The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), civic leaders and business leaders from across the region are requesting $3 billion in direct federal assistance to help offset the agency’s estimated revenue losses over the next 24 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Congress drafts legislation to provide aid to state and local governments, PANYNJ and prominent stakeholders wrote to Congressional leaders, noting that funds must be made available to ensure that the Port Authority can advance its capital plan, which would create more than 100,000 local jobs while driving more than $20 billion in both private and public spending in the next five years--beginning this summer--fueling the region’s economic recovery.
“Our region cannot afford, now, to walk away from these jobs or these billions of dollars of construction spending our capital plan would inject into the region and the country,” said Kevin O’Toole, PANYNJ chairman. “We thank the New York and New Jersey Congressional delegations for their strong support and look forward to working with them to obtain the financial assistance needed to offset our deep revenue losses, preserve our capital plan and create over 100,000 good, local jobs.”
Without direct federal financial assistance, PANYNJ says it will be forced to urgently reconsider its capital plan, including drastic cuts to a variety of critical infrastructure projects across the region from major airport redevelopment to bus terminal replacement and improvements at PATH stations. For a region that represents 15 percent of the national GDP, PANYNJ says cutting projects and eliminating tens of thousands of jobs will have a profound impact on the national recovery.
“Given the massive decline in traveler volumes, Congress must provide the Port Authority with direct financial assistance to offset its massive revenue losses to ensure critically important infrastructure projects can move forward,” said Rick Cotton, PANYNJ Executive Director. “The capital plan creates 100,000 good local jobs and leverages more than $10 billion in private money. It would drive the economic recovery and pulling back now is the exact opposite of what the regional and national economy need.”
Throughout the coronavirus crisis, PANYNJ has kept all its facilities open and operating to get necessary food, fuel and medical supplies into the region and to get essential workers safely to their jobs and back home. But the change inside those facilities is staggering, says PANYNJ. Airport traffic is down 97 percent; PATH commuter rail ridership is down 95 percent; and bridge and tunnel traffic is down 50 percent. This collapse in traveler volume continues to produce enormous revenue declines.
The letter from the PANYNJ and leaders in New York and New Jersey outlined the need to add a “multi-state agencies” category to the list of state and local entities eligible for direct federal financial assistance. PANYNJ does not rely on funding from New York or New Jersey and has no power to tax. It is subject to the discipline of the private market. PANYNJ earns money from the contractually required payments from its business partners, and from the customer user fees that have dried up. Federal aid to PANYNJ should be separate from assistance that New York and New Jersey receive as states and from funding set aside for cities or municipalities, says the authority.
A copy of the chairman and executive director’s letter to the New York and New Jersey congressional delegations and a copy of the letter from the region’s civic and business leaders to members of congressional leadership are available on PANYNJ’s website.
