In a recent decision out of the First Department the Court held that the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey is a “public corporation” withing the contemplation of the Lien Law and, as such, the George Washington Bus Station built on land owed by PANYNJ was a “public improvement.” This was particularly important here as a private entity had a leasehold interest in the property and private projects on public land create no lien rights. Therefore, the contractor had no lien rights and a petition to discharge the lien was found to have been properly granted.
The April 2017 case out of the First Department was: