A group of New York City politicians penned a scathing critique of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s controversial plans to replace its bus terminal on West 42nd Street, demanding that the agency overhaul its process.
In an op-ed in the New York Daily News, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Senator Brad Hoylman, State Assembly members Richard Gottfried and Linda Rosenthal and City Council member Corey Johnson accused the Port Authority of not giving local residents a say in the plans for a $10 billion new bus terminal.
“What the Port Authority has done to date is anything but considerate of taxpayers, commuters or its neighbors,” they wrote.
The politicians also criticized the agency’s decision to rule out building a new bus terminal in New Jersey, arguing that “no alternatives should be off the table.”
The agency began planning for a new terminal in 2013, launched a design competition and picked five proposals. The winner is set to be announced in September. In their op-ed, the politicians demand that the Port Authority “terminate” the design competition and go back to studying possible alternatives. [NYDN] – Konrad Putzier