By Philip Newman
The study by the nonprofit Center for the Urban Future said both airports are growing at a far slower pace than most other major U.S. airports, thus costing thousands of new jobs in Queens.
JFK was the world's leading freight terminal in 1990 but is now in fifth place, the study said, while LaGuardia has fallen from 15th to 20th busiest.
“The airports are among the city's most dependable economic assets, but for many years, their importance has been taken for granted and their needs have been ignored,” said Jonathan Bowles, research director of the center, a Manhattan think tank.
Dan Andrews, a spokesman for Queens Borough President Claire Shulman, said 50,000 jobs are directly connected to the two airports, generating billions of dollars for the Queens economy.
“If local officials don
