The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has announced that Rick Cotton, who has served as the executive director of the Port Authority since August 2017, will retire from the agency in January 2026. A successor is expected to be announced in due course and will work closely with Cotton to ensure a smooth transition.
Mr. Cotton’s distinguished 8½ year tenure makes him the longest serving executive director of the Port Authority since the 1940s. Under the leadership of Cotton and Chairman Kevin O’Toole, the agency has delivered an unprecedented wave of renewal and institutional reform, while successfully navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and one of the most difficult operating environments in its history. The Port Authority today is a revitalized, high-performing agency with a clear mandate, a disciplined operating culture, and a transformative, forward-looking capital plan.
Mr. Cotton said, “From the moment Chairman O’Toole and I stepped into these roles in 2017, we shared a simple conviction: this region deserves world-class infrastructure equal to its people and its promise. Working in partnership across two states, political lines, and every corner of this agency, we have made historic progress toward that goal. Together, we transformed our airports from appalling laughingstocks into award-winning, best-in-class gateways, and jumpstarted the Midtown Bus Terminal, which had languished for decades.
“The foundation is now set for future generations to keep building a stronger, more connected region. The opportunity to help transform our facilities and elevate the travel experience for hundreds of millions of people has been deeply satisfying. Since 2017, I have devoted all my energy to this profoundly important work. It has been enormously rewarding — and exhausting. But nothing is forever. With the immense progress that we have made and the completion last week of our proposed new 10-year capital plan — which will fund the agency’s ambitious agenda through 2035 — it is simply time to hand over the reins, and I will do so in January.”
Key highlights of Cotton’s and O’Toole’s tenure include:
- Reimagined the region’s airports with a $50 billion transformation program — the largest in agency history — delivering a new LaGuardia, Newark Liberty’s award-winning Terminal A, and launching the full rebuild of JFK.
o Rebuilt LaGuardia from the ground up, replacing the nation’s most outdated airport with a unified, world-class facility, delivered through an $8 billion public-private partnership (with the airport fully operational throughout construction) and recognized with multiple prestigious awards, including being named best airport in the U.S. by Forbes Travel Guide in 2024 and 2025.
o Opened Newark Liberty’s new Terminal A, a five-star, next generation gateway — which was named Best New Airport Terminal in the World in 2024 by preeminent global airport evaluation firm Skytrax — while breaking ground on the new AirTrain Newark and delivering a funded blueprint to transform the entire airport, including a new Terminal B and rebuilt roadway network.
o Set the new JFK fully in motion, with a $19 billion rebuild including best-in-class, privately financed terminals 1 and 6 under construction, a complete rebuild and simplification of the roadways more than halfway complete, and multi-billion investments in expansion and modernization of existing terminals.
o Refocused the agency around customer experience, driving stellar third-party customer recognition through new beloved local concessions, riveting public art, a distinctly New York and New Jersey sense of place, upgraded facilities for taxi and for-hire vehicle drivers, real-time digital tools, and a consistently higher standard of airport service.
- Moved the long-stalled Midtown Bus Terminal replacement into construction, securing all approvals and beginning work on a $11 billion community-supported project after decades of paralysis.
- Revitalized the World Trade Center campus, opening 3 WTC, the Perelman Performing Arts Center and the St. Nicholas Church and National Shrine, while bringing the site to life through events, activations, and public art.
- Elevated the Port of New York and New Jersey to the nation’s second-busiest, maintaining fluid operations through the COVID supply-chain crisis, and expanding capacity through harbor deepening and intermodal rail enhancements.
- Invested billions of dollars to modernize PATH’s aging infrastructure, including major track replacement, establishment of 9-car train service, 20 percent expansion of the rail car fleet, and rebuilding and renovations of stations.
- Built the largest PAPD force in agency history and strengthened cybersecurity capabilities to meet rising safety and digital security demands across critical regional infrastructure.
- Achieved historic milestones in minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE) participation, including $2.3 billion at LaGuardia and $3 billion at JFK — both New York state records — expanding opportunity for diverse firms at unprecedented scale.
- Advanced sustainability leadership, becoming the first U.S. transportation agency to adopt Paris climate accords in 2018, launch a roadmap to net-zero emissions, expand clean-energy and electrification programs, and introduce pioneering emissions-reduction initiatives across airports, the seaport and rail.
(Photos courtesy of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey)