PA
March 8, 2024 | Volume 23 | Number 5
PA NEWS | 1
Aviation
Celebrates
Excellence
in Customer
Service
Customer service excellence at our
agency’s airports was on center stage
recently as the Aviation Department
hosted the inaugural Customer
Service Excellence Awards Ceremony.
On February 29, at 7 World Trade
Center, Executive Director Rick
Cotton joined Aviation Director
Charles R. Everett, Jr. and the
Aviation Department’s Customer
Experience team to honor terminal
operators from across the agency’s
airport system for their world-class
service and accomplishments in 2023.
CALENDAR >
RETIREMENTS >
QUICK LINKS
IN THIS EDITION
Round of Applause for Employees’
Innovative Transit Solutions
Celebrating Administrative Excellence
Midtown Bus Terminal Poster Contest
Spotlights Earth Day
Bayonne Bridge Falcon Cam Now Live!
Watch: PA Family Remembers
Fallen Friends
Honoring and acknowledging
the legacy of Port Authority
employees is part of the agency’s
fabric. We come together as
family both in good times and
challenging times. As we have
done for more than three decades,
the PA family came together to
remember those colleagues we
lost in the February 26, 1993,
bombing of the World Trade
Center, in a Memorial Mass at St.
Peter’s Roman Catholic Church,
which honors their shared faith.
On the morning of Monday,
February 26, friends and family of those lost in the 1993 World Trade Center
bombing gathered together in remembrance. Robert Kirkpatrick, Stephen Knapp,
William Macko, and Monica Rodriguez Smith and her unborn child — who, along
with Windows on the World employee Wilfredo Mercado and visitor John DiGiovanni,
lost their lives in the attack on the World Trade Center that also injured more than
1,000 others.
PAPD Bi-State Coalition Shares
Joy of Learning With Local Youth
Reading,
leading, and
succeeding
together! On
March 1, the
Port Authority
Police Bi-State
Coalition look
part in the Read
Across America
program,
engaging with
local students
at P.S. 153
Helen Keller School in the Bronx. Together with educators, students, and community
leaders, coalition members celebrated and shared the joy of reading and promoted
the importance of literacy.
Members read to eager youths in grades kindergarten through fifth to inspire a love of
books and learning. The Bi-State Coalition’s latest initiative shows that “Together, we're
building a brighter future, one book at a time!”
continued on page 3 >
continued on page 2 >
Photo: Conrad Barclay
The PA family gathered at St. Peter's for its annual
remembrance service
Officer Joyalevern McFarland
Officer Kobe Powell, Officer Javon Price, Officer Kyle
Izzard, Detective Carl-Ann McBean, Lieutenant Atiba
Joseph-Cumberbatch, Lieutenant Andre Phillips,
Sergeant Stephen Greene, Officer Rebecca Ford,
Sergeant Kyle King, and Officer Joyalevern McFarland
PA NEWS MARCH 8, 2024 | 2
Aviation Celebrates
Excellence in
Customer Service
continued from page 1 >
Aviation Customer Experience
Officer Jacqueline Grossgold
noted the department’s continued
commitment to work with our
partners to create and deliver a
world-class, 21st century airport
experience that puts the customer at
the center of everything we do.
Awards were presented across
ten categories, recognizing
exceptionalism, innovation, and
excellence in customer service by
our partners at JFK International,
Newark Liberty International, and
LaGuardia Airports. Congratulations
to the awardees!
Most Improved Terminal: JFK
Terminal 7
Excellence in Airport Staff Courtesy:
LGA Terminal C & EWR Terminal A
Excellence in Facility Cleanliness:
LGA Terminal C
Excellence in Customer Experience
Innovation: JFK Terminal 4
Excellence in Accessibility: EWR
Terminal A
Excellence in Shopping & Dining:
JFK Terminal 4
Surprise & Delight Award: JFK
Terminal 4
Top Terminal JFK: Terminal 8
Top Terminal EWR: Terminal A
2023 Top Airport Terminal Cup Award
and Top Terminal LGA: Terminal B
Round of Applause for Employees’
Innovative Transit Solutions
The Transit Tech
Lab (TTL) is an annual
program that was
established by the
Partnership for NYC
and the MTA, that works
with several transit
agencies, including the
Port Authority, MTA,
NJ Transit, and the NYC Department of
Transportation. Its mission is to source,
evaluate, and pilot new technologies,
at no initial cost, introducing innovative
solutions and early-stage companies to
transit organizations to help solve some
of our challenges.
Thank you to those who have
participated in the PA’s TTL in 2023
and who are under consideration for a
PA Applause award for Innovation:
Earlyne Alexander, Candace
Brown, Frank Donadio (not pictured),
Paul Farber, Andrew Fuller (not
pictured), Marco Gonzalez (not
pictured), Cristina Kiley, Chantelle
Mack, Emmanuel Ramos, and
LaTisha Smith.
To read more about their
experiences taking part in the PA’s
TTL, see the PA News website.
The PA’s TTL invites employees to get involved with opportunities to be Project
Managers or Subject Matter Experts in technology projects that will address
Customer Experience, Resilience, and Curb Management. Stay tuned for more
information on how you can participate.
If you have any questions, please contact the TTL team, Terriann Moore-Abrams,
Keith Armonaitis, and Licia Feitosa.
