Southeast Queens residents will be chanting “Lets Go Mets” as construction ramps up on the $19 billion JFK transformation project and it will have nothing to do with baseball. The Port Authority on June 1 announced that a Long Island company, the Melville-based Modern Efficient Transport and Supply LLC (METS), has been selected to build and operate an on-airport construction support facility to reduce the impact on neighboring communities over the next several years.
“Not only are we transforming JFK International into the kind of world-class global gateway that our region deserves, but we are doing it in a way that will create the least disruption to communities near the airport,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said. “Innovative strategies like the construction support facility at JFK Airport will eliminate thousands of truck trips from local streets every year, honoring our commitment to build a great airport that will benefit the community and the region.”
The METS facility will feature a concrete batch plant, material crushing and marine barging transport facility. The concrete batch plant will utilize Port Authority-approved 100% local suppliers from the communities immediately surrounding JFK. It will supply all the concrete to support construction, including for the two largest terminals and all the roads, parking garages and other infrastructure at JFK.
Additionally, METS has committed 100% of its trucking to Port Authority-certified MBE firms and has committed to local hiring and workforce development opportunities throughout the life of the contract. As an example, METS intends to hold a workforce development outreach fair to engage local workforce talent.
“This new construction support facility at JFK Airport helps us meet two key goals at the Port Authority by reducing the adverse impact from this transformational $19 billion construction project on the neighboring community and by advancing the Port Authority’s sustainability agenda at JFK,” Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said. “We are building a new and ever-more sustainable airport and we are doing it in a sustainable way.”
The marine transport facility will use water access to JFK at Bergen Basin at the western end of the airport property. Barges will carry bulk materials such as sand, aggregate, steel and other building materials to the airport and remove non-hazardous debris and soil from the construction sites on and near the airport, with the capacity to responsibly recycle up to 75 percent of certain categories of construction debris.
“Authorizing a construction support facility at the JFK airport is a pragmatic approach to limiting the disruption the local community may experience,” Congressman Gregory Meeks said. “Additionally, this effort provides economic growth by providing job opportunities for New Yorkers. This is a prime example of why JFK is leading as the premier global gateway to the world.”
The massive $19 billion project will replace six old terminals with four much larger state-of-the-art terminals and overhaul the airport’s road network over the next four to five years.
“As critical as Kennedy Airport is to our city, state and region, we cannot lose sight of the fact that JFK calls Queens home. To that end, ensuring the airport is not only a good neighbor to the surrounding communities but also continues to draw from our neighborhoods in terms of local hiring and contracting opportunities will always be a top priority of my office,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said. “By building a construction support facility on airport grounds using 100% local suppliers, we are not only getting countless trucks off our community streets and reducing vehicle pollution, we are doing so while connecting area small businesses to the biggest economic engine in our borough. Thank you to the Port Authority for your continued commitment to Queens, its economy and its families.”
