Howard Beach
Lefferts Blvd is an AirTrain Station that services the southern end of this major New York City Street (with the Lefferts Blvd A train station under 2 miles north of the station) on airport property. It is considered an “on airport” station and no AirTrain fee is collected from passengers getting on and off it. The station was built originally to service parts of the large Long-Term Parking lot (A and B lots) with a main JFK Employees Parking lot just across Lefferts Blvd from the AirTrain Station. The pre-AirTrain free shuttle bus to the Howard Beach A train station made multiple stops going through this long-term parking lot before reaching the A train station. The stop also has an open-air bike rack (would be a great place for a secure bike parking area) and is the closest place a bicyclist (or pedestrian) can really get to the central terminal area with signs saying to leave bikes at the station and ride the AirTrain for free into the terminals. There is also Kiss and Fly parking with private vehicle pick-up and drop-off loop at the station.
Since 2022 the stop has also serviced as the terminal point for all MTA City buses that are going to and from the airport, on the B15, Q10, Q10 LTD, and Q3. The Q3 still stops at Terminal 7 as an intermediate stop, with service extended to Lefferts Blvd from the Central Terminal Area (it enters Queens streets via the JFK Expressway), providing the public bus service (there also airport employee buses) at the former B15 and Q10 stops at the various airport buildings (primarily cargo) along the Service Road into the terminal area.
This service change was done because of construction for the new Terminal 6. Buses used to terminate in the Central Terminal area at bus stops set up along the former departure’s roadway of Terminal 6 (which closed on October 21, 2008) and is now a construction site. City buses from 2004 to 2009 stopped outside Terminal 4 only, before 2004 (shortly after the AirTrain opened in December 2003) stopping at the arrivals area of all then 9 terminals.
When the Airtrain station opened it had a bus stop on the south side and parking spaces for the Kiss and Fly area on the northside. In preparation for the changeover to serving all city buses, the Kiss and Fly area was made much smaller with bus stops now (4 in total) directly on surrounding both sides of the elevated station. The parking lots are accessible from multiple crosswalks connecting to covered walkways. The toll plaza for the large Long Term Parking area is directly south of the AirTrain Station, just beyond the bus loop.
The AirTrain has two entrances through automatic doors beneath each end of the station platform. These two entrances each contain two sets of elevators and an open to the public fire stair beyond the ends of each platform plus a single bank of escalators up to each platform. The staircases are signed for the various bus routes and parking lots, so passengers know which end of the platform to exit from.
Photos 1-18: February 1, 2013; 19-40: September 26, 2023 41-46: November 24, 2023;
