We got a NotifyNYC alert this morning:

The Port Authority will be doing construction blasting at the World Trade Center site today beginning at 8 a.m. There will be a total of 7 controlled blasts during the day. This is a routine construction operation and there is no cause for concern.

Over two years after a jury found it negligent for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Port Authority continues to fight that claim. The NY-NJ agency and lawyers for the victims face the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court to argue their sides. more ›

Wow - yet depressingly not surprising: The Port Authority will have to pay World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein $300,000 for every day past December 31, 2007 that it does not turn over a part of the WTC site. The payment could be as much at $13.5 million or as little as $9.3 million. more ›

Forget terrorists or crippling airline delays: Cats are enemy number one at JFK Airport. After years of airport and airline employees taking care of the many feral cats who make Kennedy their home, the Port Authority is trapping the cats. Rescue groups are worried, because the cats are feral, they are very unlikely to be placed in homes - which means they will probably be killed. more ›

Remember how the Port Authority wanted to put Geico ads on various toll booths at the George Washington Bridge? Maybe it's a good thing that plan was scotched, because now the Port Authority is considering elmination of tollbooths at all Hudson River crossings. From the NY Sun:

The plan, which is expected to reduce traffic bottlenecks on the highways leading into the city, would complement Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to charge drivers a fee to use the city's most crowded streets, Port officials said. The Port Authority would use the same camera technology to charge drivers that the city is planning to use if it implements congestion pricing.

The Port Authority is investigating adding a second bus lane to the Lincoln Tunnel. There's a bus lane already (carved out of a westbound lane between 6:15-10AM), which carries 51% of all passengers who use the tunnel, but the Post calls it a "victim of its own success," since it's operating at capacity. The second bus lane would be for buses - and perhaps for drivers who would pay a premium toll (over the current $6). more ›

Governor Pataki, you can kiss your April "Freedom Tower" groundbreaking goodbye: Talks between World Trade Center leaseholder, the developer Larry Silverstein, and the Port Authority (WTC owner) went nowhere yesterday, as the deadline to . So enter the namecalling: Tthe PA calling Silverstein greedy and Silverstein saying that the PA "elected to suspend talks." The Times reports that talks "nearly blew up" many times during the waning hours of negotiating time (the deadline was 12:00AM), while the Post explains how the talks went:

The PA and Silverstein spent much of the day negotiating - until both sides took a break at 6 p.m. with an outline on the table that called for the developer to assume control of Towers 2, 3 and 4 on Church Street, officials said. more ›

A six-member jury at the State Supreme Court in Manhattan found the Port Authority negligent in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The jury even assigned blame for the February 26, 1993 bombing by saying the Port Authority was 68% responsible and the terrorists who planted the bomb in the parking structure under the WTC were 32% responsible. Apparently a 1985 Port Authority report had list various concerns about the parking structure, explicitly saying:

A time-bomb-laden vehicle could be driven into the W.T.C. and parked in the public parking area. The driver would then exit via elevator into the W.T.C. and proceed with his business unnoticed. At a predetermined time, the bomb could be exploded in the basement. The amount of explosives used will determine the severity of damage to that area.

Terminal Five, the art exhibit at JFK Airport's Terminal Five that opened to fanfare last week, was shut down by the Port Authority, due to concerns, it seems, from the terminal's future tenant, Jet Blue. Today, Manhattan User's Guide writes:

A shocker. Terminal Five, which we wrote recently was sure to be the "coolest art exhibit of the year" has been shut down by the Port Authority – yes, the same Port Authority that was a sponsor. Seems there was a bit of vandalism on opening night and the PA decided, rather late in the game, that the whole thing would be a security risk. As you can imagine, curator Rachel Ward (who has worked for a year on this with no pay) and the artists are distraught. The PA, over the years, has maintained a fairly unpopular image, which this latest move will no doubt further burnish. You can help get Terminal Five open again by calling the PA's perfectly named Ernesto Butcher, 212.435.7887, and urge him to reconsider.