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Chapter 154 of the laws of 1921 Port of New York authority Section 1. William R. Willcox, Eugenius H. Outerbridge and Murray Hulbert, or any two of them, commissioners heretofore appointed under chapter four hundred and twenty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred and seventeen of the state of New York, together with the attorney-general of the state of New York, are hereby authorized as commissioners upon the part of the state of New York to enter into, with the state of New Jersey, by and through the commissioners appointed or who may be appointed under or by virtue of a law of the legislature of the state of New Jersey, an agreement or compact in the form following, that is to say: Whereas, In the year eighteen hundred and thirty-four the states of New York and New Jersey did enter into an agreement fixing and determining the rights and obligations of the two states in and about the waters between the two states, especially in and about the bay of New York and the Hudson river; and Whereas, Since that time the commerce of the port of New York has greatly developed and increased and the territory in and around the port has become commercially one center or district; and Whereas, It is confidently believed that a better co-ordination of the terminal, transportation and other facilities of commerce in, about and through the port of New York, will result in great economies, benefiting the nation, as well as the states of New York and New Jersey; and Whereas, The future development of such terminal, transportation and other facilities of commerce will require the expenditure of large sums of money and the cordial co-operation of the states of New York and New Jersey in the encouragement of the investment of capital, and in the formulation and execution of the necessary physical plans; and Whereas, Such result can best be accomplished through the co-operation of the two states by and through a joint or common agency. Now, therefore, The said states of New Jersey and New York do supplement and amend the existing agreement of eighteen hundred and thirty-four in the following respects: ARTICLE I. They agree to and pledge, each to the other, faithful co-operation in the future planning and development of the port of New York, holding in high trust for the benefit of the nation the special blessings and natural advantages thereof. ARTICLE II. To that end the two states do agree that there shall be created and they do hereby create a district to be known as the "Port of New York District" (for brevity hereinafter referred to as "The District") which shall embrace the territory bounded and described as follows: The district is included within the boundary lines located by connecting points of known latitude and longitude. The approximate courses and distances of the lines enclosing the district are recited in the description, but the district is determined by drawing lines through the points of known latitude and longitude. Beginning at a point A of latitude forty-one degrees and four minutes north and longitude seventy-three degrees and fifty-six minutes west, said point being about sixty-five-hundredths of a mile west of the westerly bank of the Hudson river and about two and one-tenth miles northwest of the pier at Piermont, in the county of Rockland, state of New York; thence due south one and fifteen-hundredths miles more or less to a point B of latitude forty-one degrees and three minutes north and longitude seventy-three degrees and fifty-six minutes west; said point being about one and three-tenths miles northwest of the pier at Piermont, in the county of Rockland, state of New York; thence south fifty-six degrees and thirty-four minutes west six and twenty-six-hundredths miles more or less to a point C of latitude forty-one degrees and no minutes north and longitude seventy-four degrees and two minutes west, said point being about seven-tenths of a mile north of the railroad station at Westwood, in the county of Bergen, state of New Jersey; thence south sixty-eight degrees and twenty-four minutes west nine and thirty-seven-hundredths miles more or less to a point D of latitude forty degrees and fifty-seven minutes north and longitude seventy-four degrees and twelve minutes west, said point being about three miles northwest of the business center of the city of Paterson, in the county of Passaic, state of New Jersey; thence south forty-seven degrees and seventeen minutes west eleven and eighty-seven-hundredths miles more or less to a point E of latitude forty degrees and fifty minutes north and longitude seventy-four degrees and twenty-two minutes west, said point being about four and five-tenths miles west of the borough of Caldwell, in the county of Morris, state of New Jersey; thence due south nine and twenty-hundredths miles more or less to a point F of latitude forty degrees and forty-two minutes north and longitude seventy-four degrees and twenty-two minutes west, said point being about one and two-tenths miles southwest of the passenger station of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad in the city of Summit, in the county of Union, state of New Jersey; thence south forty-two degrees and twenty-four