Schumer calls for Port Authority revamp

Sen. Charles Schumer Monday outlined a seven-point plan to revamp the scandal-plagued Port Authority, saying for far too long governors in New York and New Jersey have used revenue from the agency to finance pet projects and to cover budget shortfalls.

The New York Democratic lawmaker said Congress should step in and amend the original 1921 compact that created the bistate agency that operates and maintains bridges, tunnels, airports and terminals. The authority also owns the World Trade Center.

"Increasingly, the Port Authority has been resorting to the Tammany Hall-style behavior it was created to rise above -- patronage, opacity and political expediency," Schumer said in a speech to business leaders in midtown Manhattan. "More frequently now than ever, the Port Authority has come to be seen as the proverbial honey pot, a cookie jar, a rainy-day fund -- whatever metaphor you prefer -- for state projects outside the Port's core mission."

The so-called Bridgegate scandal, which involved the lane closures leading to the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey last year, has brought public scrutiny to the authority and shone a light on its structural flaws, Schumer said. He is urging New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to seize this opportunity and join him in bringing about permanent changes to the agency.

"Bridgegate . . . was a symptom, not a cause, of the authority's dysfunction," Schumer said.

Under the current structure, the governors of New York and New Jersey each appoint six members to sit on the board of commissioners. The executive director is appointed by the governor of New York and the deputy director by the governor of New Jersey, shared leadership roles that Schumer said resulted in state "tribalism."

Schumer proposes that the executive director be selected by the 12-member board of commissioners. The executive director then chooses the deputy director. He urged the authority to develop a long-term capital plan and open up its budgeting process by allowing members of the public to offer their comment.

The senator also called on the authority to stop spending money on projects that do not fit the agency's long-term transportation needs. He pointed to the renovation of the Pulaski Skyway, which is not owned or operated by the Port Authority, as one such example. That project, costing nearly a billion dollars, should have been financed with money from New Jersey's transportation department and not with money from the authority, Schumer said. This was after Christie killed a passenger rail tunnel under the Hudson.

Cuomo and Patrick Foye, the authority's executive director, did not return calls.

"Gov. Christie intends to further explore the recommendations for reform at the Port Authority with Gov. Cuomo," said Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts.