Rick Cotton, long-time govt director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will step down from his function main the company in January, the port introduced Monday.
Cotton, 81, has lead the Port Authority since 2017, longer than some other director since Austin Tobin left the company’s predecessor — the Port Authority of New York — in 1972 following a 30-year reign.
Throughout his tenure, Cotton oversaw main renovations of Port Authority infrastructure. He led terminal renovations at La Guardia an Newark airports, and set into movement an overhaul of Kennedy Airport and a rebuild of the company’s eponymous midtown bus terminal.
In a press release, Cotton — who labored in media legislation for 20 years earlier than shifting to the general public sector — known as main the Port Authority “the honor of my professional life.”
“Rick took on one of the toughest public-service jobs in America and delivered extraordinary results,” Gov. Hochul mentioned Monday in a press release. “LaGuardia’s transformation alone would define a career, but Rick’s impact spans airports, transit systems, bridges, and tunnels, as well as the renewed culture of a more accountable Port Authority.”
A casual settlement between New York and New Jersey leaves the Empire State to nominate the Port Authority’s govt director, whereas the Backyard State selects the Port Authority’s chairman.
Cotton’s tenure as PANYNJ’s director was characterised by his notably robust working relationship along with his New Jersey counterpart, chairman Kevin O’Toole, a former Republican state lawmaker who was appointed to by then-NJ Gov. Chris Christie in 2017.
In his assertion Monday, Cotton singled out O’Toole for reward.
“I want to especially thank Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole for his enduring partnership and dedication to collaboration and progress,” he mentioned. “We shared a simple conviction — this region deserves world-class infrastructure equal to its people and its promise.”
Outgoing N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, selected to not substitute O’Toole throughout his eight years main the Backyard State. It isn’t clear if incoming Democrat Mikie Sherrill intends to maintain O’Toole in his function.
A Port Authority spokesperson mentioned Cotton’s successor can be introduced “in due course,” and that the outgoing director would work carefully with the subsequent chief to “ensure a smooth transition.”
The Port Authority — which, along with the container port, runs the area’s main airports, the PATH subway system linking New York and New Jersey, the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, the George Washington, Bayonne, Goethals and Outerbridge Crossing bridges and midtown bus terminal — proposed a $45 billion 10-year capital plan earlier this month.
