LI Sound Tunnel Meeting

This article originally appeared in the May 2nd issue of The North Shore Leader. Everyone on Long Island and in Westchester would be impacted by this tunnel.

? Loriann Cody

On Tuesday evening, April 24th, Bayville Intermediate School on Mountain Avenue was filled to capacity (standing room only, with spillover in doorways) by concerned residents wanting to hear the latest news in the Governor’s plan for a cross-sound tunnel originating from Oyster Bay/Bayville. Many were turned away so another meeting is scheduled for May 9th, at the Locust Valley High School auditorium which holds more people.

The Meeting, led by the Village of Bayville Tunnel Committee (a group created and charged by Bayville Mayor Paul Rupp with preventing the Long Island Sound crossing from Bayville), was detailed, informative and well attended by local politicians; all against the tunnel project. The Tunnel Committee includes current and former Bayville Trustees as well as Bayville Zoning Board members, and is chaired by Bayville Trustee John Taylor. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plans call for the tunnel to originate in Syosset, near the end of the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway at Jericho Turnpike, and continue north under Syosset, Oyster Bay Cove, Cove Neck, Oyster Bay, Mill Neck, Centre Island, Bayville, and the Long Island Sound before ending at Rye (Westchester County), near Interstate 95.

The exact tunnel route has not yet been determined, but the proposed tunnel affects more than just these communities. Areas to the south of Syosset such as Plainview, Bethpage, Woodbury and Hicksville will experience greater traffic congestion as trucks and cars look for ways to escape the tunnel traffic; as well as areas directly to the east and west, such as Huntington, Cold Spring Harbor, Lattingtown, Muttontown, the Brookvilles, Locust Valley and Glen Cove.

The Tunnel Committee has held meetings with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s staff, including Peter Kiernan, the Special Counselor for Infrastructure Initiatives and a member of Cuomo’s Executive Chamber, Lisa Santeramo, the Director of Operations for Long Island, and Imran Ansari, the Governor’s Representative for Long Island/Nassau County. 

The project is no longer just a proposal. The original feasibility study was commissioned by Governor Cuomo in January, 2016, and the $5 million dollar price tag was paid for with his discretionary funds. 

The 88-page study, created by WSP Global, a company headquartered in Canada with offices on Long Island, was completed at the end of last year. The study concluded the two best sites on Long Island for the tunnel crossing were either Kings Park, or Oyster Bay/Bayville.Originally a three tube tunnel was proposed, but now the plan calls for a single 58’ tube with two levels of two-lane traffic.The 18-mile length will have 9 miles underground (Long Island, Westchester) and 9 miles under the Sound.

There are many reasons why Oyster Bay/Bayville is not a good option for the tunnel. The required two large ventilation/exhaust and emergency access shafts close to the shoreline, and the air/water pollution they would bring; the noise pollution from the vent fans/blowers; increased traffic congestion; the potential contamination of our groundwater (especially important to Centre Island which gets all it’s drinking water from wells); and environmental damage are reasons enough not to go ahead with this tunnel project. Add in the fact that the project will not pay for itself, and instead operate at a yearly loss would appear to seal the deal in favor of abandoning the plan.

Yet, the Governor has gone ahead and received 6 letters of interest(from companies that want to complete the tunnel project), and figured a way to pay for the massive bill ($35.1 billion - $55 billion according to estimates). The Governor wants to create a new independent Tunnel Authority (similar to the Port Authority and the Metropolitan Transit Authority) to arrange for financing and issue bonds. This Tunnel Authority will not be under control of the Department of Transportation, not would it require any authorization from the NY State Legislature. Bond investors could be Union Pension Funds, State Employee Pension Funds, even foreign banks and governments, notably China.

The environmental impact study is set to begin in September and would be completed by 2023 (though it may be sooner). Construction would begin after the environmental study is completed and is estimated to take up to eight years. Legal and engineering challenges could delay this time frame. After all, plans for a Long Island Sound crossing are not new. Robert Moses and then Governor Nelson Rockefeller were on board with a bridge back in the 1970s. Key opposition from local politicians and the creation of the federally protected wildlife refuge by the US Department of Interior, scuttled that plan. Construction has been banned within, along borders, over and under any wildlife refuge, though those parameters have not yet been tested in court. Current tunnel supporters include the Long Island Association, construction unions, road construction companies, transportation companies, and the Governor. Moving freight via trucks would be the tunnel’s main function.

Stopping the formation of a Tunnel Authority will stop the tunnel project. With no funding source, the project will not move forward. An Anti-Tunnel Coalition recently formed to help spearhead the fight. Members of this group are from local civic and environmental groups from across the island. All the local politicians including State Senator Carl Marcellino and State Assemblyman Michael Montessano have come out against the project and held press conferences to say so publicly. Congressman Tom Suozzi and County Legislators Josh Lafazan and Delia DeRiggi-Whitton have gone against their own party (Cuomo is a Democrat) to voice their opposition. Still to weigh are Democrats Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Assemblyperson Chuck Lavine. 

Those against this tunnel are urged to contact NY Senator John Flanagan, the majority leader of the state senate and ask him not to support the formation of a LI Sound Tunnel Authority. You can reach him at (631) 361-2154 or [email protected]. Contact the Governor, (518) 474-8390 to voice your opinion. Contact Laura Curran (516) 571-3131, or Chuck Lavine (516) 676-0050, and let them know how you feel. Bayville Trustee John Taylor can be reached at (516) 628-1439. The more people against, the greater the chance for project defeat. The entire presentation from the meeting is available on the Village of Bayville website: www.bayvilleny.gov/

As County Legislator Josh Lafazan put it, “People united will never be defeated.”