NY Port Authority Public or Private? (New York, Albany: salary, taxes, live)

[NYLifes2shrt]

What do think about the Port Authority raising rates to tolls to help build the new World Trade Center?

Why can't we see their financials?

Do you think they are ran more like a private company?

[Castro Viejo]

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey is essentially a private corporation that's contracted in the public trust to operate various parts of our infrastructure. They've always been a very secretive organization with as much power and political backing as the famed Robert Moses did during his reign here in New York.

[jt1775]

PA is a quasi-gov't organization. They are funded thru public money i.e. taxes, tolls, etc.

[NYLifes2shrt]

Originally Posted by Castro Viejo

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey is essentially a private corporation that's contracted in the public trust to operate various parts of our infrastructure. They've always been a very secretive organization with as much power and political backing as the famed Robert Moses did during his reign here in New York.

Yes, this is my frustration. They can raise prices to the public, yet we can't see how they are spending their money.

I heard the Port Authority Police salary is approx. 40% higher than the NYPD. Do they ever get audited? An if no, why are New Yorkers standing for this? I am new to the area so your input is greatly appreciated.

[Castro Viejo]

Originally Posted by NYLifes2shrt

Yes, this is my frustration. They can raise prices to the public, yet we can't see how they are spending their money.

I heard the Port Authority Police salary is approx. 40% higher than the NYPD. Do they ever get audited? An if no, why are New Yorkers standing for this? I am new to the area so your input is greatly appreciated.

Hmmm... I'm not sure that the PA directly receives tax revenue from the governments of New York and New Jersey. I think they operate as any private corporation would: garner revenue from whatever the heck it is they operate. So their revenue stream is the tollways, bridges, tunnels, the airports, the seaports, etc.

I believe the PA does hold hearings whenever they consider raising the tolls. In fact, I'm almost certain that they do. I don't know who does their accounting and to whom they report this information (Albany and Trenton?), but it's pretty much a given that tolls on the bridges and tunnels always go up every few years. When I lived on Staten Island the cost of crossing the VNB was $8. Now it's $10. I remember as a kid it was only $3 or $4. My dad remembers when it was $0.65 (when it first opened).

[UpstaterInBklyn]

The Port Authority, along with other New York Authorities like the MTA and Thruway Authority, is an entity called a "public benefit corporation".

Public benefit corporations are created by the the governnment State of New York to run various services like public transportation, highways, bridges and hospitals. They are quasi-governmental organizations that generally conduct their business under the same rules that government entities are supposed to adere to.

There are hundreds of Authorities in New York State, and like everything else connected to NYS government, authorities are generally rife with patronage, inefficiency and in some cases, corruption. It is generally understood that the NYS tends to hide its true debt and the true extent of its deficit spending by borrowing money through authorities, because authorities can float their own bonds.

Authorities, like publicly-traded corporations are required to make their financials available to the public. The PANYNJ's financials can be found here: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - Financial Information

However, as a citizen, there is not much you can do about things like toll hikes because authorities are technically are run as independent entities