In December, Gov. Kathy Hochul chose Kathryn Garcia to serve as the next executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. She replaces Rick Cotton, who retired in January.
“Kathryn helped us launch and advance generational infrastructure projects and rebuild our economy following the pandemic with an eye toward the future,” Hochul noted. “I am thankful she will continue serving the people of New York as executive director of the Port Authority, where she will help us continue to advance a regional economy that keeps us the global leader in job creation and growth.”
Garcia’s tasks will include supervising the $10 billion redevelopment of the Port Authority’s Midtown bus terminal – whose fate is uncertain given its reliance on a loan from the now-hostile U.S. Department of Transportation – and completing multibillion-dollar renovations of JFK and Newark Airport.
Garcia, a top aide to Hochul, former city sanitation commissioner and mayoral candidate, played a key role in shepherding projects like congestion pricing, the Gateway rail tunnel and the forthcoming Interborough Express train line.
Cotton, who retired in January, led the agency for more than eight years. He took the helm of the agency in 2017 and served as its longest-serving executive director since the 1940s. Appointed by ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo, his tenure included navigating the pandemic, when ridership hit an all-time low, and spearheading the transformation of several critical infrastructure projects in the bi-state region.
Sources: NY1, Crain’s New York Business
