PA NEWS - Port Authority Retirees Association, Inc.

PA NEWS
Published weekly for Port Authority and PATH employees
June 6, 2014/Volume 13/Number 22
Port Authority Names New Chiefs
E
xecutive Director Pat Foye,
together with Deputy Executive
Director Deb Gramiccioni, this
week announced the appointments of
Michael Massiah as Chief, Capital
Planning, Execution & Asset
Management and Lillian Valenti
as Chief Procurement and
Contract Officer.
In his new role, Mr. Massiah
will have accountability for the
implementation and ongoing
management of the recently approved
10-year capital program, and will
manage Business Diversity & Civil
Rights, Environmental & Energy
Programs, Planning & Regional
Development, Project Management,
and WTC Redevelopment.
A 33-year veteran, Mr. Massiah has
served in a number of key leadership
positions, including Deputy Director
and Director of Human Resources,
Director of the Office of Business
and Job Opportunity, and Director
of the Office of Organizational
Michael Massiah
Lillian Valenti
Effectiveness and Change
Management, where he led the
agency through a period of
innovation and business process
re-engineering.
As Chief Procurement & Contracting
Officer, Ms. Valenti will continue to
have responsibility for all procurement
protocols, processes, and awards,
including construction, consultants,
commodity and services solicitations,
and warehouse inventory management.
Ms. Valenti progressed through a
series of Human Resource functions
of increasing responsibility, culminating
in her role as Chief of the Office of
Medical Services, where she provided
leadership to all agency employees
and victims’ families following 9/11.
In 2007, she changed career paths,
moving to Procurement, where she
served as both Deputy Director and
Director. Under her leadership,
Procurement has helped the agency
evolve and adapt to new ways of
doing business, such as public/private
partnerships, and has taken a key
role in grant opportunities and
grant management.
The Executive Director and Deputy
Executive Director wrote, “We are
confident that these leaders are
positioned to make significant
contributions in shaping the Port
Authority of the future. We look
forward to the continued leadership
that Michael and Lillian will
demonstrate in their respective
areas, and across the agency.
Please join us in wishing them
every future success.”
At JFK, Practicing for Perfection
M
Michael Fedorko, PAPD
Chief of Department Louie
Koumoutsos; John Ma,
Chief of Staff to the Executive
Director; and Nicole Crifo,
Chief of Staff to Deputy
Executive Director Deb
Gramiccioni.
Nearly 150 volunteers
from the American Red Cross,
Metropolitan College of New
York, the National Guard,
At the exercise at JFK on June 3 (from right): PAPD
JetBlue Airways, and young
Deputy Chief Matt Wilson, Executive Director Foye, and
people from the NYPD’s, FBI’s First Deputy Chief Security Officer Thomas Belfiore.
and USCBP’s Law Enforcement
Continued on page 3
Explorers program participated as
Adam Perper
ore than 400 emergency
personnel from the Port
Authority and 25 mutual
aid partners responded to a simulated
plane crash at John F. Kennedy
International Airport this week as
the airport held a full-scale exercise
on Taxiway Q, which simulated
Runway 13R.
Monitoring the exercise were
Executive Director Pat Foye; Acting
Chief Operating Officer Stephanie
Dawson; Aviation Director Thomas
Bosco; Deputy Aviation Director
Huntley Lawrence; Director of Public
Safety/Superintendent of Police
PA Launches Goethals Webcams
Calendar
T
he Port Authority this week
launched four webcams offering
motorists and residents the
opportunity to view and track construction
progress of the Goethals Bridge
replacement project. Two of the four
construction cameras are located on the
side of the current bridge with views of
both states and two others are nearby,
facing the bridge in Elizabeth and Staten Island.
The cameras provide images every 15 minutes during construction activity. Visit
http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/goethals-bridge-replacement.html#webcam
to view.
WTC Memorial Scholarship
The deadline is June 6 to apply for
the WTC Memorial Golf Club Committee
Scholarship for graduating high school
seniors who plan to continue their
education. Applications are available at
www.wtcmemorialgolfclub.com.
Jazz in Brooklyn
Retiree and jazz vocalist Steve Cromity
will perform on June 8, 2 to 5 p.m., at Milk
River Cafe, 960 Atlantic Ave. (three blocks
from Barclays Center). He will be there
again on June 15 from 7 to 10 p.m.
For more details, contact him at
acorns4u@aol.com.
Welcome, Summer Interns
Hidden Harbor Tour
T
The Working Harbor Committee’s first
2014 Hidden Harbor Tour of the region’s
working waterfront sets sail on June 14.
