New York City Economic Development Corporation

Downtown Manhattan Heliport: Revenue Operations

The Downtown Manhattan Heliport is one of three public heliports in New York City. The Heliport is managed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey pursuant to a lease agreement with the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The Port Authority is required by the agreement to pay the Corporation a minimum annual rental fee plus certain additional amounts if net revenue is generated from the Heliport’s operations. In the two years covered by our audit, the Port Authority reported significant operating deficits for these operations.

We audited the revenue totals reported by the Port Authority and found they were complete and accurate. We also audited certain expenses reported by the Port Authority, and questioned whether some of the expenses might have been excessive. We noted that the financial statements for the Heliport’s operations were not subject to an independent audit. We recommended that such audits be performed periodically. We also recommended that steps be taken to address the Heliport’s recurrent operating deficits.

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