PORT AUTHORITY MARKS 100 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY REGION

PORT AUTHORITY MARKS 100 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY REGION

Date: Apr 30, 2021
Press Release Number: 42-2021

Centennial Time Capsule Placed at World Trade Center Campus Will Remain Sealed Until 2121

Agency Anniversary Spotlights Enduring Contributions to Regional Economic Growth and Vitality

Preview of the New-York Historical Society Pop-Up Exhibit: 100 Years of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey today marked its centennial with a dedication ceremony and the launch of a historical exhibit that demonstrates the agency's unique and enduring impact on the growth of the region and reaffirms its commitment to delivering world-class, 21st century infrastructure.

The agency dedicated a centennial plaque and time capsule during a morning ceremony at the World Trade Center campus marking 100 years of service in the region. The time capsule contained a range of items from the past century - tokens, a toll business pass, remnants of steel from the Twin Towers, pieces of the George Washington Bridge's old suspension cables, letters, badges, and other commemorative items.

Created by an act of Congress, the Port Authority came into being on April 30, 1921, when an interstate compact between New York and New Jersey was signed in the Great Hall of the New York State Chamber of Commerce Building on Liberty Street.

Robert Alwell, assistant manager of payroll accounting in the agency's comptroller's office committed the time capsule into stone, where it will remain sealed for the next 100 years. Alwell, who joined the agency in 1965, is currently the Port Authority's longest-serving employee with 55 years of service.

'The past 100 years have established the Port Authority as a relentless, positive force in in the transportation, economic and cultural life of this vibrant New York-New Jersey region,' said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O'Toole. 'The future is exciting and unpredictable, but one thing is certain: This agency will continue to be a powerful engine that keeps the region, and the country, moving forward.'

'For a century, the Port Authority's thousands of employees past and present have taken on the monumental task to bring forth the ideas and vision to transform our region,' said Vice Chairman Jeffrey Lynford. 'From building tunnels and bridges, the birth of the shipping container industry at Port Newark, expanding our PATH system, to the revitalization of our airports into world-class facilities, the Port Authority is ready to soar boldly into its next chapter.'

'In the agency's first 10 years, the Port Authority opened four new bridges, the George Washington, the Goethals, the Outerbridge, and the Bayonne,' said Executive Director Rick Cotton. 'This astonishing achievement building world-class infrastructure in record time was critical to grow the region, created much-needed jobs, and established the necessary connections for trade and commerce to flourish. And now, 100 years later, the Port Authority is still building and has given fresh energy to the visionary spirit upon which this agency was founded.'

The ceremony included remarks from Port Authority leadership and a procession by the Port Authority Police Pipes and Drums band, with its Honor Guard presenting the colors of the flags. Port Authority employees and retirees participated as the event was livestreamed.

In addition to today's ceremonial events, the New York Historical Society pop-up exhibit -- 100 Years of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- will be on display at the World Trade Center Oculus. Throughout 2021, this 10-panel traveling exhibit, which chronicles the history of the Port Authority through the building of its facilities and the role it has played in the growth of the bistate region for the past 100 years, will be hosted by various agency facilities.

Over the last 100 years, the Port Authority's mission to oversee the creation of vital infrastructure to serve the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region has contributed greatly to the area's economic growth. The agency's development of international aviation hubs, construction of iconic bridges and tunnels, modernization of essential railroads, expansion of world-class seaports, and the building and rebuilding of the World Trade Center campus have enabled the New York-New Jersey region to become an unparalleled global engine of commerce and trade.

The people of the Port Authority have continually made history, pushing through the Great Depression, the Civil Rights movement, economic booms and busts, catastrophic storms, the devastation of 9/11, and now a global pandemic. Over the next 100 years, the Port Authority will continue to deliver 21st century, world-class infrastructure, which include efforts well underway to totally transform the region's three major airports (LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International, and John F. Kennedy International), build the long-awaited replacement of the world's busiest bus terminal (Midtown Bus Terminal), make critical upgrades to the world's busiest vehicular bridge (George Washington Bridge) and improve mass transit access (AirTrain LGA) and customer experience (PATH Improvement Plan), amid other important initiatives.

Throughout 2021, several events, programs and initiatives will be held to mark the agency's centennial year including an oral history project with Montclair State University, and a series of academic symposia with the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at New York University and the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University. These symposia will bring together academic leaders and experts in transportation and infrastructure to discuss the role the Port Authority has played as a unifying force in the region through infrastructure development, its impact in New York and New Jersey, and how changing demographic patterns and technologies may shape the next 100 years. Additionally, a book featuring some of the best photography of the agency's past and present is being developed and will be completed during the summer.

To learn more about the Port Authority's centennial year and history, click here.

To view pictures of items that were placed in the time capsule and photos from this morning's event, visit flickr.com/panynj

Contact:
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
212-435-7777

2021 marks the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Centennial Year. The bi-state agency builds, operates, and maintains many of the most important transportation and trade infrastructure assets in the country. Founded in 1921, the agency's network of aviation, ground, rail, and seaport facilities is among the busiest in the country, supports more than 550,000 regional jobs, and generates more than $23 billion in annual wages and $80 billion in annual economic activity. The Port Authority also owns and manages the 16-acre World Trade Center site, where the 1,776-foot-tall One World Trade Center is now the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. The Port Authority receives no tax revenue from either the State of New York or New Jersey or from the City of New York. The agency raises the necessary funds for the improvement, construction or acquisition of its facilities primarily on its own credit. For more information or for updates from the Now Arriving blog, please visit https://www.panynj.gov/blog.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.