The long-mooted plans to redevelop New York area airports is moving a step closer to reality.
In an initiative announced by New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Vice President Joe Biden, improved transportation links and more efficient air-traffic control will underpin the overhaul at New York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports.
"The front doors for business and tourism are the airports," Cuomo said.
At LaGuardia, once dubbed by Biden as ‘fit for a third world country,’ a redesign could include a new layout and a high-speed ferry and rail service.
"From LaGuardia to Manhattan by water can only be a couple of miles, how can you not use that access route better and faster?" Cuomo said.
Citing a workforce of 50,000 at LaGuardia and JFK, Biden said: "Investing in infrastructure is all about jobs."
No specifics were given on timeline or project costs, but the initiative proposes using suburban Stewart International Airport as a regional cargo distribution hub to free up space at JFK.
Cuomo said master-plan designs will be selected from proposals when a competition starts next month.
The airports are run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and handled 77 million passengers last year, generating $53 billion in economic activity.
