Just when it seemed like things were progressing smoothly with the Port Authority Bus Terminal overhaul project, heated words exchanged between elected officials and the Port Authority chairman have threatened to jeopardize the project yet again, Politico reports.
A host of New York elected officials led by Congressman Jerry Nadler sent a sternly worded letter to the PA chairman, John Degnan, asking that he step away from any involvement in the bus terminal redesign project. That letter has also been signed by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and City Councilman Corey Johnson, among other elected officials in the city.
Degnan was appointed by New Jersey Governor and Donald Trump cabinet hopeful Chris Christie, and New York officials are concerned that politics will come into play in regards to the bus terminal project and the redesign will ultimately be short changed.
Degnan immediately fired back saying he was surprised and disappointed and that there was no proof for such claims.
This latest drama in the bus terminal saga comes as somewhat of a surprise following the agreement between elected officials and the Port Authority in September. That was preceded by months of fighting between both sides with New York officials saying they hadn’t been involved in the redesign project and that the public didn’t have much say, and the Port Authority challenging those officials to come up with their own solutions.
They seemed to set their differences aside early in September and later that month the PA unveiled the finalists for the bus terminal redesign competition, but announced at the same time that they were willing to move forward with something entirely different if there wasn’t a consensus on those designs. It’s not exactly clear what transpired between then and now for the differences to arise again.
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