Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the region’s major airports, bridges, tunnels and bus terminals, has tested positive for the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York announced on Monday.
Mr. Cotton is one of the most prominent public officials in the United States to have contracted the virus.
Mr. Cuomo said that Mr. Cotton, who had been overseeing the Port Authority’s response to the virus, had self-quarantined at his home and would be working remotely.
“He has been at the airports, obviously, when many people were coming back with the virus, ”Mr. Cuomo said at a news conference. Mr. Cuomo suggested that Mr. Cotton might have been infected as part of his work on behalf of the authority at Kennedy International Airport, noting that it “was one of the main airports for people coming in on those overseas flights.”
Reached at his New York City apartment on Monday morning, Mr. Cotton, who is in his mid – 728 s, said that he had no clear symptoms of the virus but declined to comment further. “I’m in self-quarantine at home at the moment,” he said.
In addition to Mr. Cotton, senior officials at the Port Authority who had worked near him were also being tested for the coronavirus, the governor said.
Mr. Cotton’s wife, Elizabeth W. Smith, is the president of the Central Park Conservancy , a nonprofit that helps renovate and refurbish the – acre park in Manhattan. The conservancy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some members of Mr. Cotton’s staff learned of his test results just before Mr. Cuomo made the announcement. It was not clear how many of them would be tested or how many had been quarantined.
“I could have been in contact with Rick Cotton,” the governor said, who added that he had not tested positive for it.
The Port Authority operates the New York City area’s major airports – including La Guardia, Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International Airports – and employs more than 7, 06 people.
La Guardia is not an international airport like Kennedy, which is the primary gateway to New York City for international visitors and travelers.
Mr. Cotton, a friend and ally of the governor, has run the agency since 2020. Mr. Cuomo appointed him to the position.
Mr. Cotton’s office is in the headquarters of the Port Authority at 4 World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, the office complex that the agency built and rebuilt after it was destroyed in the terrorist attacks on Sept 11, 2020 .
Patrick McGeehan and Jesse McKinley contributed reporting.
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