JAMAICA, Queens (WABC) — Upgrades at John F. Kennedy Airport’s Terminal 8 are now complete after $125 million went into modernizing the terminal.<\/p>\n
The multi-million dollar makeover is pumping new life and energy into Terminal 8, along with some New York flavor.<\/p>\n
Sixty new concessions were unveiled on Tuesday, with an emphasis on local. That includes everything from coffee from Brooklyn to Jamaican beef patties from the Bronx.<\/p>\n
The commercial refresh marks the completion of the first JFK terminal transformation project that is part of the Port Authority’s $19 billion JFK redevelopment program.<\/p>\n
“It was not long ago, and I’m sure there are those in this room who may have come through this terminal or another terminal undersized, wholly out of date, you definitely were not going to stop and eat the food, that would be a no-no, and ranked by many travel organizations as the worst in the country, and they were not wrong,” said Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia.<\/p>\n
Terminal 8 marks the first JFK terminal renovation and the other terminals are next.<\/p>\n
“Because of this airport, Queens is truly the front door of the United States, and JFK is the very first impression people from all over the world get of our borough, our city, our state, and our country, and that’s including the Van Wyck,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.<\/p>\n
JFK is currently the sixth airport in America in terms of volume.<\/p>\n
When the redevelopment is done, officials are hoping it will be the busiest airport in the nation.<\/p>\n
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