Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

The Port Authority operates the Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal, which consistently ranks among the largest ports in the United States by tonnage handled, and the largest on the Eastern Seaboard. The Port Authority also operates six bi-state crossings: three connecting New Jersey with Manhattan, and three connecting New Jersey with Staten Island. The Port Authority Bus Terminal and the PATH rail system are also run by the Port Authority, as well as John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport, Teterboro Airport, and Stewart International Airport. The agency has its own 2,100-member Port Authority Police Department.

History

The Port of New York and New Jersey comprised the main point of embarkation for U.S. troops and supplies sent to Europe during World War I, via the New York Port of Embarkation. The congestion at the port led experts to realize the need for a port authority to supervise the extremely complex system of bridges, highways, subways, and port facilities in the New York-New Jersey area. The solution was the 1921 creation of the Port Authority under the supervision of the governors of the two states. By issuing its own bonds, it was financially independent of either state; the bonds were paid off from tolls and fees, not from taxes. It became one of the major agencies of the metropolitan area for large-scale projects. Early bond issues were tied to specific projects, but this changed in 1935 when the Authority issued General and Refunding bonds with a claim on its general revenues.

Previous disputes

In the early years of the 20th century, there were disputes between the states of New Jersey and New York over rail freights and boundaries. At the time, rail lines terminated on the New Jersey side of the harbor, while ocean shipping was centered on Manhattan and Brooklyn. Freight had to be shipped across the Hudson River in barges. In 1916, New Jersey launched a lawsuit against New York over issues of rail freight, with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) issuing an order that the two states work together, subordinating their own interests to the public interest. The Harbor Development Commission, a joint advisory board set-up in 1917, recommended that a bi-state authority be established to oversee efficient economic development of the port district. The Port of New York Authority was established on April 30, 1921, through an interstate compact between the states of New Jersey and New York. This was the first such agency in the United States, created under a provision in the Constitution of the United States permitting interstate compacts. The idea for the Port Authority was conceived during the Progressive Era, which aimed at the reduction of political corruption and at increasing the efficiency of government. With the Port Authority at a distance from political pressures, it was able to carry longer-term infrastructure projects irrespective of the election cycles and in a more efficient manner. The Port of New York Authority was officially renamed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to better reflect its status as a partnership between the two states, taking effect on July 1, 1972.

Throughout its history, there have been concerns about democratic accountability, or lack thereof at the Port Authority. The Port District is irregularly shaped but comprises a 1,500-square-mile (3,900 km²) area roughly within a 25-mile (40 km) radius of the Statue of Liberty.

Interstate crossings

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were no road bridge or tunnel crossings between the two states. The initial tunnel crossings were completed privately by the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad in 1908 and 1909 ("Hudson Tubes"), followed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1910 ("North River Tunnels"). Under an independent agency, the Holland Tunnel was opened in 1927, with some planning and construction pre-dating the Port Authority. With the rise in automobile traffic, there was demand for more Hudson River crossings. Using its ability to issue bonds and collect revenue, the Port Authority has built and managed major infrastructure projects. Early projects included bridges across the Arthur Kill, which separates Staten Island from New Jersey. The Goethals Bridge, named after chief engineer of the Panama Canal Commission General George Washington Goethals, connected Elizabeth, New Jersey and Howland Hook, Staten Island. At the south end of Arthur Kill, the Outerbridge Crossing was built and named after the Port Authority's first chairman, Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge. Construction of both bridges was completed in 1928. The Bayonne Bridge, opened in 1931, was built across the Kill van Kull, connecting Staten Island with Bayonne, New Jersey.

Construction began in 1927 on the George Washington Bridge, linking the northern part of Manhattan with Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Port Authority chief engineer, Othmar Ammann, overseeing the project. The bridge was completed in October 1931, ahead of schedule and well under the estimated costs. This efficiency exhibited by the Port Authority impressed President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who used this as a model in creating the Tennessee Valley Authority and other such entities.

In 1930, the Holland Tunnel was placed under the control of the Port Authority, providing significant toll revenues. The Port Authority also controlled the Lincoln Tunnel, connecting New Jersey and Midtown Manhattan. The Lincoln Tunnel opened in 1937 as a single-tube tunnel; a second tube opened in 1945, and a third tube opened in 1957.

In 1962, the Port Authority absorbed the bankrupt Hudson & Manhattan Railroad and reorganized it as Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH). As part of the deal, the Port Authority acquired the rights to build the original World Trade Center on the site of the old Hudson Terminal, one of two terminals in Manhattan for H&M/PATH.

Austin J. Tobin era

Airport expansion

In 1942, Austin J. Tobin became the executive director of the Port Authority. In the post-World War II period, the Port Authority expanded its operations to include airports, and marine terminals, with projects including Newark Liberty International Airport and Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminals. Meanwhile, the city-owned La Guardia Field was nearing capacity in 1939 and needed expensive upgrades and expansion. At the time, airports were operated as loss leaders, and the city was having difficulties maintaining the status quo, losing money and unable to undertake needed expansions. The city was looking to hand the airports over to a public authority, possibly to Robert Moses' Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. After long negotiations with the City of New York, a 50-year lease, commencing on May 31, 1947, went to the Port Authority of New York to rehabilitate, develop, and operate La Guardia Airport (La Guardia Field), John F. Kennedy International Airport (Idlewild Airport), and Floyd Bennett Field. The Port Authority transformed the airports into fee-generating facilities, adding stores and restaurants.