Because the PA is a member of the
committee, PA employees get a $5
discount. See Employee Bulletins for details.
Kate Baust
he Port Authority welcomed 132
summer interns at two orientation
sessions at 2 Montgomery on May
27. The 2014 internship class comprises
college students from across the region,
country, and world. Human Resources
gave them an overview of the agency’s
organization, history, structure, facilities,
and operations, concluding with a
PowerPoint presentation by Mark
Hamilton and Michael Hessemer of Louis
Berger Group on the redevelopment of the World Trade Center.
HRD’s presenters included Cristina Kiley, Wayne Turner, Kevin O’Driscoll,
Kate Baust, and Joseph Monte.
Next steps include facility tours and a first-ever series of internship roundtable
sessions, at which HRD, Leadership Fellows, and key PA staffers will provide tips to
the interns on how to make the most of their time at the agency and prepare for
their next steps in their academic and professional careers.
Extend the Columbus Day weekend.
The Sixth Annual LaGuardia Airport Golf
Classic is set for October 14 at Pelham Bay
Golf Course in the Bronx. Details will be
posted soon on EmployeeNet.
J
Academic Honors
Public Safety’s
Carol Lauria was
inducted into Phi
Alpha Theta, the
National History
Honor Society,
for “reaching high
academic standards” in the subject. Ms.
Lauria is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in
history at New Jersey City University.
Jean Marie Mitchell
PA News / June 6, 2014
Achievements
Alan Hicks
2
PATH’s Jeffrey Coleman is planning to
participate in Friends of Karen’s 10th Annual
“Journey of the Heart” Bike Tour in the
Berkshires on September 26 through 28.
Friends of Karen is a 501(c)(3) charity that
supports critically ill children and their families.
If you’d like to join him, contact him at
914 885-7537.
Save the Date
JFK Holds Career Day
ohn F. Kennedy
International Airport held
its 31st Annual Career
Day on May 19, hosting 465
students from nine area schools.
In addition to the Port Authority,
the airport community was
represented by a large number
of companies and government
agencies, including FAA, TSA,
CBP, USDA, USPS, OTG,
Bombardier, the Council for
Among those on hand for JFK Career Day: Port
Airport Opportunity, the Civil
Authority Police Officer Jane Ortlepp and her K-9
partner, Bree.
Air Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard
Auxiliary, ABM Parking, and
Aviation High School.
Friends of Karen
PCD Staffer
Re-Elected
PA and BCC Get Together
A
P
ort
Commerce
Outreach
Manager Lucy
Ambrosino
was re-elected
President of
the Westconn
International Trade Association at its
annual meeting last month.
The association works to foster
industrial and academic awareness of
the importance of international trade
to the U.S. economy, and to provide
members with the information and
tools they need to succeed in the
global marketplace.
Its members include importers,
exporters, and logistics service
providers from the Westchester/
Connecticut/New York metropolitan area.
PA LFs Are
‘Most Spirited’
From left, Professor Klappert, Mr. Lawrence,
Maria Bordas, and Portia Henry at the Emil
Buehler Trust Aviation Center at Bergen
Community College in Paramus.
Ms. Henry and Professor Klappert land their
Cessna at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It was a
good landing: Both walked away.
T
he Port Authority’s 2012 and
2013 Leadership Fellows classes
collaborated to form a soccer
team in the co-ed NYC Social League.
Team Captain Michael Driscoll
(LF ’13) organized the group of
fellows and invited additional young
professionals outside of the agency
to play at the renovated Pier 5 in
Brooklyn, with its magnificent view of
the World Trade Center and the Lower
Manhattan skyline. The team finished
the season by winning the league’s
“Most Spirited” Award.
Practicing for Perfection
Continued from page 1
at Home
A
ll employees who have Port
Authority Outlook accounts
can access EmployeeNet
from home or any other outside
location with Internet access. Just
type paenet.panynj.gov and enter your
Novell ID and password.
The site is for use only by authorized
individuals and will not work from your
office computer.
PA News / June 6, 2014
3
Steven Pawlak
crash victims. JetBlue provided
the aircraft.
Ms. Dawson said, “The full-scale exercise
emphasized coordination with our airline
and aviation partners in response to various
emergency scenarios. It was impressive to
see the level of interaction and the willingness
and ability to adjust actions based on
real-world and scenario-driven events”
Port Authority Police, JFK Operations, and the Office of Emergency Management
designed and planned the exercise to practice incident management, interoperable
communications, law enforcement, rescue, and medical operations in concert with
the PA’s local, state, and federal mutual aid partners.