minutes west, seven and seventy-eight-hundredths miles more or less to a point G of latitude forty degrees and thirty-seven minutes north and longitude seventy-four degrees and twenty-eight minutes west, said point being about two and two-tenths miles west of the business center of the city of Plainfield, in the county of Somerset, state of New Jersey; thence due south twelve and sixty-five-hundredths miles more or less on a line passing about one mile west of the business center of the city of New Brunswick to a point H of latitude forty degrees and twenty-six minutes north and longitude seventy-four degrees and twenty-eight minutes west, said point being about four and five-tenths miles southwest of the city of New Brunswick, in the county of Middlesex, state of New Jersey; thence south seventy-seven degrees and forty-two minutes east ten and seventy-nine-hundredths miles more or less to a point I of latitude forty degrees and twenty-four minutes north and longitude seventy-four degrees and sixteen minutes west, said point being about two miles southwest of the borough of Matawan, in the county of Middlesex, state of New Jersey; thence due east twenty-five and forty-eight-hundredths miles more or less, crossing the county of Monmouth, state of New Jersey, and passing about one and four-tenths miles south of the pier of the Central Railroad of New Jersey at Atlantic Highlands to a point J of latitude forty degrees and twenty-four minutes north and longitude seventy-three degrees and forty-seven minutes west, said point being in the Atlantic ocean; thence north eleven degrees fifty-eight minutes east twenty-one and sixteen-hundredths miles more or less to a point K, said point being about five miles east of the passenger station of the Long Island railroad at Jamaica and about one and three-tenths miles east of the boundary line of the city of New York, in the county of Nassau, state of New York; thence in a northeasterly direction passing about one-half mile west of New Hyde Park and about one and one-tenth miles east of the shore of Manhasset bay at Port Washington, crossing Long Island sound to a point L, said point being the point of intersection of the boundary line between the states of New York and Connecticut and the meridian of seventy-three degrees, thirty-nine minutes and thirty seconds west longitude, said point being also about a mile northeast of the village of Port Chester; thence northwesterly along the boundary line between the states of New York and Connecticut to a point M, said point being the point of intersection between said boundary line between the states of New York and Connecticut and the parallel of forty-one degrees and four minutes north latitude, said point also being about four and five-tenths miles northeast of the business center of the city of White Plains; thence due west along said parallel, of forty-one degrees and four minutes north latitude, the line passing about two and one-half miles north of the business center of the city of White Plains and crossing the Hudson river to the point A, the place of beginning. The boundaries of said district may be changed from time to time by the action of the legislature of either state concurred in by the legislature of the other. ARTICLE III There is hereby created "The Port of New York Authority" (for brevity hereinafter referred to as the "Port Authority"), which shall be a body corporate and politic, having the powers and jurisdiction hereinafter enumerated, and such other and additional powers as shall be conferred upon it by the legislature of either state concurred in by the legislature of the other, or by act or acts of congress, as hereinafter provided. On and after July first, nineteen hundred seventy-two, the port authority shall be known and designated as "The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey." ARTICLE IV The port authority shall consist of twelve commissioners, six resident voters from the state of New York, at least four of whom shall be resident voters of the city of New York, and six resident voters from the state of New Jersey, at least four of whom shall be resident voters within the New Jersey portion of the district, the New York members to be chosen by the state of New York and the New Jersey members by the state of New Jersey in the manner and for the terms fixed and determined from time to time by the legislature of each state respectively, except as herein provided. Each commissioner may be removed or suspended from office as provided by the law of the state from which he shall be appointed. ARTICLE V. The commissioners shall, for the purpose of doing business, constitute a board and may adopt suitable by-laws for its management. ARTICLE VI. The port authority shall constitute a body, both corporate and politic, with full power and authority to purchase, construct, lease and/or operate any terminal or transportation facility within said district; and to make charges for the use thereof: and for any of such purposes to own, hold, lease and/or operate real or personal property, to borrow money and secure the same by bonds or by mortgages upon any property held or to be held by it. No property now or hereafter vested in or held by either state, or by any