Local Amenities, Rail Link Vie For Remaining Funds by Etta Sanders What will $1.2 billion buy? Certainly not enough to satisfy everyone. But that's the amount that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) will be divying up in the next few months as it allocates the last of the federal money awarded for Downtown economic revitalization after Sept. 11. "We have about $10 billion worth of [proposed] projects and we only have $1 billion left," said Madelyn Wils, an LMDC board member and chairwoman of Community Board 1. A plethora of desired local amenities-schools, subsidized housing, parks and cultural facilities-are vying with plans for a Long Island Railroad and JFK Airport link for a last piece of the pie, otherwise known as the community development block grant to Lower Manhattan. The Fiscal Policy Institute issued a cost analysis last month that compares the price of the rail link to other Downtown development projects. It found, for example, that $135 million of block grant money would pay for 300 units of government subsidized housing, the completion of the Hudson River Park from Chambers to Houston Streets and 200 classroom seats in a new school. A little less than that-$100 million-covers just 1/50 of the cost of constructing a new tunnel for the JFK/LIRR train, or 1/22nd of a link using an existing tunnel, according to the institute. "A billion dollars goes a long way in creating community services and housing and local economic development," said David Kallick, a senior fellow at the institute, "but it doesn't go a long way in building a tunnel." In numerous workshops last summer, the LMDC sought public feedback from Downtown residents about their neighborhood's priorities. Most listed affordable housing, parks and cultural facilities as well as improvements in transportation, including airport access. But the invited participants were not asked how they would allocate limited funds. At a panel discussion sponsored by the Regional Plan Association and the Fiscal Policy Institute, affordable housing was overwhelmingly the top priority for 150 participants in a mock allocation exercise. The JFK/LIRR train found little support. The Civic Alliance has also come out in opposition to using any of the grant money for the rail link, instead favoring projects that "improve Lower Manhattan's attractiveness as a diverse, mixed-use, livable community, and create jobs." But representatives of the business community assert that funding for direct rail access to JFK Airport and Long Island is the highest priority, critical to Downtown's long-term economic future and its ability to compete with London and Hong Kong as a global financial center. "Local business organizations are strong supporters of harboring as much of the capital that's now in the hands of the LMDC for transportation purposes, and we must improve commuter access to Lower Manhattan to stay competitive," said Robert Douglass, chairman of the Downtown Alliance, speaking last month to Downtown business leaders. As of the end of March, $1.6 billion of the total of $2.8 billion had been allocated, with just over a billion dollars going to direct grants to businesses, and $70 million to community facilities, including $25 million for parks and open spaces and $3 million to the Millennium High School. Nearly $280 million was allocated for the residential grant program meant to stave off an exodus of residents. But two and half years later, the growth in the residential population has put a strain on existing services and accentuated the need for new amenities. Community Board 1 supports connecting Lower Manhattan to the airport and Long Island, but not by using all of the remaining funds. "Compromise will have to be reached," said board chairwoman Madelyn Wils.