Politicians Announce Plans & Contest to Revitalize New York Airports

Steve Cohen October 22, 2014

New York Gov. Cuomo appeared alongside the vice president on Monday to announce plans and a contest aimed at revitalizing airports in New York City.

At an appearance on Monday with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled big plans to address lingering issues of efficiency and attractiveness at two of the state’s oft criticized major airports — LaGuardia Airports (LGA) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) — along with plans for expanding two smaller regional airports, as reported by The New York Times.

Biden infamously compared LGA to a “third-world country” in February. Without arguing the point, Cuomo pledged to modernize LGA and JFK, beginning with redesigns that will consider options to link LGA to Manhattan via ferries and a new Long Island Railroad spur. As for JFK, Cuomo says he plans to improve and expand the airport’s access to transit lines. Less major airports, including Republic Airport (FRG) on Long Island and the Hudson Valley’s Stewart International Airport (SWF) will also see further development, but Cuomo was vague on specifics.

“We’ve heard your message and we’re acting on it,” the Cuomo told Biden, referring to the vice president’s criticism of LGA earlier this year.

Cuomo stressed that he plans to move quickly on these ideas, stating that a contest to collect design suggestions for all four airports will begin in 30 days. Three finalists for each airport will be selected after 60 days, and they will each receive up to $500,000 to further develop their ideas.

“This is basically a no-brainer, I really mean it. Investing in infrastructure is all about jobs,” Biden said during Monday’s appearance. “The United States of America ranks 28th in the world among advanced nations in transportation infrastructure; it’s ridiculous.”

“The front door for business and tourism are the airports,” Cuomo said. “Many people never leave the airport. We must modernize our airports if we want to keep our competitive advantage and grow.”

[Photo: Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times]