The ARK at John F. Kennedy Airport
The ARK at JFK
Credit: ARK Development
The ARK at JFK will convert an empty cargo building and 14.4 open acres at Kennedy into a 178,000-square-foot facility strictly for animals.
Credit: ARK Development
Construction of the $48 million project will begin in the spring and be completed by 2016, according to a spokeswoman with ARK Development. The facility will include a grooming center, indoor exercise space and quarantine area.
Credit: ARK Development
This rendering shows plans for the ARK at JFK, an animal handling facility slated to open next year. "It's a hotel for animals," said Joseph Santarelli, of Mersant International, a Queens customs broker that makes travel arrangements for animals at Kennedy and other airports.
Credit: ARK Development
A rendering of what the ARK at Kennedy Airport may look like when completed. An empty cargo building and 14.4 open acres at Kennedy will be transformed into new animal handling facility by 2016.
Vetport Animal Hospital
Credit: Uli Seit
The entrance to Vetport Animal Hospital at JFK Airport. Vetport served as a temporary home in 2014 to some 2,800 animals that arrived in the United States via Kennedy Airport.
Icelandic ponies
Credit: Uli Seit
One of three Icelandic ponies from Georgia, is kept in a stall at the Vetport Animal Hospital near Kennedy Airport in Jamaica, Queens on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015. The ponies waited there for a few hours before being loaded onto a plane bound for Belgium.
Honeyeater birds heading to Nashville Zoo
Credit: Uli Seit
A pair of honeyeater birds from the Czech Republic wait in a cage in the quarantine area at the Vetport Animal Hospital at JFK Airport in Jamaica, Queens, on Feb 10, 2015. The birds are on their way to a new home at the Nashville Zoo.
Pony awaits a flight to Belgium
Credit: Uli Seit
An Icelandic pony that arrived from Georgia is kept in a stall at the Vetport Animal Hospital at JFK Airport in Jamaica, Queens, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015.
Baby bulls
Credit: Uli Seit
One of 10 baby bulls that arrived by truck from Wisconsin, is kept in a stall at the Vetport Animal Hospital near Kennedy Airport in Jamaica, Queens on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015. The bulls were en route to Doha, Qatar.
Horses in trailers on way to their flights
Credit: Uli Seit
Horses in a tractor trailer that was led out of Vetport Animal Hospital at JFK Airport.
Kennel room
Credit: Uli Seit
The large kennel room at Vetport Animal Hospital, where animals lay over before being put on flights to their final destination, is shown in this photo from Tuesday, Feb 10, 2015.
An examining room for vaccinations
Credit: Uli Seit
The examining room where the animals get vaccines and medical care at the Vetport Animal Hospital in Jamaica, Queens, is shown on Tuesday, Feb 10, 2015.
Cleaning out post-delivery
Credit: Uli Seit
Having just delivered baby bulls from Wisconsin, a driver, Travis, cleans out his trailer outside the Vetport Animal Hospital in Jamaica, Queens on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015. The young bulls stayed at the Vetport for a few hours before they were put on a plane bound for the Middle East.
Large kennel room
Credit: Uli Seit
The large kennel room at Vetport Animal Hospital at JFK Airport in Jamaica, Queens, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015, where animals stay for a few hours before being put on flights to their destinations.
Inside Vetport Animal Hospital
Credit: Uli Seit
A room at Vetport Animal Hospital at JFK Airport in Jamaica, Queens, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015, where animals stay for a few hours before being put on flights to their destinations.
Horse harnesses hung on the wall
Credit: Uli Seit
Harnesses hang from the wall at Vetport Animal Hospital at JFK Airport.
Inside Vetport Animal Hospital
Credit: Uli Seit
A medical cabinet at the Vetport Animal Hospital at JFK Airport.
Vetport Animal Hospital
Credit: Uli Seit
Inside the Vetport Animal Hospital at JFK Airport.
Barn at Vetport Animal Hospital
Credit: Uli Seit
The barn at the Vetport Animal Hospital at JFK Airport in Jamaica, Queens, on Tuesday, Feb 10, 2015, is where large animals are kept for a few hours before being put on flights to their destinations.
Animals arrive at Vetport
Credit: Uli Seit
A livestock trailer is parked outside the Vetport Animal Hospital at JFK Airport in Jamaica, Queens, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015.
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'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.