French Artist Brings Eye Candy to the PABT

Posted on February 13, 2018 by PANYNJ PORTfolio

By Rudy King, Media Relations Staff

Bus and car passengers filing through the Port Authority Bus Terminal now have more than crowded lines, ticket windows and travel schedules to keep them busy. They’ve got enormous candy sculptures to sweeten their daily commute.

The first-ever “pop-up” art gallery at the PABT is the work of renowned French contemporary artist Laurence Jenkell, whose striking new exhibit is an exciting visual addition to the facility’s Quality of Commute initiative. “Crossroads of the World” is scheduled to run through January 2019 and features 30 of Jenkell’s life-sized, Lucite-wrapped candy sculptures, as well as 80 additional pieces on display throughout the bus terminal’s North and South wings.

French artist Laurence Jenkell in creative mode
French artist Laurence Jenkell in creative mode
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One highlight of the bus terminal exhibit is Jenkell’s tribute to the 37 fallen men and women of the Port Authority Police Department, who were among the first law enforcement personnel to respond to the terrorist attacks on 9/11. The “Tribute Candy” is wrapped in the pattern of the Port Authority 9/11 Remembrance Flag.

Her unique draped and twisting candy art arrived last month at the bus terminal, the latest stop in a world tour that began in 2011 at the G20 Summit in France. Since then, it’s moved to Spain, Singapore, China and the United Arab Emirates. In all, her work is represented in more than 25 countries, including in major private and public collections.

Jenkell’s artwork dates to the early 1990s, when she first started experimenting with different mediums that included watercolor, charcoal, oil, acrylic and engraving. She eventually discovered inclusion resins – the material that gives her current artworks its particular sheen and resiliency –and very quickly developed her own original technique.

Location of sculptures at the PABT:

 

Posted in 9/11, bus terminal, PABT, Port Authority Bus Terminal, public art, Uncategorized | Comments Off on French Artist Brings Eye Candy to the PABT

You Can Take the Man out of the Airport …

Posted on February 5, 2018 by PANYNJ PORTfolio

By Scott Ladd, Media Relations Staff

Two years ago, Newark Liberty International Airport’s General Manager Richard Heslin was running the nation’s 14th busiest airport, serving more than 40 million passengers a year and dealing with the daily demands that invariably come with the job.

Heslin is still a presence at EWR, but in a new setting. Every Tuesday at Terminal B between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., Heslin serves a volunteer offering customer assistance just outside baggage carousel #3 in the Arrivals section.

Having retired from the Port Authority in 2016 after a nearly 45-year career with the agency, Heslin found he couldn’t leave airport life completely behind. Since October 2016, Heslin has been working with Travelers Aid, the non-profit organization that provides a range of travel assistance to EWR passengers. The agency also serves fliers at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

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“It’s a natural fit, really,” said Heslin.

The idea came to him at a volunteer recognition breakfast shortly before his retirement, after comments he had made to attendees about their value to EWR. “They all really liked the airport, seemed very happy in their volunteer work and thought it important,” he recalled. “I was looking for ways to give back in retirement, and the light bulb went off.”

Some of the questions people ask are predictable: how do I get to my hotel, the quickest and best way to New York City, missed airline connections and how to locate their next flight. Sometimes, he noted, “it’s just giving them a couple of bucks to help them get where they are going.” About 99.9 percent of the passengers he assists are rational, reasonable and usually appreciative of his help.

Diane Papaianni, who succeeded Heslin as general manager, described him as “another set of eyes and ears in the terminal, at times calling me personally to make me aware of a situation or condition that requires action or attention.”

“Volunteers have benefitted from his extensive airport knowledge and history,” Papaianni said. “The end result makes the Travelers Aid Program a perfect fit for Rich, and vice versa.”

Heslin, 68, spent nearly 17 years in the Port Authority’s Aviation Department, serving as general manager of three airports: Teterboro, Stewart and the last two at Newark Liberty. Prior to that, he held different engineering and supervisory jobs over the course of 27 years at PATH.

Terminal B isn’t the only thing keeping him busy in retirement. A resident of Teaneck, N.J., Heslin also volunteers through the Bergen County Chore Corps, helping elderly home owners and tenants with routine house repairs and maintenance that enables them to stay in their homes.

Former colleagues who pass by during his weekly shift are often surprised to see him. Some ask for advice on airport-related issues. “Why not? I’ve got a lot of experience, I hope I can put it to good use,” he said.

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On a recent Tuesday, Heslin was sharing the Traveler Aid desk with Christian Havens, the Program Manager, and Volunteers Coordinator Euleta LaRoach when a woman with an Eastern European accent and clear case of airport anxiety approached, lost and searching for direction.

“See that escalator? Up one flight, all the way to your left, and have a seat,” he said with a reassuring smile. “Someone will be there to help you.”

 

 

Posted in EWR, Newark, Newark Liberty International Airport, Port Authority Managers, Travelers Aid, Uncategorized | Comments Off on You Can Take the Man out of the Airport …

The Old Goethals: What Goes Up, Must Come Down

Posted on January 17, 2018 by PANYNJ PORTfolio

By Steve Coleman, Media Relations Staff

Literally overnight, one of the iconic pieces of New York’s transportation landscape disappeared this week. Travelers returning home Monday night on the new state-of-the-art Goethals Bridge probably had no idea that history was being made just a few hundred feet to the north.

During the night and well into Tuesday morning, construction crews worked tirelessly to remove the iconic 350-foot mainspan of the old Goethals Bridge.  The bridge, a 1920s-era cantilever span, was built beginning in 1925 under the watchful eye of Port Authority consulting engineer Major General George Washington Goethals. It first opened to traffic in June 1928. Goethals Bridge

Deconstructing the mainspan, which has been a fixture in the skyline for those traveling through Staten Island to the east and on the New Jersey Turnpike to the west, was perhaps even more painstaking than its original construction. The first, and one of the most challenging aspects of the project, was securing U.S. Coast Guard approval to close the Arthur Kill Channel, a major shipping waterway to many privately operated petroleum terminals in New York Harbor, for up to 36 hours.

After receiving approval to close the channel, the mainspan was lowered 135 feet via a jacking and cable system to barges below, a slow, methodical process that took well in excess of 10 hours. Once secured to the barges, the crew had to wait for the appropriate tide in the channel before transporting the steel structure to Port Newark, where it will be dismantled for scrap.

Here’s a time-lapse video on the end of the road for the old mainspan:

Lou Franco, a senior project manager in the Port Authority’s Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals Department, spent months preparing for the historic move, and now must continue the efforts to demolish the approach roadways that remain on the old Goethals Bridge.

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Senior Project Manager Lou Franco

“The many months of preparation paid off and the task was completed without incident,” Franco said. “While in some ways I was sad seeing the old bridge float away, I was very grateful to be part of such a great team on such a historical moment.”

While one phase of history marked a fitting end this week, work continues on the next piece of history – the full completion of the new Goethals Bridge, the first new crossing built by the Port Authority in more than 80 years.  While one span of the new bridge was opened last June, the entire structure is scheduled for completion in the middle of this year.

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