the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Fort Lee NJ, in a letter Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton told New York and New Jersey congressional representatives that the agency needed nearly $2 billion in aid following sharp revenue declines in March across its various transportation assets. Cotton said vehicle traffic on the bi-state agency’s crossings is down 22% compared to a year ago while ridership on the PATH rail transit has dropped 75%.
Port Authority operations at the three major airports it run have also been greatly impacted by the coronavirus as passenger volume throughout Port Authority’s airport system has also fallen more than half compared to March 2019 average weekday levels with threats of continued declines while the nation confronts COVID-19. The Port Authority operates New York City’s three major airports, Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark-Liberty.
“As a fundamental component of the New York and New Jersey metropolitan region’s transportation network, the Port Authority will require federal assistance to continue fulfilling its mission at the service levels the region depends upon and requires,” Cotton said in his letter. “Additionally, our tenants are requesting fiscal relief from rents and charges as their industries contract under the strain of this pandemic.”
The Port Authority is currently one of the nation’s largest municipal bond issuers and had around $22.1 billion in outstanding bonded debt at the end of 2019. The transportation agency’s bonds are rated Aa3 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA-minus by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.
