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On Wednesday, June 10, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Rick Cotton, the Executive Director fo the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were on hand at the new terminal to officially open the 850,000-square-foot, four-story terminal in Queens.
“LaGuardia is the first new airport in the USA in 25 years … think of that. The last airport was in Denver in 1995,” Cuomo said, comparing renovating the airport to renovating a home while still living in it. “We’re doing this on one of the smallest pieces of land of any airport in the country. It’s a veritable postage stamp, and on that postage stamp, we operated the airport while building a new one at the same time.”
Cotton said that the new LaGuardia airport will create more than 10,000 jobs, and includes 9.2 miles of new roadways, 24 new bridges, improved traffic flow, and increased access to ground transportation.
“This is a single, integrated, brand new LaGuardia,” he said. “We went from the worst airport in the country to the best. From the appallingly substandard airport to a 21st Century, first-class airport.”
The terminal will be open to the public as of Saturday, June 13.
"The opening of the new Arrivals and Departures Hall at Terminal B is the biggest milestone to date in the transformation of LaGuardia Airport into a world-class transportation hub that is worthy of New York State," Cuomo said.
"As we continue to upgrade and modernize this airport for the 21st century, this new state-of-the-art hall will offer passengers a unique travel experience with new concessions, traveler amenities and art installations by four of the world's leading artists, while increasing space for passengers to move more safely and efficiently during and after the COVID-19 pandemic."
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