spaces would be used to 
accommodate operational needs. When construction is complete, these 
deck-overs would be converted from operational space to green space, 
resulting in approximately three additional acres of new community 
space.
    The ``swing space'' concept would allow the new terminal to be 
built from the ground up, as is typical, rather than ``top-down'' over 
the existing terminal (i.e., the upper floors would be built over the 
existing operating terminal, with new floors built below the upper 
floors as construction progresses). Once the East Facility is 
constructed, the West Adjunct would be repurposed for bus storage and 
staging and to accommodate certain curbside intercity buses.
    PANYNJ seeks to offset increased costs in the Enhanced Build-in-
Place Alternative by generating revenue from new joint-development, and 
by seeking additional financial assistance from FTA. PANYNJ may seek 
additional financial assistance from other government sources.
    The private development would be comprised of four high-rise 
buildings built entirely on PANYNJ properties in the vicinity of the 
Replacement Facility, consistent with present as-of-right zoning (three 
commercial and one mixed-use retail/residential), at the following 
locations:
     West side of Eighth Avenue between 41st Street and 42nd 
Street (up to approximately 3.0 million gross square feet of commercial 
space);
     East side of Ninth Avenue between 40th Street and 41st 
Street (up to approximately 2.0 million gross square feet of commercial 
space);
     East side of Eleventh Avenue between 39th Street and 40th 
Street (up to approximately 2.3 million gross square feet of commercial 
space); and
     West side of Tenth Avenue between 39th Street and 40th 
Street (up to approximately 900,000 gross square feet of mixed-use 
(retail/residential) space).
    EIS Process and Role of Participating Agencies and the Public. FTA 
and PANYNJ are proposing a Study Area for the EIS to include an area 
approximately \1/4\-mile from the proposed Replacement Facility, which 
is inclusive of any potential new construction, temporary operations, 
or any on- or off-site construction activities. Since the Proposed 
Project comprises several integrated components, a broad Study Area has 
been defined to capture those blocks containing, or substantially 
adjacent to, potential new construction. The Study Area is defined as 
the area from the Hudson River east to Sixth Avenue, and from 30th 
Street to 49th Street. This is the area where potential primary direct 
or indirect impacts may be experienced.
    Consistent with NEPA, FTA and PANYNJ will evaluate, with input from 
the public, and other Federal, State, and local agencies, the potential 
impacts of the proposed alternatives on the natural, built, and social 
environments from both construction and operation. The EIS will 
evaluate the potential for impacts in at least the following areas: 
Land use, zoning and public policy, community facilities, open space, 
socioeconomic conditions, environmental justice, air quality (including 
consideration of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change), historic 
properties and cultural resources, urban design and visual resources, 
transportation, noise and vibration, natural resources, water quality, 
utilities, energy, contaminated materials, construction, and safety and 
security. Potential impacts have been preliminarily identified in the 
following areas: Potential historic impacts to the McGraw-Hill Building 
(National Historic Landmark/National Register of Historic Places) and 
the Garment Center Historic District (National Register of Historic 
Places); Potential traffic impacts in the vicinity of PABT and 
adjoining streets; potential air quality impacts; and potential noise 
impacts. Measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate any significant 
adverse impacts will be identified.
    An Agency Coordination Plan (Plan) will be developed within 90 days 
of this

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NOI's publication date to guide a comprehensive public outreach 
program, and once available, it will be published on the project's 
website and the Federal Permitting Dashboard at https://www.permits.performance.gov/. The Plan will outline outreach to local 
and county officials and community and civic groups; a public scoping 
process to define the issues of concern among all parties interested in 
the Proposed Project; establishment of a Technical Advisory Committee 
and periodic meetings with that committee; a public hearing on release 
of the Draft EIS; and development and distribution of project 
newsletters. Cooperating and Participating agencies may include the 
United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Advisory Council on 
Historic Preservation, the United States Department of the Interior, 
the United States Fish and Wildlife Services, the New York Metropolitan 
Transportation Authority, the New York City Transit Authority, the New 
York City Department of Transportation, and the New York City Planning 
Commission, along with other agencies.
    FTA invites comments on the PANYNJ's statement of purpose and need 
for the Proposed Project, as well as the alternatives proposed for 
consideration. Suggestions for modifications to the statement of 
purpose and need, and any other reasonable alternatives that meet the 
purpose and need for the project, are welcome and will be given serious 
consideration. Comments on significant environmental impacts that may 
be associated with the Proposed Project and alternatives are also 
welcome, as are the identification of information and analyses relevant 
to the Proposed Project. There will be additional opportunities to 
participate in the scoping process at the livestreamed, virtual public 
meetings announced in this Notice.
    FTA Procedures. Public comments will be received through those 
methods explained earlier in this Notice and will be incorporated into 
a Final NEPA Scoping Information Packet. This document will detail the 
scope of the EIS and the potential environmental effects that will be 
considered during the NEPA process. After the completion of the Draft 
EIS, a public and agency review period, including a public hearing, 
will allow for input on the Draft EIS. These public comments, as well 
as any public comments received during the scoping process, along with 
responses to them, will be incorporated into the Draft EIS for the 
Proposed Project.
    Anticipated Permits and Approvals. The NEPA Scoping Information 
Packet includes a preliminary list of anticipated permits and approvals 
from Federal, State, and local agencies. In addition to Federal agency 
consultations required by the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species 
Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act, PANYNJ will coordinate 
with appropriate City of New York agencies or entities for compliance 
with local laws. The NEPA EIS will also assist the City of New York in 
making any applicable CEQR finding.
    Aside from potential FTA funding and required consultations 
identified under the FTA Procedures section above, the following 
permits or approvals are currently anticipated:
     Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
Finding (Memorandum of Agreement or Programmatic Agreement) for 
historic properties and National Historic Landmarks;
     Approval of possible modifications to local streets/
sidewalks by NYCDOT;
     Approval of construction coordination and maintenance and 
protection of traffic by NYCDOT;
     Approval of possible modifications to the City Map by the 
New York City Planning Commission; and
     CEQR finding by the City of New York.
    Anticipated Schedule for Decision-Making Process. FTA and PANYNJ 
anticipate the following environmental review schedule, which is 
subject to change:
     Scoping (Public Scoping Meeting): June 23 and 24, 2021.
     Official Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS published 
in the Federal Register: Spring/Summer 2022.
     Public Hearings on Draft EIS: Spring/Summer 2022.
     Federal Register Notice of Availability of a Final EIS/
Record of Decision (ROD): Spring/Summer 2023.
    Combined Final EIS and ROD. In accordance with 23 U.S.C. 139, FTA 
may consider combining the Final EIS and ROD. If FTA combines the Final 
EIS and ROD, it is anticipated that those documents will serve as the 
basis for Federal, and possibly State and City, environmental findings 
and determinations needed to conclude the environmental review process, 
unless statutory criteria preclude issuance of a combined document 
(i.e., the Final EIS makes substantial changes to the proposed action 
that are relevant to environmental or safety concerns or there is a 
significant new circumstance or information relevant to environmental 
concerns that affect the proposed action or its impacts).

Stephen Goodman,
Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration--Region II.
[FR Doc. 2021-11729 Filed 6-3-21; 8:45 am]
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