NYC Social
Leadership Fellows on the team: Michael
Driscoll, Frank Reig, Samuel Erickson,
Portia Henry, Richard Mai, Elizabeth
Browder, Ryan Flanagan, Peter Jenkins,
Leticia Mata, and (not pictured) Nathaniel
Saviet. Other teammates: Jaime Miller and
Sara Rosales.
Photos: Christina Martinez
viation Deputy Director
Huntley Lawrence and staff
visited Bergen Community
College recently to get a look at BCC’s
two-year program track in Aviation
Management or Aviation Operations,
both of which provide a basis for
transfer to a four-year college upon
completion. BCC is in partnership with
Vaughn College of Aeronautics and
Technology in Flushing.
Mr. Huntley, Aviation General
Manager Maria Bordas, and
Leadership Fellow Portia Henry were
hosted by BCC’s Aviation Managing
Director Christina Martinez and
Aviation Program Director and
Professor William Klappert, who
provided a tour and opportunity for
their guests to fly a state-of-the-art
Cessna 172 flight simulator.
The Port Authority is supporting
BCC’s aviation curriculum by hosting
two interns at Newark Liberty
International Airport this summer.
PATH Reaches Out
S
eeking to enhance public
outreach and improve
customer service, PATH is
encouraging public participation in
its transportation planning process
through a new PATH Riders’ Council
and a revamped PATH Education
Series.
The new PATH Riders’ Council will
give riders a voice in system designs
and operational decision-making.
The model is based on industry best
practices and will strive to select
candidates within the service area
who represent a cross-section of
riders from different geographic
locations and demographics.
Executive Director Pat Foye said,
“PATH remains committed to
providing our customers with safe,
efficient trans-Hudson transit service.
By allowing the public a voice in
PATH’s operations, we can enhance
the customer experience and
make sure the system serves
people’s needs.”
Deputy Executive Director
Deb Gramiccioni said, “The input
of PATH riders serves as a foundation
in building PATH’s services for our
customers. The adoption of these two
public outreach programs will help the
agency work aggressively to deliver
the best in safety, security, and service
to our customers.”
Applications to serve on the
advisory council are now available at
http://www.panynj.gov/path/prc and
at each PATH station.
Employee Profile: Bonnie Choi
4
PA News / June 6, 2014
Personal
interests:
“Spending time
with my family and
friends, watching
comedy shows,
trying out new
restaurants.”
Thoughts about
the job:
“I enjoy it. I get to
meet people from
all walks of life, from
the staff in the
agency to the
applicants. You never
know whom you will
meet. HR requires a
lot of flexibility, being
able to change and
refocus based on a number of different
factors, such as the economy,
technology and needs of the agency.”
Alan Hicks
Title: Operations
and Maintenance
Supervisor, Human
Resources, since
March.
Residence:
Brooklyn.
Joined the PA:
November 2007.
First job at PA:
“I started my career
in Human Resources
as an intern in the
College Programs
division, followed by
HR Coordinator,
Maintenance
Recruiter, and now
O&M Supervisor in
Talent Acquisition.”
Duties: “Oversee the recruitment
process for operations and
maintenance positions, such as
Electrician, General Maintainer,
Trackman, and Toll Collector.”
Most challenging aspects:
“Finding new and innovative ways to
source for candidates.”
Get PA News
If you’d like PA News sent to your
personal e-mail address, send a note to
panews@panynj.gov.
The new Public Education Series
will consist of one-time lectures and
presentations on key topics four times
a year, evenings at 6:30. The first
session will be this month at a date,
time, and place to be determined.
It will be presented by PATH Deputy
Director Mike Marino, who will
discuss post-Superstorm Sandy
recovery and resiliency initiatives..
Enrollment for these sessions
will be available on a first-come,
first-served basis. To register, visit
www.panynj.gov/path.pes.
Visit www.panynj.gov/path to learn
more about PATH’s public outreach
and customer services initiatives and
programs.
Retirement News
Friends and colleagues are invited to
233 Park Avenue South, 4th floor on
June 20 to visit with COO’s Nancy
Johnson before she takes the big leap into
retirement.
After 37 years of service, PATH’s
John Reidy is about to set sail. You can
wish him bon voyage at noon on June 26
at JSTC’s 1st floor conference room.
See Employee Bulletins for details.
T
o keep up with news on the PA
and its impact on the regional
economy, you can sign up to
receive the agency’s e-mail newsletter,
Growing the Region.
To subscribe, visit:
http://www.panynj.gov/about/newsletters.html and click “Sign up here.”
Spread the word about GTR to your
contacts outside the agency and
encourage them to subscribe.