Port Authority's Grand Compromise Yields New Bus Terminal, and Tensions

Usually, political horse trading goes on behind closed doors. But at the Port Authority's most recent board meeting, it was on full display, in all its tension-infused glory.

New York Gov. Cuomo has made airport modernization a theme of his administration, and rebuilding LaGuardia's Central Terminal Building is one of his priorities. It's the responsibility of his appointee, Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye, to move that ball down the field.

But sometimes priorities of the two states don't mesh, and this was one of them.

The authority's chairman, New Jersey Gov. Christie appointee John Degnan, had previously said he wouldn't support the LaGuardia project because it was too expensive. But he changed his mind after board members agreed to support one of his key projects: to fund — and build — a new Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan.

"I am at the Port Authority to get things done," Degnan said, explaining his change of heart. "We did just that earlier in this meeting when the board committed to a new bus terminal in Manhattan and rejected the misguided notion of pursuing such a facility in New Jersey."

(That was a swipe at Vice Chair Scott Rechler, who had previously floated the idea of building the bus terminal in the Garden State, much to Degnan's dismay.)

A compromise was struck: the board voted to spend more than $4 billion on the new LaGuardia terminal. And it also voted to put a new Port Authority Bus Terminal in its capital plan — a remarkable commitment to a building that has yet to be designed.

That raised Foye's eyebrows. "Regardless of the cost?" he said. "The chairman yesterday threw out $15 billion as the high end of the range estimate for the bus terminal. Are we really going to crowd out $15 billion in existing spending?"

That angered Degnan, who said that estimate was "preposterous" and came up in a private conversation. "The resolution has passed," he told Foye, "you're out of order. Just sit tight. I know you don't agree with it, but you don't get a vote here."

"It's a matter of fiduciary duty," retorted Foye. "To not know whether we're talking about a hundred dollars, a billion, or $15 billion, a number you used yesterday."

"This is out of order," said Degnan. "Keep it to yourself."

After the meeting, Foye, Degnan and Rechler met with reporters and explained that what had gone on in the meeting was healthy.

"What you witnessed today is actually one of the most important Port Authority board meetings in history," said Foye. "I think it represents the single largest allocation of capital on one day in Port Authority history."

But what about the back-and-forth during the meeting?

"Openness and transparency — which have been urged on this Port Authority for years — and democracy — are messy," said Degnan. "But if they work properly, they get things done."

He added "I agree with Pat that this is the most significant step forward in contributing to regional transportation infrastructure that the Port Authority has made in its modern era. The fact that involved some disagreements, and some open disagreements? Don't complain about what you've asked for!"

Later, Scott Rechler explained the compromise.

"It's horse trading," he said. "There was concern in New Jersey that the bus terminal wasn't going to get the attention. And that concern was relayed, and as part of a trade, in terms of moving everything forward, there was an agreement that we would bring the bus terminal forward." 

At Thursday's meeting, the Port Authority board also voted to spend $35 million on preliminary work for the Gateway project, which aims to build new rail tunnels under the Hudson River and improve the region's rail infrastructure.