City Airport Takeover Hassle Heating Up

The far-reaching final decision will directly affect more than 46,000 employees working at the two giant airports, and additional thousands in adjacent service industries operating in Queens. Their combined efforts help generate an annual $21.1 billion into New York City’s economy as well as needed tax funding into the Citys treasury.
Initial mayoral efforts by Giuliani have centered around the establishment of a municipal Airport Improvement Corpo-ration to operate the two facilities after their current 60-year leases expire in 2015.
The new agency would consolidate airport oversight with elements from seven current municipal departments: The Economic Development Corp., City Planning, Office of Management and Budget, Law Dept., Mayors Office of Transportation, Dept. of Business Services, and the Industrial Development Authority.
The mayors press office has also confirmed that he has already signed a letter of agreement with the British Airport Authority (BAA), to operate the JFK and LaGuardia airports. The BAA is a giant international airport managing firm that services 200 million customers annually in 15 airports throughout the world.
The BAA owns and operates the highly-rated Heathrow, Gatwick, Stanstet, Glasgow, Edingburgh, Aberdeen, and Southampton airports in the United Kingdom. It also manages all or part of eight airports in Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Harrisburg and Logan (Boston), as well as Melbourne and Launceton (Australia), Naples (Italy), and Mauritius.
Giulianis seven-year relationship with the Port Authority has been highly contentious. It came to a quick boil around the middle of his first year in office, when he publicly charged that the Port Authority was short-changing New York City by not providing adequate fiscal returns to its treasury.
He also pointed to a 1992 City Council study which declared that the city could raise an additional $1.2 billion by selling the property outright.
In the ensuring years, the mayor has also taken pains to continually harpoon the Port Authority with claims of fiscal favorites in behalf of New Jersey:
The PAs 2001 capital plan has budgeted Newark Airport for $314 million, while both JFK and LaGuardia projects were allocated $165 million. Jersey commuters are receiving a major share of PA benefits via PATH train fare and PA bus terminal supports, while city commuters receive nothing.
City taxpayers are receiving diminishing returns from the PA, while their airports are contributing an estimated 70 percent share of airport income.
The ensuring scramble for funds has paid healthy dividends for Newark Airport, according to "neutral" studies, a passenger analysis by the Airports Council International (ACI) revealed that Newarks passenger volume have soared 46 percent between 1991 and 1999, while JFK and LaGuardias passenger volumes grew at a more sedate 16 percent.
During the same period Newarks cargo tonnage grew 126 percent while JFKs grew just 37 percent, according to the same report.
A key to Queens concern, is the ACIs report that its two airports suffered a five percent job drop (48,355 vs. 45,982) between 1988 and 1999.
Stressing the Port Authoritys desire to cooperate with New York City, its Director of Aviation William DeCota, says that back in 1994 his agency had recognized that its annual lease payments to New York City were no longer adequate compensation.
For the past seven years, he said, the City has unilaterally rejected the PAs offer to renegotiate this agreement, and has lost significant revenue in the process. If the city had accepted the Authoritys initial offer in 1995, he pointed out, it would have easily doubled the annual payments it received during the five year 1995-1999 period.
Pointing to current and future high-tech airport projects, DeCota declared:
"There is currently underway a $14 billion plan to modernize and rebuild John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports from the ground up, inside and out, and from top to bottom. Dazzling new terminals are being built and existing terminals are being modernized, and cargo facilities are being redeveloped at a rapid pace."
"We are also reconfiguring, extending or reconstructing miles of roadway leading to and from the airports. Whats more, we are building a new light rail system to provide fast, easy transfer at Kennedy Airport, between all terminals, and a link to regional mas transfer systems."
Adding to the rising clamor, is Public Advocate Mark Greens overriding support of Giulianis anti-PA charges and proposals. Although the two are bitter political foes, Greens three-year (1995-1997) analysis of the Port Authoritys fiscal operations, entitled "Follow The Money: Part 2," has the two enemies walking in lock step agreement.
Echoing Giuliani, Green, a candidate to succeed Giuliani as mayor, charged the following:
 Queens airports produced most of the Port Authoritys revenue (59 percent vs. 39 percent).
 New Jersey projects produced most of the losses. The heavily subsidized PATH system lost $539 million, the Midtown Bus Terminal lost $171 million, and the Journal Square Transportation Center lost $31.2 million.
PATH riders have been enjoying one of the cheapest rides in the region," declared Green, "but New Yorkers have been taken for a ride."
While he still hasnt called for City operation of the airports, Green has indicated that he supports proposals to prohibit the PA form using city airport profits to subsidize its annual $741.2 million PATH and bus terminal operations a budget that New Jersey can now ill afford.
Similarly, Democratic mayoral candidate Comptroller Alan Hevesi declared that, "the Port Authority has shortchanged the city of revenue to which we are entitled." He cited the need for the Port authority to "reform its administration of the airports and fully reimburse the city."
City Council Majority Leader Peter Vallone has already called for an open competitive bidding process to choose the airports operator  with the Port Authority also allowed to bid.
Bronx BP Fernando Ferrer would establish a committee to explore all operation in order to negotiate a new fiscal agreement.
While outwardly calm, the Port Authoritys palms may be sweating. Fiscal analysts have already observed that, as 2015 draws closer, the threat of the Port Authority losing the leases of its two Queens moneymakers could pose serious difficulties for maintaining the value of its bonds, which rely heavily on their projected JFK and LaGuardia airport revenues.