State operations head Kathryn Garcia tapped as next Port Authority director

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday evening nominated Kathryn Garcia, her state operations head, as the next executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Gracia has served in the Hochul administration for the past four years, with the governor appointing her to the post shortly after she came second in the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary to outgoing Mayor Eric Adams. Prior to that, she was the city’s sanitation commissioner under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Gracia, 55, will replace current Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton, who announced last month that he will retire in January.

Hochul, who runs the Port Authority in partnership with the New Jersey governor, lauded Garcia’s tenure as state operations manager. She credited Garcia with shepherding big-ticket projects like the Gateway Tunnel and the Interborough Express — both of which are in progress.

“Kathryn helped us launch and advance generational infrastructure projects and rebuild our economy following the pandemic with an eye toward the future,” Hochul said in a statement. “I am thankful she will continue serving the people of New York as Executive Director of the Port Authority, where she will help us continue to advance a regional economy that keeps us the global leader in job creation and growth.”

The governor tapped Jackie Bray, her commissioner for the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Operations, to replace Garcia as state operations director.

“I look forward to continuing to serve Governor Hochul and New Yorkers as Executive Director of the Port Authority,” Garcia said in a statement.

Cotton praised Garcia as a “superb choice” to fill his shoes at the Port Authority.

“I have worked closely with Kathryn for many years,” Cotton said. “She has deep knowledge of city and state government, combined with extraordinary insight and judgment, and a collaborative spirit. I could not imagine a government executive better suited to advance the Port Authority’s standards of world-class infrastructure and get things done.”

Garcia will step in as the Port Authority undertakes a massive $10 billion overhaul of its Midtown bus terminal — commonly known as the Port Authority Bus Terminal. She will also oversee the agency’s continued $19 billion reconstruction of John F. Kennedy Airport’s Terminals 1 through 6.

Those projects are part of the agency’s recently approved 2026-2035 Capital Plan, which Garcia will also oversee.