Posted on November 20, 2023
Want a quick takeaway from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s proposed 2024 budget? The plan is to move “full steam ahead” and bring spending levels back to what they were at before the coronavirus pandemic, officials say.
On Wednesday, the Port Authority released a $9.3 billion proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which its top executives said is one of its most “ambitious” in years. The spending plan is up from the $8.3 billion approved for 2023.
The bi-state agency operates many of the region’s busiest transportation hubs, including the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Port Authority Bus Terminal, the Port of New York and New Jersey, the PATH rail system and the area’s three major airports: LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and JFK.
The proposed budget includes $3.9 billion in operating expenses and $1.8 billion for debt service and deferred expenses. It also includes $3.6 billion for capital expenses, which marks a return to pre-COVID spending levels after several years of reduced spending. Read More: Port Authority Lost $3B In Revenue During COVID Pandemic
“The overarching message from this budget proposal is clear: we are full steam ahead,” Port Authority Chair Kevin O’Toole said.
“We’re moving forward on several major projects that are critical to the region, including redevelopment and modernization work at all three of our major airports, the PATH system, the Midtown Bus Terminal, and the busiest and largest container port on the East Coast,” O’Toole continued.
“It’s gratifying that customers have already started to notice the fruits of our efforts at places like LaGuardia and Newark – and we’re just getting started,” he added.
Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said the proposed budget is “ambitious in its scope,” yet “responsible in its proposed spending.”
“We’re coming out of the pandemic more determined than ever to move people and goods safely, efficiently, and prudently while doing so at the highest standards possible,” Cotton said.
Here are some of the improvements that are being proposed, according to the Port Authority:
- The agency’s largest-ever allocation toward safety and security, totaling nearly $1 billion. The funding strengthens the agency’s cybersecurity posture while advancing new Port Authority Police Department initiatives in response to an evolving threat landscape.
- Further steps toward the agency’s commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The budget includes $86 million toward net-zero initiatives in addition to over $220 million to expand resiliency and flood mitigation measures.
- Driving innovation efforts, including $219 million for systems and technology supporting innovation. Additionally, $3 million will support the agency’s employee innovation hub, which explores new technologies that may be of high value to the agency.
- Advancement of the redevelopment of John F. Kennedy International Airport into a unified, world-class international gateway.
- Continued planning and advancing of the new Midtown Bus Terminal, replacing the current outdated terminal with a modern transportation hub that can accommodate capacity increases and help ease city congestion.
- Replacement of PATH’s current fare collection system with a modern “tap-and-go” system.
- Development of a new AirTrain Newark system to replace the current outmoded system serving Newark Liberty International Airport, as well as advancement of the EWR Station access project that will expand rail and airport access for underserved Newark and Elizabeth communities.
- Planning and preliminary work for a new express bus service for access to and from LaGuardia Airport, and improvements to MTA New York City Transit’s Q70 LaGuardia Link Select Bus Service.
- Continuation of work on the $2 billion, 11-project Restoring the George program at the George Washington Bridge to rehabilitate, repair or replace nearly every component of the world’s busiest vehicular bridge.
- Beginning of major work on the Port Street Corridor Improvement project at Port Newark to rebuild one of the facility’s main entrances and improve trucking operations that support the region’s robust supply chain.
Will commuters be paying more out of their own wallets to fuel the upgrades? Here’s what the Port Authority had to say:
“Automatic inflation-based adjustments are scheduled for implementation at the bridges and tunnels on Jan. 7, 2024, and at AirTrain rail systems on March 3, 2024, as established by three resolutions of the Port Authority’s Board of Commissioners (2008, 2011, 2019). From September 2022 through September 2023, the consumer price index increased 3.7 percent, which triggered an annual automatic inflation-based bridge and tunnel toll adjustment of $0.63, as well as an AirTrain fare increase of $0.25. These incremental adjustments will result in Port Authority tolls similar to round trip tolls of other regional systems. Fares at PATH remain at their current level. Discount bridge and tunnel toll and AirTrain fare plans will continue to remain in effect, along with the Port Authority’s Staten Island Bridges Plan.”
The proposed budget is available online here for public review. The public can submit written comments on the proposed budget here by Dec. 11. Members of the public wishing to address the Port Authority’s board of commissioners on the proposal as part of the board meeting on Dec. 14, when the proposed 2024 budget will be on the agenda for action.
