Metro North Expansion into Bronx Offers Promising Economic Impact

On Tuesday, May 14, 2013, State Senator Jeff Klein and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., gathered with Bronx business owners, employers, union leaders, homeowners and commuters on Bassett Avenue — near the railroad tracks — to announce the anticipated economic impact of MTA Metro North’s expansion into the Bronx.

Senator Klein and Borough President Diaz shared findings from a study they commissioned late last year, which measured the potential economic benefit to the Bronx resulting from four new Metro North stations slated to be built in the East Bronx, according to the expansion proposed by Metro North on current Amtrak lines. These stations will be located in Co-op City, Hunts Point, Morris Park and Parkchester.

"Conclusions from the study indicate that service expansion will have a profound economic benefit to the Bronx, including the creation of new jobs, reduced commute time and expected rise in home values," said Senator Klein.

"Metro North service on the Amtrak line, including a Morris Park stop, will help transform Einstein as well as our local community," noted Gordon Earle, associate dean of public affairs and communications, who spoke in behalf of Einstein at the gathering. "It will provide major benefits for our faculty, researchers, students and the entire East Bronx medical community, offering easy access to and from Manhattan, as well as to Washington, DC and to Connecticut and Boston. We are extremely enthusiastic about the plan."