PA NEWS - Port Authority Retirees Association, Inc.

PA NEWS
Published weekly for Port Authority and PATH employees July 20, 2012/Volume 11/Number 29
GSA Signs Lease
For One WTC
One World Trade Center is now
more than 55 percent
leased, after the U.S.
General Services Administration this
week signed an agreement to lease
more than 270,000 square feet of
space on floors 50 through 55 for a
20-year term.
The GSA joins world-class publisher
Condé Nast, which has leased nearly
1.2 million square feet to house its
global headquarters, and Vantone
China Center, which leased 190,000
square feet.
Visit www.panynj.gov/press-room
for more information.
In Case You
Missed It…
If you didn’t see the article
about PA bridge painters in the
Star-Ledger on Sunday, here’s
another chance. As Kevin McSweeney
said, “This is the real Port Authority.”
Mr. McSweeney is a supervisor in
SEMAC – Staff Engineering,
Maintenance and Construction –
a unit of Operations Services. Also
featured in the story were SEMAC’s
Greg Gasnick, Obed Gonzalez,
Keith Schmitt, and Todd Whitehill.
Click here to read the article:
The Star-Ledger. And click here for
video and more photos: msnbc.com.
John Munson, Star-Ledger
‘Raise the Roadway’
Is Ahead of Schedule
The Port
Authority
announced
this week it will finish
the deck removal
portion of the Raise
the Roadway project
at the Bayonne Bridge
six months ahead of
schedule. This will
ensure completion of
the project before
commercial operations
begin at the widened Panama
Canal. The deck removal will provide
clearance for larger post-Panamax
ships to access marine terminals in
New York and New Jersey.
Work will begin in mid-2013 to
build a new elevated roadway 64 feet
above the existing deck. When
completed, the span’s roadway will
be 215 feet above the Kill Van Kull
waterway. The deck removal is
expected to be completed by fall
A ‘Maiden Voyage’
Executive Director Pat Foye
joined Port Commerce staff
this week for the start of
New York New Jersey Rail’s
operations between Brooklyn’s
65th Street rail yard and Greenville
Yard in Jersey City.
As part of the PA’s Cross Harbor
Freight Program, NYNJR increases
freight rail access to destinations
east of the Hudson River by floating
railcars on barges between New York
and New Jersey, thus reducing truck
traffic and pollution on local roads
and crossings.
Artist’s rendering of finished roadway project.
2015. The original project timeline
called for completion in mid-2016.
President Obama this week
included the Raise the Roadway
project in the Administration’s
We Can’t Wait initiative. The project is
expected to create more than 6,300
jobs, $380 million in wages, and
$1.6 billion in economic activity.
Visit www.panynj.gov/press-room
for more information.
Aboard a rail freight barge at Greenville
Yard on July 18 are Executive Director Foye
(foreground); his chief of staff, John Ma
(right); and NYNJR General Manager
James Christie. Not pictured: Port Rail
Projects General Manager Laura Shabe.
Mike Dombrowski

Paying Special Tribute
Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni on
Tuesday gave a tour of the World Trade
Center site to regional senior leadership
from United Airlines. The group toured
One World Trade Center and spent time
on the Memorial Plaza, pausing to pay
special tribute to the victims of the
terrorist attacks of 9/11 who were
aboard United flights 175 and 93.
SWF Hosts Honor Flight
Four buses carrying about 100
World War II veterans and
45 escorts arrived at Stewart
International Airport on June 9 to a
waiting throng of airport employees
and customers applauding their
service to the nation.
After a reception in the passenger
terminal, the veterans boarded the
inaugural Hudson Valley Honor Flight
to Washington, DC, where they visited
the National World War II Memorial
and Arlington National Cemetery.
The trip was entirely funded
through donations. At SWF, JetBlue
Airways provided an A-320 charter,
and Hudson News provided free
refreshments at the passenger terminal.
Mike Dombrowski
Calendar
Join the ERGs
July 25 is the last day to get discounted
tickets to “get your groove on” with the Port
Authority Employee Resource Groups (NBE,
PAHS, AAA, PA Pride and PAAN) aboard the
Queen of Hearts party cruise on August 17.
See Employee Bulletins for details.
LWMC Meeting
The next meeting of the Last Wednesday
of the Month Club of PA retirees is set for
noon on July 25 at In Napoli Restaurant in
Fort Lee. Active employees are welcome.
For more information, contact Bob Parisi
at bobp106@optonline.net.
PARPA Barbecue
The Port Authority Retired Police
Association’s First Annual Barbecue will take
place rain or shine on July 26 at the Oak
Tree Lodge in Neptune, NJ. For more
information, visit Employee Bulletins on
EmployeeNet, or contact John McDevitt at
contactparpa@gmail.com.
SWF Properties & Business Development
Manager Michael Torelli greets New York
State Senator William Larkin, one of the
Honor Flight passengers.
Veterans from the Hudson Valley arrive at
the airport to find a send-off by more than
300 people.
Photos: Diane Jankowski
Jazz in Jersey
Retiree and jazz guitarist Joe Frame
will perform at La Tavola Cucina Ristorante,
700 Old Bridge Turnpike in South River, on
Saturday, July 21, from 7 to 10 p.m.
Contact him at jframejr@msn.com for
more details.
Over the Rainbow
PARA Elections
The Port Authority Retirees Association held its annual meeting on July 11
at the PA Bus Terminal and elected Rich Hellenbrecht, Ken Philmus,
Chuck Seliga, and Ken Vitty to the board. The outgoing board member
was Jerry Doherty.
At the annual meeting are
(seated, from left) PARA
President Dave Gallagher,
1st Vice President Ralph Verrill,
(and standing) Holly Blauser,
Arnold Karvasarsky, Rich
Hellenbrecht, Rita DuBrow,
Dick Lee, George Jensen,
2nd Vice President Rae Ann
Hoffmann, Treasurer Bob
Isaacs, Al Graser, Liz DeLaura, Harmon Williams, Jack Savage, Mike Morrow, Ken Philmus,
Jerry Doherty, Chuck Seliga, Frank Lombardi, and board advisor Herb Somerwitz.
Not pictured: Lee Goodman, Secretary Jerri Raczynski, and Ken Vitty.
Jon Clark
“I snapped this shot right before sunset,”
Operations Services’ Jean Marie Mitchell
said. “I was just walking off Hoboken’s
Pier C. A little raincloud was drifting south
and rained on the river. The low sun set a
brilliant rainbow at the WTC.”
Get PA News
If you’d like PA News sent to your
personal e-mail address, send a note to
panews@panynj.gov.
Jean Marie Mitchell
2 PA News / July 20, 2012