New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday a $4 billion-plan to tear down and rebuild the city's Laguardia Airport.
"LaGuardia Airport is 'un-New York'. It's slow, dated and a terrible entranceway to New York," Cuomo said alongside Vice President Joe Biden, who once dubbed the airport "Third World."
"New York deserves a better airport, and its future demands it," Biden said.
LaGuardia consistently ranks as one of the country’s 25 busiest airports, according to Adie Tomer, a fellow at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program, who called for updates in June.
The airport, which is located in Queens, has "disconnected terminals" and no mass transportation, Cuomo said. The new plan calls for both ferry and rail service.
"It's not a plan; it's not a sketch; it's not a dream...It is actually happening," Cuomo added.
Construction will begin in 2016 and take approximately 18 months to complete.