Rick Cotton Announces Retirement From Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
By Mark Hallum November 24, 2025 11:30 am
reprints
Rick Cotton, the long-standing executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), will retire from the bi-state transit agency at the beginning of 2026.
While eight and a half years may not seem like a terribly long time for many, that stint makes him the longest-serving head of the agency since the 1940s, when Austin Tobin began a reign that lasted from 1942 until 1972.
PANYNJ did not say who would succeed Cotton, who described his time as agency head as “rewarding” but “exhausting” in a Monday announcement.
Under Cotton’s leadership, the agency has undergone a series of operational reforms and oversaw the major redevelopment of facilities including a $50 billion investment in John F. Kennedy, Laguardia and Newark airports.
Cotton kick-started the $10 billion, retail-centric redevelopment of the 73-year-old Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown that was announced in early 2024, while the redevelopment of the World Trade Center has also seen progress under Cotton’s tenure.
“Together, [Chairman Kevin O’Toole and I] 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,” Cotton said in a statement. “The foundation is now set for future generations to keep building a stronger, more connected region. The opportunity to help transform our facilities and elevate the travel experience for hundreds of millions of people has been deeply satisfying.”
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Cotton and O’Toole to their respective roles at PANYNJ in 2017, and they were reconfirmed in 2021 by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“He delivered once-in-a-generation projects that transformed critical transportation assets, strengthened the region’s economy and enhanced connections across New York and New Jersey,” O’Toole said in a statement. “His vision and discipline are embedded in the [10-year] capital plan that will guide our next decade.”
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