World Trade Center

David Rockefeller, president of Chase Manhattan Bank, envisioned a World Trade Center for lower Manhattan. Realizing that he needed public funding in order to construct the massive project, he approached Tobin. Although many questioned the Port Authority's entry into the real estate market, Tobin saw the project as a way to enhance the agency's power and prestige, and agreed to the project. The Port Authority was the overseer of the World Trade Center, hiring the architect Minoru Yamasaki and engineer Leslie Robertson.

Yamasaki ultimately settled on the idea of twin towers. To meet the Port Authority's requirement to build 10 million square feet (930,000 m²) of office space, the towers would each be 110 stories tall. The size of the project raised ire from the owner of the Empire State Building, which would lose its title of tallest building in the world. Other critics objected to the idea of this much "subsidized" office space going on the open market, competing with the private sector. Others questioned the cost of the project, which in 1966 had risen to $575 million. Final negotiations between The City of New York and the Port Authority centered on tax issues. A final agreement was made that the Port Authority would make annual payments in lieu of taxes, for the 40% of the World Trade Center leased to private tenants. The remaining space was to be occupied by state and federal government agencies. In 1962, the Port Authority signed the United States Customs Service as a tenant, and in 1964 they signed a deal with the State of New York to locate government offices at the World Trade Center.

In August 1968, construction on the World Trade Center's north tower started, with construction on the south tower beginning in January 1969. When the World Trade Center twin towers were completed, the total cost to the Port Authority had reached $900 million. The buildings were dedicated on April 4, 1973, with Tobin, who had retired the year before, absent from the ceremonies.

In 1986, the Port Authority sold rights to the World Trade Center name for $10 to an organization run by an outgoing executive, Guy F. Tozzoli. He in turn made millions of dollars selling the use of the name in up to 28 different states.

After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Port Authority was sued by survivors of the attack for negligence in not making security upgrades to known flaws that could have prevented the attack. The Port Authority was ruled to be negligent.

September 11 attacks

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent collapse of the World Trade Center buildings impacted the Port Authority. With the Port Authority's headquarters located in 1 World Trade Center, it became deprived of a base of operations and sustained a great number of casualties. An estimated 1,400 Port Authority employees worked in the World Trade Center. Eighty-four employees, including 37 Port Authority police officers, its executive director, Neil D. Levin, and police superintendent, Fred V. Morrone, died. In rescue efforts following the collapse, two Port Authority police officers, John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, were pulled out alive after spending nearly 24 hours beneath 30 feet (9.1 m) of rubble. Their rescue was later portrayed in the 2006 Oliver Stone film World Trade Center. Future Executive Director Christopher O. Ward was at the World Trade Center on 9/11, and is a survivor of the attack. Ward was Chief of External Affairs & Director of Port Development under Neil Levin at the time. As the executive director from 2008 to 2011, he is credited with turning around Ground Zero construction and having the memorial ready for the 10th anniversary. A former attorney for the PANYNJ who worked on 9/11 related issues is now on the federal bench, Angel Kelley.

Fort Lee lane closure scandal

The Fort Lee lane closure scandal was a US political scandal that concerns New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's staff and his Port Authority political appointees conspiring to create a traffic jam in Fort Lee, New Jersey as political retribution, and their attempts to cover up these actions and suppress internal and public disclosures. Dedicated toll lanes for one of the Fort Lee entrances (used by local traffic from Fort Lee and surrounding communities) to the upper level on the George Washington Bridge, which connects to Manhattan, were reduced from three to one from September 9–13, 2013. The toll lane closures caused massive Fort Lee traffic back-ups, which affected public safety due to extensive delays by police and emergency service providers and disrupted schools due to the delayed arrivals of students and teachers. Two Port Authority officials (who were appointed by Christie and would later resign) claimed that reallocating two of the toll lanes from the local Fort Lee entrance to the major highways was due to a traffic study evaluating "traffic safety patterns" at the bridge, but the executive director of the Port Authority was unaware of a traffic study.

As of March 2014, the repercussions and controversy surrounding these actions continue to be under investigation by the Port Authority, federal prosecutors, and a New Jersey legislature committee. The Port Authority's chairman, David Samson, who was appointed by Governor Christie, resigned on March 28, 2014, amid allegations of his involvement in the scandal and other controversies.

Caren Turner scandal

In April 2018, Caren Turner resigned from the Board of Commissioners after an ethics investigation revealed that her attempt to intervene in a traffic stop for her daughter included what the Port Authority described as "profoundly disturbing" conduct. New Jersey police released a videotape of her attempting to leverage her position at the Port Authority to intimidate police officers, following a routine traffic stop of a vehicle in which her adult daughter was a passenger. Her case was referred to New Jersey's Ethics Commission.

Ownership swap of Brooklyn Marine and Howland Hook terminals

In May 2024, the Authority transferred ownership of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal and Red Hook Container Terminal to the City of New York in exchange for ownership of the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island.