county, city, borough, village, township or other municipality, shall be taken by the port authority, without the authority or consent of such state, county, city, borough, village, township or other municipality, nor shall anything herein impair or invalidate in any way any bonded indebtedness of such state, county, city, borough, village, township or other municipality, nor impair the provisions of law regulating the payment into sinking funds of revenues derived from municipal property, or dedicating the revenues derived from any municipal property to a specific purpose. The powers granted in this article shall not be exercised by the port authority until the legislatures of both states shall have approved of a comprehensive plan for the development of the port as hereinafter provided. ARTICLE VII. The port authority shall have such additional powers and duties as may hereafter be delegated to or imposed upon it from time to time by the action of the legislature of either state concurred in by the legislature of the other. Unless and until otherwise provided, it shall make an annual report to the legislature of both states, setting forth in detail the operations and transactions conducted by it pursuant to this agreement and any legislation thereunder. The port authority shall not pledge the credit of either state except by and with the authority of the legislature thereof. * ARTICLE VII-A The port authority shall file with the temporary president and minority leader of the senate and the speaker and minority leader of the assembly, the chairman of the assembly ways and means committee and the chairman of the senate finance committee of the state of New York and the president, minority leader and secretary of the senate and the speaker, minority leader and clerk of the general assembly of the state of New Jersey a copy of the minutes of any action taken at any public meeting of the port authority. Such filing shall be made on the same day such minutes are transmitted to the governor of each state for review; and notice of such filing shall be provided to the governor of each state at the same time. Failure to effectuate any such filing shall not impair the ability of the authority to act pursuant to a resolution of its board. Such filing shall not apply to any minutes required to be filed pursuant to section twenty of chapter six hundred fifty-one of the laws of nineteen hundred seventy-eight. The temporary president and minority leader of the senate, the speaker and minority leader of the assembly, the chairman of the assembly ways and means committee and the chairman of the senate finance committee of the state of New York and the speaker and minority leader of the general assembly and the president and the minority leader of the senate of the state of New Jersey, or representatives designated by them in writing for this purpose, may by certificate filed with the secretary of the port authority waive the foregoing filing requirement with respect to any specific minutes. * NB Effective pending passage of identical legislation by the state of New Jersey ARTICLE VIII. Unless and until otherwise provided, all laws now or hereafter vesting jurisdiction or control in the public service commission, or the public utilities commission, or like body, within each state respectively, shall apply to railroads and to any transportation, terminal or other facility owned, operated, leased or constructed by the port authority, with the same force and effect as if such railroad, or transportation, terminal or other facility were owned, leased, operated or constructed by a private corporation. ARTICLE IX. Nothing contained in this agreement shall impair the powers of any municipality to develop or improve port and terminal facilities. ARTICLE X. The legislatures of the two states, prior to the signing of this agreement, or thereafter as soon as may be practicable, will adopt a plan or plans for the comprehensive development of the port of New York. ARTICLE XI. The port authority shall from time to time make plans for the development of said district, supplementary to or amendatory of any plan theretofore adopted, and when such plans are duly approved by the legislatures of the two states, they shall be binding upon both states with the same force and effect as if incorporated in this agreement. ARTICLE XII. The port authority may from time to time make recommendations to the legislatures of the two states or to the congress of the United States, based upon study and analysis, for the better conduct of the commerce passing in and through the port of New York, the increase and improvement of transportation and terminal facilities therein, and the more economical and expeditious handling of such commerce. ARTICLE XIII The port authority may petition any interstate commerce commission (or like body), commissioner of transportation, public utilities commission (or like body), or any other federal, municipal, state or local authority, administrative, judicial or legislative, having jurisdiction in the premises, after the adoption of the comprehensive plan as provided for in article ten, for the adoption and execution of any physical improvement, change in method, rate of transportation, system of handling freight, warehousing, docking, lightering