NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- The long-awaited renovation at LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B is finally complete and fully open to travelers Thursday, with officials celebrating its total transformation.
It comes eight years after then-Vice President Joe Biden called the Queens airport “third-world.”
“We're gonna invite President Biden here and when he takes off the blindfold and sees this he'll know that we listened,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Hochul said you’ll no longer find dark, crammed hallways — instead it’ll be light shining through giant floor-to-ceiling windows.
It also has murals and dozens of new restaurants and shops for travelers. Officials also hailed the terminal for becoming the world’s first airport with “dual pedestrian skybridges.”
The terminal is home to American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue and Air Canada.
“From that point of view of travelers at Terminal B, New York at long last has the world class gateway that a world class city and state deserve,” said Port Authority Executive Rick Cotton.
The terminal features 35 gates, a new parking garage and covered pickup facilities.
“We know we're the best, but sometimes you need the places to speak that loudly as well, and this place shouts it from the mountain tops,” said Hochul.
The renovation took six years and held a price tag of $4 billion. And next door, Terminal C is set to be done in the coming months.
For Mayor Eric Adams, the changes are symbolic as well.
“We are saying New York City is taking flight and we're not going to remain on the ground,” said Adams.
But getting to the airport could still be a challenge for some. Hochul canceled the controversial AirTrain project last fall. Meanwhile, Port Authority is still looking at other ideas.
All that’s left is for a portion of the old Central Terminal Building to be torn down, which officials said should be completed by the spring. All temporary walkways will go out of service Saturday.
The terminal has already been lauded, with UNESCO’s Prix Versailles in awarding it the “Best New Airport in the World” by a blue-ribbon panel of architects.
Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo also weighed in on the project's completion in a statement, saying in part, "The rebuilding and reimagining of LaGuardia was done in record time under very difficult circumstances and is a testament to the very people who worked day in and day out for years to deliver for New Yorkers."
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