Vice President Joe Biden reportedly took another swipe at LaGuardia (LGA) earlier this week when making a pitch for another round of transportation funding from Congress. The Department of Transportation warned in early July that it will be forced to cut infrastructure funding beginning in August unless Congress can agree to a funding bill.
Biden, speaking at a meeting of government and business officials to discuss the Highway Trust Fund, which funds transportation infrastructure projects, again used LGA as an example of deteriorating infrastructure not befitting a world-class city.
“If you were blindfolded and I dropped you in an airport in the middle of New York and I dropped you in an airport in the middle of Beijing, you sure as hell wouldn’t pick LaGuardia as being in the United States,” Biden said, according to several press reports.
“The greatest city in the world with the airport structure it has now? C’mon guys,” he added. “How long can that last? How long can we continue to be in that position?”
The comments came five months after Biden suggested that LGA appeared as if it is in “some third-world country,” according to press reports.
LGA is set for redevelopment beginning later this year. The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has earmarked $3.6 billion for the project, which includes the replacement of the 50-year-old Central Terminal building. PANYNJ is seeking a private partner to develop the airport. In May, PANYNJ Director of Aviation Thomas Bosco told ARN that “we expect an award in mid-summer, with construction starting by the end of the year.”
Airports Council International-North America took Biden’s comments as an opportunity to underscore the importance of investing in airport infrastructure.
“For far too long, U.S. airports have done more with less, but we are at a breaking point, just as the vice president noted today,” ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin Burke said. “Improving America’s airport infrastructure is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Local airports need access to essential and flexible financing to address the dire infrastructure challenges they face.”
