Tag: Christie

Posted on

Christie, Cuomo plot out transit plans as ‘summer of hell’ looms

Ridgewood Train Station

file photo by ArtChick

By DANA RUBINSTEIN and RYAN HUTCHINS

05/23/2017 05:41 PM EDT

As New York and New Jersey residents continue to grapple with the region’s ailing mass transit system, Governors Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie on Tuesday stood before reporters on opposite sides of the Hudson River and, in dueling press conferences, explained how they planned to deal with the crisis.

Both said riders on NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road trains should expect, as Christie put it, “a summer of hell.”

https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/05/23/christie-cuomo-plot-out-penn-station-plans-as-summer-of-hell-looms-112280

Posted on

Christie takes aim at gas taxes, pensions, property taxes and teachers union

Chris_christie_theridgewoodblog

 

With the state’s Transportation Trust Fund less than three weeks away from running out of money for new road, bridge and rail projects, Gov. Chris Christie said the fix being pushed by the Democratic-controlled legislature lacked sufficient tax breaks to be signed into law. Claude Brodesser-Akner, NJ.comJ Read more

Posted on

Christie unveils major reforms to benefit N.J. charter schools

Chris_christie_theridgewoodblog

Citing a “broken and unaffordable” education system and lengthy waiting lists for charter schools, Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday proposed sweeping reforms that he said would give charter schools greater flexibility in hiring staff and better access to high quality facilities. Adam Clark, NJ.com Read more

Posted on

Christie, Cuomo seek Federal Grant Commitment of 50% for Rail Tunnel

Ridgewood_Train_Statin_theridgewoodblog

 

Far better deal for NJ Taxpayers 

Today, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo sent a letter to President Barack Obama outlining a viable funding framework to break the logjam over funding for a new trans-Hudson commuter rail tunnel – a critical infrastructure project of regional and national economic importance. Politicker Staff, PolitickerNJ  Read more

Posted on

Feds call meeting with Christie and Cuomo to discuss new transit tunnel

lasttraintoclarksville_theridgewoodblog

JULY 27, 2015, 10:53 PM    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JULY 27, 2015, 10:53 PM
BY HERB JACKSON AND CHRISTOPHER MAAG
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx urged Governor Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday to meet with him in the next two weeks to talk about replacing the century-old Hudson River rail tunnel that is frequently the cause of delays for commuters.

Foxx’s call comes after a week in which state and federal officials traded increasingly harsh words about delays on trains entering and leaving New York City.

In a letter to the two governors obtained by The Record, Foxx recounted how the federal government put up $3 billion for a new NJ Transit tunnel that was begun in 2009, then canceled by Christie in October 2010.

Amtrak, which owns the existing tunnel and Northeast Corridor tracks used by many NJ Transit commuters daily, has proposed the Gateway project, which includes building two new tubes under the river. If Gateway were built and the existing two-track tunnel were overhauled to replace failing electrical systems and structural damage caused by flooding from Superstorm Sandy, rail capacity under the river would eventually be doubled.

Foxx said that Amtrak was in discussions with the Federal Railroad Administration about financing, but that Washington would not bankroll the project by itself.

“Neither Amtrak nor your individual states, acting alone, can replace these tunnels,” Foxx wrote. “It will take all of us working together. To that end, I would like to meet with you within the next two weeks to discuss the project, especially your states’ roles in getting it completed.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/feds-call-meeting-with-christie-and-cuomo-to-discuss-new-transit-tunnel-1.1381739

Posted on

Pension reform talk may heat up as Christie readies State of the State address

15282324-mmmain

Pension reform talk may heat up as Christie readies State of the State address

TRENTON — When Gov. Chris Christie delivers his 2015 State of the State address Tuesday, lawmakers and public workers will no doubt be listening for remarks on pension reform.

On the eve of that speech, and months after a commission’s report on recommendations for the ailing pension system was expected to be released, legislators, union leaders and lobbyists say they are expecting to hear from the governor on one of the biggest issues facing Trenton. Christie’s office has not yet provided any details about his annual address to the state Legislature.