or transfer of freight, which, in the opinion of the port authority, may be designed to improve or better the handling of commerce in and through said district, or improve terminal and transportation facilities therein. It may intervene in any proceeding affecting the commerce of the port. ARTICLE XIV. The port authority shall elect from its number a chairman, vice-chairman, and may appoint such officers and employees as it may require for the performance of its duties, and shall fix and determine their qualifications and duties. ARTICLE XV. Unless and until the revenues from operations conducted by the port authority are adequate to meet all expenditures, the legislatures of the two states shall appropriate, in equal amounts, annually, for the salaries, office and other administrative expenses, such sum or sums as shall be recommended by the port authority and approved by the governors of the two states, but each state obligates itself hereunder only to the extent of one hundred thousand dollars in any one year. ARTICLE XV-A 1. The legislature finds and declares that the right of the public to be present at meetings of the port authority of New York and New Jersey, and to witness in full detail all phases of the deliberation, policy formulation, and decision making of the authority, is vital to the enhancement and proper functioning of the democratic process, and that secrecy in public affairs undermines the faith of the public in government and the public's effectiveness in fulfilling its role in a democratic society; and declares it to be the public policy of this state to insure the right of its citizens to have adequate advance notice of and the right to attend all meetings of the authority at which any business affecting the public is discussed or acted upon in any way except only in those circumstances where otherwise the public interest would be clearly endangered or the personal privacy of guaranteed rights of individuals would be clearly in danger of unwarranted invasion. 2. As used in this act: a. "Board" means the board of commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. b. "Meeting" means any gathering, whether corporeal or by means of communication equipment, which is attended by, or open to, the board, held with the intent, on the part of the board members present, to discuss or act as a unit upon the specific public business of the authority. "Meeting" does not mean a gathering (1) attended by less than an effective majority of the board, or (2) attended by or open to all the members of three or more similar public bodies at a convention or similar gathering. c. "Public business" mean matters which relate in any way, directly or indirectly, to the performance of the functions of the port authority of New York and New Jersey or the conduct of its business. 3. The board shall adopt and promulgate appropriate rules and regulations concerning the right of the public to be present at meetings of the authority. The board may incorporate in its rules and regulations conditions under which it may exclude the public from a meeting or a portion thereof. Any rules or regulations adopted hereunder shall become a part of the minutes of the port authority of New York and New Jersey and shall be subject to the approval of the governor of New Jersey and the governor of New York. ARTICLE XVI Unless and until otherwise determined by the action of the legislatures of the two states, no action of the port authority shall be binding unless taken at a meeting at which at least three of the members from each state are present, and unless a majority of the members from each state present at such meeting but in any event at least three of the members from each state, shall vote in favor thereof. Each state reserves the right to provide by law for the exercise of a veto power by the governor thereof over any action of any commissioner appointed therefrom. ARTICLE XVII. Unless and until otherwise determined by the action of the legislatures of the two states, the port authority shall not incur any obligations for salaries, office or other administrative expenses, within the provisions of article fifteen, prior to the making of appropriations adequate to meet the same. ARTICLE XVIII. The port authority is hereby authorized to make suitable rules and regulations not inconsistent with the constitution of the United States or of either state, and subject to the exercise of the power of congress, for the improvement of the conduct of navigation and commerce, which, when concurred in or authorized by the legislatures of both states, shall be binding and effective upon all persons and corporations affected thereby. ARTICLE XIX. The two states shall provide penalties for violations of any order, rule or regulation of the port authority, and for the manner of enforcing the same. ARTICLE XX. The territorial or boundary lines established by the agreement of eighteen hundred and thirty-four, or the jurisdiction of the two states established thereby, shall not be changed except as herein specifically modified. ARTICLE XXI. Either state may by its legislature withdraw from this agreement in the event that a plan for the comprehensive development of the port shall not have been adopted