Rick Cotton, Head of NY and NJ’s Port Authority, to Retire
(Bloomberg) — Rick Cotton, chief executive of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees major revitalization efforts and infrastructure developments in New York City and parts of New Jersey, will retire in January, the agency announced Monday.
Cotton, who has held the job longer than anyone since the 1940s, spearheaded the construction of the new LaGuardia Airport, restoring an airport once considered among the worst in the country. He also guided one of the nation’s busiest ports through the Covid-19 pandemic at a time of major supply chain disruption and uncertainty.
“Working in partnership across two states, across political lines and in every corner of this agency, we have made historic progress toward this goal,” Cotton said in a statement, citing his and Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole’s efforts to deliver world-class infrastructure. “Together, we transformed our airports from horrific laughing stock into award-winning, best-in-class gateways and restarted the Midtown Bus Terminal, which had languished for decades.”
The news was first reported by The New York Times.
Under Cotton, the agency expanded its police force, supported the arts and positioned itself as a leader in the goal of net-zero emissions by becoming the first U.S. transportation agency to adopt the Paris climate agreement, according to the statement.
Earlier this month, the Port Authority proposed a $45 billion, ten-year capital plan to continue revitalizing the region’s major transportation hubs. The plan includes nearly $21 billion in aviation-related improvements at Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia, as well as the new Midtown Bus Terminal in Manhattan, service improvements on the system’s PATH trains and rehabilitation of the George Washington Bridge.
The price tag for the infrastructure program is roughly 22% higher than the previous capital plan, which ran from 2017 to 2025; This expense is largely due to higher construction and material costs. During his tenure as chief executive, Cotton had to confront $3 billion in revenue losses during the pandemic, resulting in delays in capital expenditures.
Cotton was appointed by then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2017 and was held by current Governor Kathy Hochul, who has yet to announce a replacement.
(Updates with details of the Port Authority’s proposed capital plan in sixth and seventh paragraphs.)
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