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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 106 / Friday, June 4, 2021 / Notices 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 multilevel portion extending across Ninth Avenue between 40th Street and 41st Street, an enclosed multi-level portion
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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;

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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 14-mile from the proposed Replacement Facility, which is inclusive of any potential new construction, temporary operations, or any onor 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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