BY JACKSON CHEN | The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s (PANYNJ) board approved its 10-year capital plan of $32.2 billion on Thurs., Feb. 16. The 2017-2026 plan included a $3.5 billion allocation for the tumultuous bus terminal project in Manhattan.
The PANYNJ’s bus terminal (on Eighth Ave., btw. W. 40th & 42nd Sts.) has been in desperate need of a renovation as it’s frequently beyond capacity during peak hours. But the original planning process was reset following community upheaval due to the lack of public input and the threat of eminent domain, the process by which governments can overtake private property for public projects.
The project has since restarted its planning after the overwhelming opposition from residents and elected officials. But as the capital plan was due, the agency earmarked the $3.5 billion for the bus terminal in its capital plan during the initial presentation on Jan. 5, and approved the numbers a month later.
“There’s no question that the region’s transportation needs are growing at a far greater rate than the resources that are available to address them,” the PANYNJ board’s chair John Degnan said in a press release. “For that reason, this board has spent tireless hours coming to a consensus on how our resources will be spent to benefit the region and the customers we serve.”
Degnan said that their plan invests in the most critical components but provides enough flexibility to accommodate for changes in the future. He previously said that the $3.5 billion wasn’t enough to finish the project, but would hopefully kickstart the bus terminal’s completion by the next 10-year capital plan.
That same day, the board also approved the start of the bus terminal’s planning process. With the upvote, the agency was authorized to hire environmental and technical consultants that are necessary for the review processes on the federal, state, and local levels. At the same time, PANYNJ would also be looking for interim solutions to relieve the current burdens. According to the agency, they’d be looking into potential intermediate bus storage facilities that might help stem its passenger overcapacity.
“Meeting the needs of the growing number of the region’s bus commuters is an essential component of the Port Authority’s transportation mission,” Pat Foye, the agency’s executive director, said in a statement. “And this project will be done while fully respecting and minimizing the impacts on Manhattan’s West Side after and considering the input of residents there in a formal environmental process.”
Community Board 4 (CB4) and a group tentatively named the Hell’s Kitchen South Community Coalition have been keeping their eyes on the project’s movement.
Delores Rubin, CB4’s chair, previously told our sister publication Manhattan Express, “We know we will be part of a conversation that will take into account the concerns of our community, as well as the commuters and the other community boards that surround the bus terminal and may be affected by any change.”