The governor made mention of the ailing public employee pension system nine times in his 2014 address, proposing to crack down on pension fraud and engage on pension reform.

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/01/pension_reform_talk_may_heat_up_as_christie_readies_state_of_the_state_address.html

Posted on

Christie and Cuomo offer their own Port Authority reforms, block legislators’ efforts

imgres-6

Christie and Cuomo offer their own Port Authority reforms, block legislators’ efforts

DECEMBER 27, 2014, 1:34 PM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014, 9:39 AM
BY SHAWN BOBURG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Governor Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blocked the efforts of lawmakers in both states to reform the Port Authority and instead endorsed their own sweeping proposal on Saturday, nearly a year after the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal brought the agency under unprecedented scrutiny and criticism.

The governors agreed to no longer appoint the agency’s two top executives. They encouraged it to shed its real-estate holdings, including the World Trade Center. And they endorsed redirecting money previously set aside for the governors’ pet projects toward a new Manhattan bus terminal and other initiatives that will benefit commuters moving between New Jersey and New York, they said in a joint statement that accompanied a 103-page report of reform recommendations.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/christie-and-cuomo-offer-their-own-port-authority-reforms-block-legislators-efforts-1.1182119

Posted on

Christie to Obama: Demand Cuba return cop killer Joanne Chesimard

0512a-chesimard2-15p

Christie to Obama: Demand Cuba return cop killer Joanne Chesimard

DECEMBER 21, 2014, 1:03 PM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2014, 11:16 PM
BY CARLA BARANAUCKAS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Governor Christie is urging President Obama to delay reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba until a convicted cop-killer who has been granted asylum by the Cuban government is returned to New Jersey.

On Wednesday, Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced the thaw between the two countries.

In a letter dated Friday, Christie said, “The Cuban government has been providing safe haven to convicted murderer Joanne Chesimard, a woman designated by the [FBI] as a domestic terrorist and the first woman ever placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List.”

In 1977, Chesimard was convicted of murder in the 1973 killing of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster. She was sentenced to life in prison, escaped in 1979 and made her way to Cuba.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/christie-to-obama-demand-cuba-return-cop-killer-joanne-chesimard-1.1173513

Posted on

Democrat Senate President Steve Sweeney Pushes for Gas tax Increase for unions , criticizes Christie

imgres-18

Democrat Senate President Steve Sweeney Pushes for Gas tax Increase for unions ,criticizes Christie

DECEMBER 20, 2014, 11:55 AM    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2014, 4:37 PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Senate President Steve Sweeney has gone on offense, criticizing Gov. Chris Christie and calling on him to detail his plan for saving the imperiled transportation trust fund. But Sweeney has not said how he would pay for his own ideas.

As the Legislature wraps up the calendar year without a deal to address the fund, Sweeney along with Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and Republican Gov. Chris Christie are still working behind the scenes to come to an agreement.

Thus far, Sweeney, the influential southern New Jersey Democrat, has been upfront in expressing what he wants the deal to look like: the fund should be beefed up to $2 billion from $1.26 billion, and money to municipalities should nearly double to $400 million.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Sweeney said his “bottom line” is the inclusion of rail projects in Hudson and Bergen counties, in Camden and Gloucester counties as well as freight rail infrastructure projects in the central part of the state.

“We are not gonna pit regions against each other,” he said. “The needs are great, they’re real and we have to advance them together. Too often it’s like us against them and that’s not how it should be,” Sweeney said.

While he says a tax increase is probable, he has not written or endorsed legislation detailing exactly what that tax would look like.

