Source: Internal Strife At Port Authority Will Cause LaGuardia Airport's $4 Billion Redesign To Come In Over Budget
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Taxpayers in New York and New Jersey will now be asked to shell out more money to help fund upgrades for LaGuardia Airport.
CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported Monday a source said internal strife between New York and New Jersey Port Authority members will cause the airport's $4 billion transformative redesign to come in over budget and won't be fully completed by 2021.
Last July, Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a costly state-of-the-art vision to replace dilapidated terminals at LaGuardia that have been the target of jokes and complaints for decades.
"A famous person once said if I blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York, you would think I must be in some third world country," Cuomo said at the time.
Upgrades began in 2004 after passengers and pilots begged for it to be done.
Nearly $1 billion was already spent before the governor's vision is launched as $650 has gone to electrical, roadway and parking infrastructure; $225 million toward Port Authority staff and overhead; $260 million for third party consultants and third party agreements; and $182 million for airport wide reserves and emergency funds.
Some passengers are concerned that mismanagement over upgrades will force them to foot the bill for an extra $1 billion.
"In my 56 years of life, and I've been working 40 of those, my tax dollars have never been spent the way I thought they should," Felicia Anderson of Queens told CBS2.
Daniel Grissom of Brooklyn said, "I generally don't expect tax dollars to be spent with large projects like this. The money is often squandered."
Patrick Foye of the Port Authority told CBS2 that if it does go over budget, private investors will have to pay, and not the Port Authority.
The $4.2 billion resolution to move forward on the airport renovations – now with past overruns included – is set for a vote on Thursday among Port Authority commissioners.
The Port Authority also has other urgent capital needs, including a new Manhattan bus terminal and the Hudson River tunnel projects.
