Lease on New York terminal extended

Lease on New York terminal extended    Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved an agreement to extend by 35 years its lease from the City of New York on the Howland Hook Marine Terminal.
   The city has leased the Staten Island property to the port authority since 1985. Now the lease on the 202-acre terminal is now extended through June 30, 2058.
   The terminal is subleased and operated by New York Container Terminal, which like the Global Marine Terminal in Jersey City, is owned by the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund.
   Port authority spokesman Steve Coleman said the long-term lease on the terminal will allow it to extend its sublease with New York Container Terminal. Offering the terminal a long-term sublease is seen as crucial to NYCT's plan to build a new, high-density container berth at the facility.
   The port authority is also rebuilding the Goethals Bridge, which is adjacent to New York Container Terminal and connects Staten Island with New Jersey.
   As part of the deal with the city, the port authority agreed to spend $110 million on improvements to the facility, which includes the port’s project to dredge major shipping channels to 50 feet.
   A separate lease agreement approved Thursday by the board provides for the port authority to enter into a new lease with the New York City Economic Development Corp. for the letting of Piers 11 and 12 in the Brooklyn-Port Authority Marine Terminal for a 20-year term for the operation of a passenger cruise terminal, with an option to extend the lease with three extension options through 2058. The port authority owns the piers and leases them to the city.    The city opened the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal on Piers 11 and 12 in 2006.