Completion of New Passenger Facilities Marks Major Milestone in Terminal B's $4 Billion Transformation
All Terminal B Passengers Will Now Experience "A Whole New LaGuardia" with New Gates, Expansive Concourses, and World-Class Amenities
With Opening of Second Skybridge and Concourse, LaGuardia Becomes First Airport in the World with Dual Pedestrian Skybridges
Terminal B Internationally Recognized by UNESCO as Best New Airport in the World
Photos of the Completed Terminal Available Here
Governor Hochul: "This is a beautiful visual reminder that New Yorkers are ingenious. They'll never be kept down and we believe that the future lies very brightly with the sun shining and honesty just right ahead. And we are going to get there together."
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Executive Director Rick Cotton, and LaGuardia Gateway Partners CEO Frank Scremin celebrated the completion of new facilities at LaGuardia Airport's Terminal B, marking a major milestone in the terminal's $4 billion transformation. The completion and the opening of LaGuardia Terminal B's western skybridge, and the opening in December of Terminal B's second concourse, means that every arriving and departing passenger at Terminal B will experience newly built, 21st century architecture and facilities from gate to curb. All of the terminal's temporary walkways will now be taken out of service by Saturday, Jan. 29. With the completion of the second pedestrian bridge, which will span an active aircraft taxiway, Terminal B also becomes the world's first airport with dual pedestrian skybridges.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the event is available here.
PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning, please be seated. What a spectacularly beautiful day. As I was coming over there I said, you know, one of the privileges of being governor is you get to pick your own walk out music. I said, I want music that's got sunshine in it because this is a day where the sun is shining in New York City. What a statement this place makes because it's long overdue, my friends, long overdue.
I want to acknowledge some of the people who are part of the incredible team that have made this happen. I want to start with Rick Cotton who is the magic maker. Every vision that I have he has been executing and before my time he has been there behind the most significant projects, Executive Director of the Port Authority. Kevin O'Toole who's right there as our chairperson. We had a great talk not only about airports, but also about some football game that just happened. I don't really want to talk about that, Kevin, that's not how you're going to win my support over. But there's always next year, always next year.
Also, our partners. Frank Scremin, the CEO of LaGuardia Gateway Partners. You've been with us since the very beginning. I want to thank Frank. And, of course, the people who are building our future literally day by day and that is Gary LaBarbera, a commissioner but also the President of the New York City Building Trades. And Kathy Wylde who makes sure that the business community is up to speed, engaged, and making things happen, the President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, I want to thank her as well.
But then I have amazing elected leaders at my side. That's how we get all of these projects done. I want to thank someone we are working very closely with in the trenches together to protect New Yorkers and make sure that we execute and incredible vision for this entire community. I want to thank our great mayor, Eric Adams, for joining us here today.
And New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. I love saying that, Madame Speaker. Great to have you here and your representation of the borough has been incredible. And speaking of leaders of boroughs, I really love this guy, we've had a lot of time at diners and at churches and a lot of places together, our amazing borough president, Donovan Richards, Queens Borough President.
So, before I get started, I have to give you a little storm update. Despite what you see right now, I am from a place far, far away called Buffalo. I know a little bit about handling snow, so I've been getting my boots ready, my shovel, and I am ready for whatever comes our way. We are preparing, literally preparing right now, I want to thank Kathryn Garcia, my head of State Operations, who knows how to do this and also Jackie Bray who's my Commissioner of Emergency Services who are literally engaging with places like Suffolk County who are forecasting some snow. But also, it could be hitting here in New York City which can either be fun for everybody or it can be a little challenging. I'm going to opt on the side of let's embrace the snow. We are a northeastern state, we love it. And if we get one to two inches per hour on Saturday, possibly three inches an hour, that's kind of a lot, but we can handle it. We're getting ready. I just wanted everyone to know that we are taking preparations right now as we speak despite this beautiful weather.
So, it was just a short time ago I had a beautiful celebration like this at JFK. We talked about projects that have been completed but also leaning hard into new infrastructure opportunities like terminal one. So, in addition to individuals who make this happen, they know how to do more than walking and chew gum, they do the other airport in tandem at the same time, because we are all very impatient here. I don't believe in sequencing projects that need to be done. They need to be done at the same time. And I'm so proud of what we've done, transforming JFK into one of the greatest airports in the world. And also, just saying what about LaGuardia? And I do want to thank someone who helped put a little spotlight on this back in 2014, I believe it was around February 5th or 6th. I wish I had a blindfold, but I'm going to let this serve its purpose, we are going to invite President Biden here. And when he takes off the blindfold and sees this, he'll know that we listened, we engaged, and we made sure that, yes, this is the best place in the world. And those are not just my words. Let's go to an independent source who judges airports around the globe, UNESCO, just awarded this airport, the 2021 pre-Versailles global architecture and design award for the new best airport in the world.
