JFK Airport Deal Will Land 20K Jobs, $10B Investment: De Blasio

NEW YORK CITY — Southeast Queens’ recovery is ready for takeoff after a new deal over JFK Airport, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

De Blasio announced Monday the airport’s lease will be extended after officials struck a “tough bargain” to guarantee 20,000 local jobs, $10 to $15 billion in infrastructure investment and at least 30 percent of contracts going to women- or minority-owned businesses.

“Today, I’ll be signing an executive order to extend the JFK lease with the Port Authority and to do it with a package of actions that will make sure there’s economic empowerment that a lot of the wealth generated in JFK gets redistributed to the surrounding communities and businesses that represent the surrounding communities,” he said.

Modernization plans for JFK that included a revamp of Terminal 4 have been in limbo after the coronavirus pandemic struck.

The executive order will help get the airport’s ongoing redevelopment “back on track,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, who was involved in efforts to close the deal. He said ongoing federal stimulus talks could help bring $3 billion in Port Authority funding for the project.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who also was involved in talks, said the deal will bring jobs to Queens when it needs them the most.

“Today’s announcement to extend JFK’s lease is a win for our borough, indeed, and our city,” he said. “This is a win for our economy as well — securing 20,000 jobs with 10,000 of them being union jobs is so critical as the disparities that we’ve seen during this pandemic. We know we have to rebuild, but we have rebuild back better and stronger with communities in mind.”