A containership makes its way toward the Port of New York and New Jersey. (Seth Wenig\/Associated Press)<\/p>\n
\n November 24, 2025 2:45 PM, EST<\/p>\n
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox<\/a>.]<\/p>\n Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who oversaw major revitalization efforts and infrastructure developments across New York City and parts of New Jersey, will retire in January at age 81, the agency announced Nov. 24.<\/p>\n Cotton, who held the role longer than anyone has since the 1940s, led the charge on a new LaGuardia Airport, delivering a turnaround for an airport once considered among the country\u2019s worst. He also guided one of the nation\u2019s busiest ports through the COVID-19 pandemic, a time of great supply chain disruption and uncertainty.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking in partnership across two states, political lines and every corner of this agency, we have made historic progress toward that goal,\u201d Cotton said in a\u00a0statement<\/a>, referring to his and Port Authority Chairman Kevin O\u2019Toole\u2019s push to deliver world-class infrastructure. \u201cTogether, we transformed our airports from appalling laughingstocks into award-winning, best-in-class gateways, and jump-started the Midtown Bus Terminal, which had languished for decades.\u201d\n \t <\/p>\n RELATED: Port Volumes Slow Nearing End of Strong Year<\/a><\/p>\n The news was first reported by The New York Times.<\/p>\n Under Cotton, the agency expanded its police force, supported the arts and positioned itself as a leader in a push for net-zero emissions as the first U.S. transportation agency to adopt the Paris climate accord, according to the statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the port proposed a $45 billion, decade-long capital\u00a0plan<\/a>\u00a0to continue revitalizing the region\u2019s key transportation hubs. The plan includes roughly $21 billion of aviation related upgrades to Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia, as well as a new Midtown Bus Terminal in Manhattan, service upgrades to the system\u2019s PATH trains and a rehab of the George Washington Bridge.<\/p>\n