Issues: PANYNJ (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey)

Budget Comes Early, Controls Spending and Holds The Line On Taxes

Senator Patrick M. Gallivan hailed the 2012 state budget today as lawmakers approved the spending plan ahead of the April 1st deadline, marking the second consecutive year New York State will enact an on-time budget.

“Passing a second on-time budget in as many years is indicative of the larger progress we’ve seen lately in Albany. Just as late budgets were once a symbol of dysfunction, on-time budgets are symbolic of continued progress,” the Senator said. “Even more important than passing an on-time budget, is that we passed a fiscally responsible budget that respects New York’s taxpayers and keeps the State moving forward.”

In Testimony, Squadron Lays Out Ideas for Improved Access, Including Off-Site Vehicle Screening and MTA Bus Service Through Site

NEW YORK -- This week, State Senator Daniel Squadron submitted testimony on the draft World Trade Center Campus Security Plan, arguing that it is possible to increase access to and passage through the site while ensuring security. 

"The design and rebuilding of the site after September 11th, 2001, promised a reconnection to the grid. With a booming residential and commercial population in Battery Park City, Greenwich South, Tribeca, and the Financial District, it is as important as ever that the site is woven into the fabric of Lower Manhattan," said Squadron.

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     Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R-Merrick) today announced that the New York State Senate has passed legislation he cosponsors to help make the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey more open, accountable, and transparent to residents.

     “The Port Authority has been heading in the wrong direction for far too long. The disgraceful way it treated residents during last year’s toll increase process is just one of far too many examples of why it needs to change the way it operates. More accountability and transparency are sorely needed and long overdue. That’s exactly what this legislation would bring to the Port Authority,” said Senator Fuschillo, Chairman of the Senate’s Transportation Committee. 

The New York State Senate today passed legislation to ensure the proper functioning of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as an open, transparent and accountable interstate authority. The bill (S.5878) is named the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Transparency and Accountability Act and is sponsored by Senator Andrew Lanza (R-I, Staten Island). The Act is part of a bipartisan, bi-state effort designed to create a new system of accountability at the Port Authority.  “With passage of this legislation in the New York Senate, we are one step closer to bringing urgently needed reforms to the Port Authority requiring more open, transparent and accountable operations,” said Senator Andrew Lanza.

     New York State Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R-Merrick) and New Jersey State Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) today announced plans to hold a joint public hearing on the Port Authority’s finances and lack of accountability.  The hearing will be held jointly by the New York State Senate’s Transportation Committee and the New Jersey General Assembly’s Committee on Transportation, Public Works, and Independent Authorities.

     The hearing, which will be held on Friday, April 20th at 10:30 am at the Center for the Arts at the College of Staten Island, will examine the Authority’s spending practices and financial management, as well as ways to make the Authority more accountable and transparent.

“For more than a decade, Greek-Americans have been without our place of worship in one of the most significant locations in this country. This long-awaited deal reminds the world of New York’s emphasis on religious freedom and the value of reconstruction as we continue to remember all we lost on September 11th. I look forward to celebrating the rebuilding of Saint Nicholas with my fellow Greek-Americans and all New Yorkers. I thank the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Governor Cuomo and the Port Authority for their hard work to bring about today’s agreement.”

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