Meet Beth Rooney, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey

On April 30, the 2025 Open City Benefit will bring together hundreds of New Yorkers for a festive evening at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in BLDG 303.

Beth Rooney, Port Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will will accept the 2025 Open House New Yorker Award, in recognition of her civic leadership—and her perennially popular Port Infrastructure Boat Tour.

About Beth

Beth started at the Port Authority in 1993 and has held a series of progressively higher-level management positions since then. She was appointed Deputy Port Director in April 2019 after serving as the Port’s Assistant Director overseeing policy, planning, legislative and regulatory affairs, as well as environmental sustainability, performance and efficiency. She is the architect and coordinator of the Port’s Council on Port Performance (CPP) – the first forum of its kind in the nation that was established as a framework for Port constituents to identify challenges to Port efficiency and service reliability, and develop recommended solutions. She has managed and coordinated Port-wide efforts to ensure that performance management and quality improvement efforts are developed and managed using a data-driven focus that sets priorities for improvements aligned to ongoing strategic imperatives. Prior to that, she was the Agency’s first ever Manager, Port Security, having been tapped to take on that role on September 12, 2001 and serving in that capacity for more than 13 years.

Beth began her career as a port captain/vessel agent for General Steamship Corporation. She is a graduate of the State University of New York Maritime College with a master’s in international transportation and a bachelor’s in marine transportation with qualifications as a Third Mate. She is also an Accredited Marine Port Executive from the International Association of Maritime and Port Executives.

You started at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1993. What most excites you about your work?

Simply put, the Port Authority is an incredibly rewarding place to work and it is exciting to know that what we do every day has such an essential impact on virtually every aspect of the lives of millions of people.

You’ve led five sold-out boat tours for Open House New York and built quite a fan base. What’s one thing most New Yorkers don’t realize about our port infrastructure?

Most New Yorkers “see” a part of the Port of New York and New Jersey outside their window or on a commute to work or school, but have no idea how expansive it is or that it is so integral to their daily lives. It is not unique to New Yorkers, but unless you work in the industry, people generally have no idea how products get to retail stores, where the gasoline for their vehicles or home heating oil comes from or the magic behind the Amazon package arriving on their doorstep the next day. We have simply come to expect that things will be there when we need or want them without giving any consideration to the complex port infrastructure and supply chain which makes that happen.