Port Authority Bus Terminal Overhaul Gets Council OK, Still Needs $1B Federal Loan

The New York City Council unanimously gave the go-ahead for a $10 billion overhaul of the Port Authority Bus Terminal on Nov. 21, a project which will take eight years to complete. The 74-year-old terminal has aged substantially and arguably deteriorated into an eyesore since opening, between 40th & 42nd Sts. on 8th Ave., in 1950. It’s also of the busiest bus terminals in the world, with 200,000 people and 7,200 buses circulating through it on a daily basis.

“We greatly appreciate the hard work and support of the New York City Council in helping to move this critical project forward,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole and Executive Director Rick Cotton said in a statement.

“From the start of this project, we have been committed to working with local elected officials and community leaders – including Councilman [Eric] Bottcher, Congressman Nadler, Senator [Brad] Hoylman-Sigal, Assemblyman [Tony]]Simone, Borough President [Mark] Levine and Community Board 4–to design a new bus terminal that meets the needs of both the local communities and commuters,” they added.

A remaining element of the project currently remains up in the air, though, as $1 billion of that price tag is supposed to come from a federal loan that has yet to be approved. Some officials reportedly fear that incoming President Donald Trump could squelch the loan upon assuming office on Jan. 20. Port Authority Deputy Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs Hersh Parekh attended a Nov. 12 City Council hearing on the project, where he said that “some very hard decisions” will have to be made if it falls through.

Another $6 billion would be derived from revenue that is projected to come from three new commercial towers, which will be built on Port Authority land. This is also a gamble, given that it relies on Manhattan’s commercial office market continuing to recover from a pandemic slump.

As for what the overhaul would actually look like, it involves building a 2.1 million sq. ft. atrium, the entrance to which will permanently close part of E. 41st St. It would also involve a new storage and staging building, as well as two new ramps headed towards the Lincoln Tunnel. The project would be split into two four-year periods, with the storage terminal being built first; it would used as a temporary terminal while the old one is demolished and replaced.

The new terminal would also reportedly feature three-and-a-half acres of fresh green public space, electric bus charging stations, and is expected to create 6,000 union jobs.

City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who is a massive proponent of the overhaul, spoke about why the project was so necessary at the Nov. 12 hearing: “If the happiest place on Earth is Disneyland, arguably one of the least happiest places has got to be the Port Authority Bus Terminal,” he said. It’s a line he’s used before. He also, however, gave due props to the “hardworking” Port Authority employees that make it run.

“Let’s face it, every New Yorker knows that the current bus terminal is gritty, dingy, maze-like, and far from what we deserve in a gateway to the greatest city in the world,” Bottcher said. “Today we stand on the brink of a historic transformation.”