Governor Hochul: “This is part of the story of our comeback, right here, right now, you witnessed this part of history. And just in a very short few years, when we’re starting to experience what a whole new vision for JFK looks like, all of you will have been part of that beautiful story that launches us into an even better future. So thank you.”
Earlier today, Governor Hochul announced a key milestone in the Port Authority’s transformation of John F. Kennedy International Airport with the groundbreaking for a $1.5 billion privately financed expansion and modernization of Terminal 4. Earlier this year, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reached a revised agreement with Delta Air Lines and JFK International Air Terminal (JFKIAT), the operator of Terminal 4, to expand the facility and to consolidate Delta operations there.
A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks are available below:
Hello, everyone! What a wonderful, wonderful day this is. I have to tell you, I feel right at home. As Lieutenant Governor for seven years, there was not a single week that I was not on a Delta flight at least once, sometimes four or five times a week. So thank you for taking such good care of me. It was always a very enjoyable experience.
And so it’s a great pleasure to meet our CEO who, it turns out, spent some time in the town right next door to mine in Western New York, right where the Buffalo Bills play. So I presume he’s a Bills fan. Ed Bastian, I want to thank you for this opportunity, a clear signal of your confidence of better days to come. And I thank you for that.
Rick Cotton. What can I say about this extraordinary leader? A legend in his own time – not in his own mind, in his own time – to let people know that there are great opportunities to be seized upon and how leadership truly does make a difference, and I want to thank him for everything he has done.
Jeff Lynford, the Port Authority Vice-Chairman, always right there, making sure the decisions are smart and are good in a greater regional approach. So thank you, Jeff, as well. I know we also have Angela Gittens here. Angela, where are you? Angela is right there from Schiphol USA. She’s the chair of the JFKIAT, thank you for all your support. We have some of our Assembly members here. My great friend Assemblymember Stacy Pheffer-Amato is right here. Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman is here. And also, I don’t know if Donovan Richards is here. He’s coming any second, he’s going to slide in, but I know he will not miss this.
And I do believe that we may be having a special appearance from Congressman Greg Meeks. If the planes are on time and I can’t, I don’t know how to say, but he’s flying up from some important business in Washington, but he has been an integral part of this process from the very beginning.
So why we are here today. Well, this certainly is JFK week. Just a couple of days ago, we made a major announcement about transforming Terminal One of JFK. But today also ties into that announcement in a very significant way. Because by having a groundbreaking for Terminal Four, what we were able to do is also start the consolidation to free up Terminal Two, part of the other side of the announcement we had earlier this week.
So it’s all the pieces of the puzzle are fitting together in a beautiful way. So this is really why it’s significant to be here. So it’s not only a big day for Delta, a big day for JFK, it’s also a big day for our state. It’s a signal again, as I mentioned confidence, to let the world know that despite some setbacks that are still with us, that we see a clear path, clear runway toward the future. And that means investing in jobs and opportunities right at this moment. So thank you for being part of this historic day.
What we’re proposing is a plan that had been talked about before the pandemic and today we’re signaling all the pre-pandemic plans need to be supercharged and acted upon right now. And what we’ll be doing is breaking ground on expansion of Terminal Four. It is a $1.5 billion project, and my favorite words are all privately funded. So thank you. Thank you to Delta. It’s going to completely transform and modernize this terminal. As I said, I think I’ve worn down part of the carpeting from the countless times I’ve run between the terminals, trying to catch a connection or go back and forth. Those days are soon going to be over. Enhancing the customer experience has always been a hallmark of the Delta philosophy, making sure that the customers have an opportunity to perhaps even enjoy themselves while they’re waiting for a connection or as they’re rushing to the plane. And so we’ll have new restaurants and new amenities and a whole different experience where it’s all brought together, not one or two terminals, but merged into one beautiful one here at Terminal Four.
We’re adding 150,000 new square feet. That’s incredible, that’s incredible. Ten new gates. So world, we are ready to accept travelers from around the country, around the globe, right here at our ten gates for Delta. Also a new bag experience, a new ticketing experience.
Again, we all travel. We have a chance to see what other communities have. I am so proud to be the governor of a state that says that this airport should be the best, not just in the country, but I want this to be a global leading initiative and that’s what we’re doing here today. So I thank them, thank them for their faith in us.
But also not just the investments. I also love the idea that you’re creating over 1,000 construction jobs, good paying union jobs, full private labor agreements, PLAs. Also, thank you for embracing our desire to have a far more diverse workplace, workforce, and we’ll have a 30 percent MWBE requirement that the Port Authority believes in. I thank the Port Authority for setting the bar so high. And I thank Delta for meeting that bar.
We also want to thank the labor leaders, Gary LaBarbera and others, the men and women who will be building this. And those who continued working on projects during the pandemic. This has been a terribly stressful time for so many individuals. Especially in the early months when we had no idea whether just going to your job at a construction site or continuing to try and help keep the airlines alive. The people worked in the wash rooms and the ticket counters and the food places. All those people were at risk every time they left their homes and went to their jobs, but they never ever gave up. And so I honor all those workers, all the airport workers, everyone, part of this whole ecosystem who had to endure tremendous stress, but they always showed up. And for that, we’ll always be grateful.
And the JFK Redevelopment Community Advisory Council headed up by Donovan Richards and Greg Meeks. Thank you for caring enough about your community that you show up for so many meetings and advocate for this community that deserves so much more. And Southeast Queens will have more opportunities than they’ve ever had before in the whole region, Southwest Queens and the Nassau part of it. This is a visionary approach to saying we’re not just building here, we’re expanding out the opportunities to people who live here and have to experience what it’s like to live near an airport. They should be the ones who get the benefit of this as well. And that’s the philosophy that we believe so strongly in.
So I do want to thank Delta and everyone who’s been a tremendous partner. Your investment in this infrastructure is critical to our success. And Delta, I want to also commend you for being such incredible corporate citizens. Your philanthropy in this region, your charitable giving is respected and appreciated. But also standing up for the causes of our time and standing strongly behind the John Lewis Voting Rights Act as a company.
And I applaud that. Here in New York we honor that, we applaud that courage and other positions that you’ve taken that may not always have been popular everywhere else in the country. And if you ever feel you’re not getting the love you need in any other state, we got plenty of room for your headquarters, I’ve said it before. I think I had a tweet on that a few years ago that kind of went viral. I won’t bring that up again, but we love Delta here. You’re part of our family and thank you for believing in us the way we believe in you.
And this is part of the story of our comeback, right here, right now, you witnessed this part of history. And just in a very short few years, when we’re starting to experience what a whole new vision for JFK looks like, all of you will have been part of that beautiful story that launches us into an even better future. So thank you. Thank you. And with that, I’m going to bring up the person who knows how to make magic happen and not only meet our expectations, but exceed them every single time I’ve had the chance to work with him. Our leader, Rick Cotton. Thank you, Rick.