We have literally gone from worst to best and I love it. So, we are so excited to be here today. And I love airports. I know every inch of the airports, having been Lieutenant Governor, I traveled 370,000 miles, much of it by cars, some of it by plane, literally every week this was my commute. And so, I got to know the hardworking individuals who work at the gates and greet you. The baggage handlers, the staff, the restaurant workers, the airline workers. Everybody who's part of this ecosystem. I want to give them a shout out because in the darkest days of the pandemic, when everybody was scared and stayed home, these workers showed up day after day. And I want to give them a round of applause for what they did.
And yes, this is just a statement of who we are. We know we're the best. We know we're the best, but sometimes you need the places to speak that loudly as well. And this place shouts it from the mountaintops. And that is why I'm so proud as we talk about a new vision, a new era for New York. And I announced this literally just a week ago in my budget, and two weeks before that in my State of the State - we have to imagine a greater, better New York than ever before. That's how we lift not just our spirits, but lift ourselves out of this dark time known as the pandemic. And we are almost there my friends.
I watch the numbers morning, noon and night. We're getting to a much better place, and there will come a time when these are just mementos you show your grandkids and tell them about it. But until then, we're going to keep doing what has kept us safe and smart. And I want to thank all New Yorkers for doing that, but I want them to know that the horizon is right out there, and I can see it clearly. So we have to keep building, we have to keep the jobs coming. We have to keep giving people hope that we have not been knocked back, that we're jumping forward into the future with a great vision.
And so part of this, transforming our airports, a place where yes, it's important for people to see from around the world when they come here for that magnificent vacation that starts right here in New York City, that's great. But it's also about creating a sense of pride for the people who live here, the people who work here. And that's why this was so important to us. To make sure that this project took care of the neighboring community as well. And this is where partners with our local elected officials made this happen.
And that was not the way it was done in the past. In the past, people just came in and build, and they used highways that divided neighborhoods and we're fixing that in the Bronx and Buffalo and Syracuse. We're making up for a lot of mistakes of the past, and also reminding everyone that there are communities that are affected by these projects, and they deserve a seat at the table.
I want to thank all of our partners and nonprofits who helped make this happen as well. And that's why we have over $2 billion dollars. $2 billion that went to MWB's from this project, more than $800 million dollars in contracts to Queens residents and businesses. And over the 600 jobs created, 400 of them have gone to Queens residents. That's what progress looks like. That's when a community feels, yes, we are no longer ignored, we're part of the process. That's how you rethink major projects like these, you involve the communities. And so I am so proud of what these individuals have done. How proud of what we're about to announce today and today, in case you didn't get the memo we're here to celebrate the opening, the construction is completed on Terminal B. Let's give that a round of applause. This is Terminal B.
This is a $4 billion transformation, $4 billion. And that is going to bring people here. They're going to walk through here and say, yes, this place matters, but it's also about connecting people easier. And I know a lot about this having spent a lot of time running to catch my plane late at night, and making it easier to have beautiful amenities and state of the art facilities and restaurants. And just so that you feel that this place is so significant.
1.35 million square feet. That's a lot of square feet. That's a lot of square feet, but every bit of it has been planned and designed in a very thoughtful way. And that's what you're seeing today here as well. 35 gates, 3,000 car parking garage, new sheltered, sheltered, and the snow's coming, you want sheltered pickup for taxis, and incredible stunning art. I'm so looking forward to seeing the art and the modern amenities,
We're also announcing the completion of LaGuardia Terminal B's western skybridge. Let's get that skybridge opened up. That was the final piece of the puzzle. It allows us now to say that we are done and that'll connect the arrivals and departures all directly to the Western Concourse gates.
So you no longer have to walk through the old central terminal building to get to your gates, which is making connections that make sense. So everything was built in an incredible way. All these improvements have been done in a way that we were so proud of.
And so what's next. Onward to Terminal C and that's where I spent most of my time they had a direct flight to Buffalo. I flew in at six o'clock in the morning. I flew out 11 o'clock many nights. And so that was my commute. And so Terminal C is going to be magnificent. We're looking forward to doing that. What time? Rick? The spring. Spring. Okay. Spring is March 21st. Okay. Do you want to say closer to summer? Okay. But you know how impatient I am/ Okay. All right. Spring-ish, so my team knows I love to promote projects, but I also promote deadlines. And I'm very much holding everyone accountable because you already know this, I love to get things done early, on budget. My favorite words on time, on budget. And that's what we've accomplished here as well.
So to all of you, onward and upward to many more transformative projects for the people who live here, places like Penn Station, we're going to be so proud of that. Just as we're proud of this, we're going to finish up JFK.
We have a lot of connections to make, the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access. I mean it goes on and on and on. So I'll be gathering many more times. I have my scissors sharpened for ribbons all over the city and the state. And I'm very excited and I'm just so energized by what we've accomplished here.
This is a beautiful visual reminder that New Yorkers are ingenious. They'll never be kept down and we believe that the future lies very brightly with the sun shining and honesty just right ahead. And we are going to get there together. So thank you everyone. And with that, I'd like to bring up our mayor to say a few words and thank him for his leadership, his engagement. Mayor Adams.
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