by both states on or prior to July first, nineteen hundred and twenty-three; and when such withdrawal shall have been communicated to the governor of the other state by the state so withdrawing, this agreement shall be thereby abrogated. ARTICLE XXII. Definitions. The following words as herein used shall have the following meaning: "Transportation facility" shall include railroads, steam or electric, motor truck or other street or highway vehicles, tunnels, bridges, boats, ferries, car-floats, lighters, tugs, floating elevators, barges, scows or harbor craft of any kind, air craft suitable for harbor service, and every kind of transportation facility now in use or hereafter designed for use for the transportation or carriage of persons or property. "Terminal facility" shall include wharves, piers, slips, ferries, docks, dry docks, bulkheads, dock-walls, basins, car-floats, float-bridges, grain or other storage elevators, warehouses, cold storage, tracks, yards, sheds, switches, connections, overhead appliances, and every kind of terminal or storage facility now in use or hereafter designed for use for the handling, storage, loading or unloading of freight at steamship, railroad or freight terminals. "Railroads" shall include railways, extensions thereof, tunnels, subways, bridges, elevated structures, tracks, poles, wires, conduits, power houses, substations, lines for the transmission of power, car-barns, shops, yards, sidings, turn-outs, switches, stations and approaches thereto, cars and motive equipment. "Facility" shall include all works, buildings, structures, appliances and appurtenances necessary and convenient for the proper construction, equipment, maintenance and operation of such facility or facilities or any one or more of them. "Real property" shall include land under water, as well as uplands, and all property either now commonly or legally defined as real property or which may hereafter be so defined. "Personal property" shall include choses in action and all other property now commonly or legally defined as personal property or which may hereafter be so defined. "To lease" shall include to rent or to hire. "Rule or regulation," until and unless otherwise determined by the legislatures of both states, shall mean any rule or regulation not inconsistent with the constitution of the United States or of either state, and, subject to the exercise of the power of congress, for the improvement of the conduct of navigation and commerce within the district, and shall include charges, rates, rentals or tolls fixed or established by the port authority; and until otherwise determined as aforesaid, shall not include matters relating to harbor or river pollution. Wherever action by the legislature of either state is herein referred to, it shall mean an act of the legislature duly adopted in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the state. Plural or singular. The singular wherever used herein shall include the plural. Consent, approval or recommendation of municipality; how given. Wherever herein the consent, approval or recommendation of a "municipality" is required, the word "municipality" shall be taken to include any city or incorporated village within the port district, and in addition in the state of New Jersey any borough, town, township or any municipality governed by an improvement commission within the district. Such consent, approval or recommendation whenever required in the case of the city of New York shall be deemed to have been given or made whenever the board of estimate and apportionment of said city or any body hereafter succeeding to its duties shall by a majority vote pass a resolution expressing such consent, approval or recommendation; and in the case of any municipality now or hereafter governed by a commission, whenever the commission thereof shall by majority vote pass such a resolution; and in all other cases whenever the body authorized to grant consent to the use of the streets or highways of such municipality shall by a majority vote pass such a resolution. § 2. The said agreement or compact, when signed and sealed by the commissioners of each state as hereinbefore provided, and the attorney-general of the state of New York, and the attorney-general of the state of New Jersey if he be designated so to act by the state of New Jersey, shall become binding upon the state of New York, and shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state of the state of New York. § 3. If by death, resignation or otherwise, a vacancy occurs among those appointed hereunder by the state of New York, the governor is hereby authorized to fill the same. § 4. The said commissioners, together with the commissioners appointed from the state of New Jersey, shall have power to apply to the congress of the United States for its consent and approval of the agreement or compact signed by them; but in the absence of such consent of congress and until the same shall have been secured, the said agreement or compact shall be binding upon the state of New York in all respects permitted by law for the two states of New York and New Jersey without the consent of congress to co-operate, for the purposes enumerated in said agreement or compact, and in the manner provided herein.