In part, that’s because talks with Christie and Prieto are still underway and no agreement would be possible without their support, Sweeney said. To publicly embrace a plan to pay for the fund — like an increase in the state’s 10.5 cent gas tax — could scuttle those talks, Christie said in an interview on 101.5 FM last week.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/sweeney-criticizes-christie-calls-for-plan-to-save-imperiled-transportation-trust-fund-1.1173185

Posted on

3 pension funds sue Christie over contributions

images-2

3 pension funds sue Christie over contributions

DECEMBER 10, 2014, 9:14 AM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014, 4:36 PM
BY GEOFF MULVIHILL
ASSOCIATED PRESS

New Jersey’s three largest pension funds for public workers sued Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday over his decision to cut contributions earlier this year.

The lawsuit was filed in state chancery court on behalf of the Public Employees Retirement System, Police and Fire Retirement System and the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund. Unions representing public workers previously sued over the contributions cut after a surprise fiscal crunch this year.

“The unions were doing their thing on behalf of their membership,” said Tom Bruno, chairman of PERS. “Our thing is a little different. Ours is a matter of trusteeship.”

The funds also represent nonunion public workers. Bruno says the three members of the PERS board who represent Christie’s administration abstained from the vote on whether to sue and the state attorney general’s office recused itself from the issue.

One key accomplishment of Christie’s first term as governor was an agreement to catch up funding for pension funds. For decades, governors had skimped on or skipped pension payments. As part of the agreement, retired public employees saw their cost-of-living increases suspended and current employees had to increase their retirement contributions.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/3-pension-funds-sue-christie-over-contributions-1.1149667

Posted on

Christie, Cuomo urged to sign Port Authority reform bills

imgres-20-1

Christie, Cuomo urged to sign Port Authority reform bills

DECEMBER 9, 2014, 5:33 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014, 6:15 PM
BY JOHN SEASLY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Politicians and advocates from New York and New Jersey urged governors Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday to approve two bills reforming Port Authority procedures.

The two bills hold the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to higher standards of transparency and accountability. They were passed unanimously by both states’ legislative bodies. Cuomo and Christie must now decide the bills’ fates. The bills will be sent to Cuomo by mid-December. Christie has until Dec. 28 to act. Both governors must approve the bills for them to take effect.

“I’m confident he’s going to sign it,” New Jersey state Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle said of Christie, after remarking that she had recently raised the issue in person with the governor. Sen. Robert Gordon wasn’t as confident, but still hoped Christie would sign.

“Governor Christie said he was going to usher in a new era of transparency and accountability. Here’s a chance for him to do that,” Gordon said.

The bills enforce laws about open meetings, financial disclosure and public records. Currently, the Port Authority, as a bi-state agency, is exempt from public records laws. The bills also require the agency to submit detailed budgets, undergo annual independent audits and hold at least six public hearings before voting on proposed toll increases.

The debate over how to reform the Port Authority comes as a panel appointed by both governors is expected to propose its own reforms in the coming weeks. It’s unclear if those recommendations will affect the proposed bills before the governors, or if they will cover the same ground.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/christie-cuomo-urged-to-sign-port-authority-reform-bills-1.1149208

Posted on

Christie, Obama trade jabs as details of N.J. Ebola quarantine plan emerge

BubbleBoy-Still8

Christie, Obama trade jabs as details of N.J. Ebola quarantine plan emerge

As Governor Christie and President Obama sparred Wednesday over mandatory quarantines for travelers exposed to Ebola patients, a draft of the state’s strategy to deal with the virus outlined how it would enforce those quarantines, transport people to hospitals and treat children of parents who may have to be isolated. (Jackson/The Bergen Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/christie-obama-trade-jabs-as-details-of-n-j-ebola-quarantine-plan-emerge-1.1121398

Posted on

Christie urges lawmakers to change bail system

GetOutOfJail

Christie urges lawmakers to change bail system

Gov. Christie on Wednesday urged lawmakers to vote for changes he says are needed to reverse the “utter failure” of New Jersey’s bail system, declaring that “we are nearly out of time to act.” (Seidman/The Philadelphia Inquirer)

https://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140731_Christie_urges_lawmakers_to_fix__quot_broken_quot__criminal_justice_system.html