The spat between the Port Authority chair and a group of New York lawmakers over plans to build a new $10 billion bus terminal is going into a new round.
New York Congressman Jerry Nadler, along with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, state Senator Brad Hoylman, state Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal and council member Corey Johnson, published a letter asking that Port Authority chair John Degnan be removed from the decision making over the project.
“We have seen what happens when politics drives the Port Authority’s decisions and will not let a single individual’s political needs drive important regional decision making,” the lawmakers wrote. They accuse Degnan — a Chris Christie appointee — of failing to negotiate “in good faith” and ignoring the wishes of New York politicians. The New York politicians are concerned the bi-state agency may attempt eminent domain to build a new $10 billion facility on Manhattan’s Far West Side.
“Your characterizations of my actions are completely unfounded and I am truly disappointed in your abrupt change in our recently agreed decision to move forward collaboratively,” Degnan wrote in a reply Tuesday night.
The two sides appeared to be on good terms as late as October, when they agreed to name appointees to a working group and issue a joint statement on the terminal’s future. It isn’t clear what changed since then, Politico reports.
The Aging Bus Terminal On West 42nd Street processes 220,000 daily rides. [Politico] — Konrad Putzier