Cristina Kiley
LaTisha SmithEmmanuel Ramos
Paul FarberCandace BrownEarlyne Alexander
Chantelle Mack
The TTL team: Terriann Moore-Abrams, Keith
Armonaitis, and Licia Feitosa
Celebrating Administrative Excellence
April 24 marks Administrative
Professionals Day, a time to
acknowledge the invaluable
contributions of our agency’s
administrative professionals. This year’s
event will be on Wednesday, April
24 from 9 to 11 a.m., at The Bankers
Club, inside the Equitable Building
at 120 Broadway in New York. Please
RSVP by April 5. The event will also
be livestreamed. A link will be shared
closer to the date. See the flyer for
more information and email with any
questions.
Ahead of this year’s celebration,
the Administrative Professionals
Networking Group (APNG) will honor
admin staff with custom appreciation
cards to be displayed throughout
agency facilities, in PA News, and more.
Administrative professionals,
here’s how you can participate:
• Send a photo of yourself by March 20.
• High-resolution, JPEG format, color
photos only. No selfies. Avoid using
filters. Stand in front of a neutral
background with plenty of natural
light. Include your first and last name,
department, and title in the email
subject (no word attachments).
APNG also invites all agency
colleagues to take part by recording
a short ‘thank you’ video message
for administrative staff, which
will be featured during this year’s
Administrative Professionals Day event.
• Send a short video of yourself
or your group expressing thanks
and appreciation for our agency’s
administrative professionals by
March 20.
• Include your full name, title, and
department. Recordings should be
between 15-30 seconds and should
be recorded in high definition (720p
or higher). Stand in front of a neutral
background with plenty of natural light.
PA NEWS MARCH 8, 2024 | 3
CALENDAR
PAWC International
Women’s Day: Inspire
Inclusion
Wednesday, March 13, from 8:45 to
11:30 a.m. 4WTC and Virtual. The Port
Authority Women’s Council (PAWC)
will host its annual International
Women’s Day event, featuring
remarks from PA leadership, the
presentation of the Hiloreen Woods-
Hyatt award, and a staff roundtable.
All PAWC members will receive an
invitation. Visit the PAWC SharePoint
page to learn more and to register.
PA-AAA: Lunar
New Year Dinner
March 14 from 6 to 9 p.m. at House of
Joy, at 28 Pell St., New York. The Port
Authority Asian American Association
(PA-AAA) will celebrate the Lunar
New Year and the Year of the Dragon
in Manhattan’s Chinatown, with a
traditional Cantonese dinner banquet,
games, and a lion dance symbolizing
good fortune for the year. For more
information and to register, complete
this form by March 10.
APNG: Conquering
Interview Anxieties
Wednesday, March 20, from noon
to 1 p.m. Virtual. The Administrative
Professionals Networking Group
(APNG) hosts its monthly roundtable,
The Hidden Matters: Beyond the
Vision, with the topic: Conquering
Interview Anxieties. The event will
discuss tools to succeed in the
interview process. APNG members
and non-members register here.
Midtown Bus Terminal Poster Contest
Spotlights Earth Day
Calling all kids in the bistate region: Want
to show off your creative side while raising
awareness for sustainability? The Port Authority
is now accepting submissions for the annual
Port Authority Bus Terminal Advisory Council
(PABTAC) Poster Contest. The contest is open
to all students in grades 1 through 12 who are
New York or New Jersey residents. Submissions
must be received by Monday, April 8.
Posters must be hand-drawn and illustrate
this year’s Earth Day theme, which is “Planet Vs.
Plastics.” The submission should include the
phrase and reflect this theme.
Winners will be announced on the Port
Authority’s social media accounts and the poster
contest website. Winning submissions will also
be reproduced and displayed throughout the
Midtown Bus Terminal, where they will be seen
by hundreds of thousands of commuters.
Each winner will receive a trophy and a
family gift card to Frames Bowling, located
within the Midtown Bus Terminal.
For more information on the poster
contest, including prize details, terms and
conditions, and how to enter, visit the 2024 PABTAC poster contest website.
The colorful winning submissions from the
2022 poster contest.
Winner
Grade 1-4 Category
Wildcard
Winner
Winner
Grade 5-8 Category
Bayonne Bridge Falcon Cam Now Live!
For nearly four decades, the Port Authority has helped
provide peregrine falcons with safe haven to hatch more
than 200 chicks at the agency’s facilities across the region.
The area's abundance of high rises and other secured tall
structures such as the agency’s bridges attracts endangered
falcons who have adapted to urban environments.
Just ahead of the bird nesting season and Earth Month, the
agency has once again partnered with EarthCam to provide
a public view into the domestic lives of falcons that will
shelter at a Port Authority nesting tower on an isolated island
near the Bayonne Bridge. Now live, wildlife enthusiasts can tune in to a solar-powered
livestream feed hosted on the Port Authority’s website to watch a falcon family grow.
This nest is located on an isolated island in straits of the Kill Van Kull. The nesting
site allows the birds to raise their babies, called eyas, safely without stressful human
interference while still using the nearby Bayonne Bridge to hunt.
Celebrate the career
of Rochelle Joyner,
Senior Business
Manager at the
Lincoln Tunnel, in a
retirement party on
April 18 from 5 to
9 p.m. at Michael’s
Riverside, 528
Riverside Ave.,
Lyndhurst, NJ. $55 p.p. includes
dinner and gift. RSVP by March 29 to
Michael Carozza or Willie DeLeon.
See the flyer.
RETIREMENT
Rochelle Joyner
Watch: PA Family Remembers Fallen Friends
continued from page 1 >
If you missed it or would like to view it
again, the Mass is available on the PA YouTube
account. Please join us in remembering these
cherished friends, and in sending peace and
healing to their loved ones.
You can also check out the Now Arriving
blog to learn more about our fallen friends
and how the agency and city adapted to be
safer and more secure following 1993.
PAPD Pipes and Drums
Photos: Conrad Barclay
