During the holiday season, we’re bombarded by familiar tunes – some are ubiquitous, but some, regardless of how often played, make us stop and smile. Bruce Springsteen’s cover of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” is a case in point of the latter.
The Boss captures the joy of the season in his distinctive and Jersey way. His version was recorded on December 12, 1975, nearly 50 years ago. Time has a way of flying faster with each passing year.
The holiday season is also a reminder that the year we are in – 2023 for us today – will soon be replaced with 2024. I do not see this year as ending as much as a new year soon beginning. I often say at the Port Authority, where I have been honored to serve as Chairman for now more than six years, “The best is yest to come.” I believe that to my core.
The best is always ahead regardless of what we accomplish because we can – and we will – push forward with the same vitality of that Bruce Springsteen cover made 48 years ago.
Part of the reason I am so excited about what is ahead is because I am so in awe of what was just accomplished by the Port Authority. I look back at 2023 and see remarkable achievements, the kind of achievements that could mark a lifetime of service achieved by the 8,000-person workforce of the Port Authority in a single year.
In just this past year, the Port Authority,
At Airports:
- Fully opened the breathtaking, 1 million-square-foot, new Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport; opened Newark Liberty’s new public parking/car rental facility (with a 5-megawatt (MW) solar rooftop array, the largest of its kind at any U.S. airport); and advanced the plan to replace the outdated AirTrain Newark.
- Received an extraordinary recognition in December for the new Terminal A when it was awarded the Prix Versailles 2023 Award for Exterior (Airports category). The criteria used by the World Judges Panel included innovativeness, creativity, the reflection of local heritage, and ecological efficiency.
- Opened new gates at Delta’s Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport and opened the LaGuardia Business & Conference Center.
- Continued to advance the historic $19 billion JFK Vision Plan.
- Set records at Agency airports throughout the entire year, with year-to-date, passenger volumes 3 percent above 2019 record volumes.
On Land:
- Continued progress on the $2 billion “Restore the George” program at the George Washington Bridge. The replacement of the 592 suspender ropes is now approximately 70 percent complete, and in another major milestone, the Port Authority opened the North Walk, the improved, expanded, and accessible pedestrian and cycling shared-use path on the north side of the GWB.
- Marked a major milestone in the realization of the full vision of the World Trade Center campus with the September opening to widespread critical acclaim of the Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC).
- Continued to advance the design, engineering, and environmental permitting process for the new Midtown Bus Terminal following the selection in 2022 of the world-renowned architectural firm Foster + Partners and the design firm A. Epstein and Sons International Inc., to provide architectural design services throughout the design phase and the environmental review of the proposed project.
On Rail:
- Initiated at PATH 9-car train-service during peak periods on the Newark-World Trade Center PATH line, an achievement only made possible by four successful station reconstructions, extensive reprogramming of PATH’s ATC signal system, and the first delivery of 72 new train railcars.
- Responded to customer demand by launching a new tap-and-go fare payment system with the pilot testing of a select number of TAPP turnstiles at the Journal Square and 33rdStreet PATH stations that allows customers to use any contactless credit/debit card or the digital wallets in their own devices at PATH turnstiles.
- Received Board of Commissioners’ approval of a $230 million “state of good repair” PATH program to improve reliability across the railroad with railcar and track rehabilitations.
At Seaports:
- Exceeded on average pre-COVID, 2019 volumes of cargo handled at the seaport, maintaining the position as the second-busiest seaport in the country for loaded cargo containers. Despite high cargo volumes, the Port of New York and New Jersey avoided congestion seen at other U.S. ports.
- Broke ground on the $220 million Port Street Corridor Improvement Project to redesign and rebuild Port Newark’s northern entrance at Port and Corbin streets. The redesign will improve the safety and efficiency for drivers entering and exiting the complex, as well as reduce average annual fuel consumption by approximately 70,000 gallons and result in the avoidance of approximately 750 tons of carbon emissions per year.
- Approved amended leases to allow CMA CGM (the world’s third-largest carrier) to assume operations at Global Container Terminals Inc.’s (GCT’s) container terminals at the Port Jersey-Port Authority Marine Terminal in Bayonne and at the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island. The updated leases include increases in rent based on container throughput, substantial facility investments to increase container capacity, and key initiatives related to sustainability and diversity, equity & inclusion goals.
Additionally, the Port Authority achieved a high level of security and safety at all its facilities allotting its highest level of resources in its history to security, including the expanded use of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) at key crossings, the full deployment of body worn cameras across the PAPD, and the dramatically upgraded SIDA badging process.
The Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) – the finest of the finest – graduated 280 new PAPD officers over two 2023 graduating classes – the two most diverse classes in the department’s history – including the highest number of female recruits.
Sustainability remained a high priority at the Port Authority in 2023. The Agency took a huge leap forward to achieving its goal of net zero emissions by 2050 by developing and releasing the Port Authority Roadmap to Net Zero, a comprehensive, year-in-the-making, 80-page analysis detailing the pathway and outlining immediate steps for the Agency to achieve both its near-term emission reduction goals and its 2050 goal.
In its efforts to support local women and minority-owned businesses, the Port Authority achieved 35 percent of M/WBE spending across all categories for contracts awarded through the third financial quarter of 2023.
And something I am very proud to note: The Port Authority increased opportunities for individuals with a history in the criminal justice system, with the expansion of its Second Chance Hiring Initiatives.
These remarkable achievements are just a snapshot of what was achieved in 2023.
When I came to the Port Authority, it was not a bright time for the Agency. I look back these past six-plus years, and I see transformative change within the Port Authority. My partner, Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton, is a driving force for that change. He is without question the most dedicated, ethical, and focused leader of a public agency I have ever known. He sets the bar for leadership and integrity in public service.
But it is not just Rick that has brought transformative change: It is 1) the comity among the 12 Commissioners of the Port Authority, who work not as New Yorkers or New Jerseyans, but as united commissioners of a bi-state agency charged with moving the region, 2) the leadership of the 23 unions that represent the majority of the Agency’s workforce, and (3) the dedication of the Port Authority’s 8,000-person workforce, individuals who become a formidable force that has, is, and will achieve things beyond imagination.
And that brings me back to the future (without the help of a DeLorean!). The best is yet to come. I began this column with a reference to The Boss. In his cover of the famous holiday song, he ad libs with his band and asks, “Everyone out there been good or what?” and then adds after a pause, “Aw, that’s not many, not many – you guys are in trouble out here.”
That is not the case at the Port Authority. This past year, the 102-year-old bi-state agency has been delivering real change across the region – in New York and New Jersey. New airports. Improvements at PATH and the seaports. Full accessibility on the North Walk of the GWB. And the milestones will continue from 2023 into 2024.
In 2023, the Port Authority has been good. As for 2024? You better watch out.
The best is yet to come.
Kevin J. O’Toole is the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a former New Jersey state senator.