JFK Airport Is Getting a $10 Billion Makeover

QUEENS, NY — LaGuardia Airport isn't the only run-down, internationally humiliating NYC plane depot deserving of a multibillion dollar makeover, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday. The governor, who's become rather obsessed in recent months with unveiling shiny and expensive new transit infrastructure projects in the urban center of his kingdom — LaGuardia, the Second Avenue Subway, the "Empire State Station" where Penn used to be — said he now plans to drop approximately $10 billion on a years-long construction project that would "transform JFK into a unified, interconnected, world-class airport."

"The need to take action at JFK is the result of the airport’s history of piecemeal, ad-hoc decision making," Cuomo said Wednesday. "This legacy has produced the airport’s current condition."

The governor hasn't named an expected completion date yet. But here's what he says he plans to do at JFK (language verbatim from Cuomo's office):

• Interconnect terminals by expanding newer terminals and redeveloping/relocating older terminals

• Redesign the on-airport roadways to evolve into a “ring road” configuration, to allow for easier and quicker access to all of JFK’s terminals, including for taxis, ride-sharing and for-hire vehicles.

• Centralize and expand parking lots within the “ring road” layout with clear short-term and long-term parking options.

• Ensure world-class amenities — including fine dining, duty-free shopping, best-in-class retail, and conference and meeting room facilities — a process that began last month with the groundbreaking of the new TWA Flight Center Hotel.

• Expand taxiways to reduce ground delays and add new flight slots to accommodate the airport's relentlessly growing passenger demand.

• Implement state-of-the-art security technology, including regular reviews with third-party experts to update security to the future global best practices such as facial recognition and video tracking software that are currently being incorporated across New York’s infrastructure developments.

Here's all that in one triumphant promo vid:

And here are some snazzy renderings of the governor's vision for transforming JFK.

Images courtesy of Gov. Cuomo