Christie’s Transit Chief Slams Proposed PATH Cuts, Says Services Should Be Extended
Gov. Christie’s head of transportation said Monday he is against any cutbacks in PATH service between New Jersey and Manhattan, opposing a report commissioned by his boss and Gov. Cuomo that suggested eliminating overnight service to save the Port Authority millions of dollars each year.
“This is not the way I would save money,” Jamie Fox, who once served as deputy executive director of the Port Authority, told a meeting of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority. “Mass transit is the future of this state.” (Thompson/NBC)
humm …are people really saying Christie cant be a Cowboys fan
Steve Adubato “Life-long Dallas Cowboys fan, Governor Chris Christie says Jerry Jones is a personal friend and there’s no problem being in his luxury box for the last few Cowboys “wins” or flying on his private jet. Some of Christie’s critics see it differently. In a 12/22 exclusive live interview with the Governor which aired on NJTV, Thirteen WNET New York, WHYY, Verizon FiOS1 – New Jersey, 77 WABC and WBGO Jazz 88.3, I ask the Governor about the whole “Cowboys/Jerry Jones” subject. “
Christie friendship with Jerry Jones began after Cowboys won Port Authority bid, spokesman says
TRENTON — A spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie said today that the governor and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones were not friends during the bid procurement process for the observatory of the Port Authority’s One World Trade Center site, a bid that ultimately went to Legends Hospitality, a company partly owned by Jones’ Dallas Cowboys.
“The friendship began in the summer of 2013,” said spokesman Kevin Roberts, adding that “whether they had met in 2010 or 2011 in a passing way, I can’t account for that.”
The Dallas Cowboys, in partnership with the New York Yankees and investment fund Checketts Partners, all have a stake in Legends Hospitality, which won out in bidding to operate the observatory of the Port Authority controlled One World Trade Center when it opens later this year.
United Newark Liberty’s Largest Carrier files complaint against the Port Authority for excessive fees
Port Authority chairman calls United’s complaint on Newark Airport fees ‘inflammatory’
DECEMBER 16, 2014, 6:29 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2014, 10:30 PM
BY SHAWN BOBURG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The chairman of the Port Authority fired back at Newark Liberty’s biggest carrier Tuesday, calling United Airlines’ recent complaint to federal regulators about the agency’s escalating airport fees “inflammatory” and “political.”
In unusually strong remarks, John Degnan, an appointee of Governor Christie, blamed United’s high fares out of Newark on its “monopoly” at the airport, alleging the airline stifles competition by not allowing other carriers to fill unused capacity that it controls.
Newark ranks sixth among all U.S. airports in its average round-trip fare, at $491.42, outstripping prices at New York’s two major airports by $75 or more, according to the latest federal data.
It was the latest in a series of broadsides involving the Christie administration, the Port Authority and United, and the first time that Degnan, who became chairman in July, has taken on such a high-profile target.
Earlier this year, the airline abruptly pulled out of Atlantic City’s airport after less than a year of flights in and out of the struggling resort town that Christie has been trying to revive. Last week United filed its complaint about airport fees to the Federal Aviation Administration, accusing the Port Authority of diverting money from the airports — including fees it charges United — to non-agency projects like repairs to the Pulaski Skyway, a New Jersey-owned road.
Degnan, a former New Jersey attorney general, called that a “cheap shot” Tuesday and said he was responding “in kind.”
Port Authority security costs have risen 40 percent in five years
DECEMBER 9, 2014, 10:12 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014, 10:12 PM
BY SHAWN BOBURG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Few agencies know the horrors of terrorism as does the Port Authority. But more than 13 years after the 9/11 attacks toppled the Twin Towers, the cost of its police and security apparatus continues to mushroom at a rate some top officials are calling unsustainable.
The Port Authority’s 1,835-member police force is bigger than ever and growing still. Some officers racked up so much overtime last year that they tripled their salaries and ranked among the agency’s top earners. At the same time, the Port Authority is paying an unprecedented amount to private security companies to help guard airports and other facilities. And the costs could continue to climb as the agency assumes increasing responsibility for securing a nearly rebuilt World Trade Center.
When Port Authority commissioners meet this morning, they are scheduled to vote on a 2015 spending plan that dedicates nearly a quarter of every dollar spent on operations to police and security. The $658 million slated for public-safety operations is 40 percent higher than it was only five years ago and quadruple the 2000 level. That growth has come as the rest of the agency’s operating expenses remained flat the last decade, its non-police workforce shrinking.
“Neither the trajectory of the expenses nor the current level is sustainable,” Port Authority Chairman John Degnan said in an interview on Tuesday.
Fourth Port Authority Toll Hike in Four Years Takes Effect
Port Authority voting on proposed 2015 $7.8B budget after upcoming toll hike
December 8,2014
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
The Port Authority has unveiled a proposed $7.8 billion budget for 2015. The board of commissioners will vote on the plan Wednesday, days after the fourth toll hike in as many years. Cash tolls will increase by $1 to $14 this weekend, while E-ZPass goes up by 75 cents.The $7.8 billion combined spending plan includes: a $2.9 billion operating budget; $1.1 billion in debt service; and a very robust capital program of $3.6 billion highlighted by continuing work on the Bayonne Bridge roadway raising, replacement of the Goethals Bridge, overhauls of the George Washington Bridge and Lincoln Tunnel Helix, and completion of the transportation hub plus other work at the World Trade Center site, which makes up 45 percent of capital costs.
Tolls Set to Increase as Port Authority unveils proposed $7.8B budget
DECEMBER 2, 2014, 6:28 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014, 6:34 PM
BY SHAWN BOBURG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Days before tolls on Hudson River crossings are set to rise again, the Port Authority on Tuesday released a proposed spending plan for 2015 that relies heavily on those tolls to pay for upgrades to some of the region’s airports, rail lines, roadways and the World Trade Center.
The $7.8 billion overall budget — larger than that of approximately a dozen U.S. states — is about $400 million less than what the agency spent in 2014, mostly due to a significant drop in spending to rebuild the World Trade Center, which is taking shape and will start bringing in office rental revenues in 2015.
That may come as little comfort to motorist who will see the fourth toll hike in as many years starting Dec. 6. Cash tolls will rise $1, to $15, while E-ZPass rates will rise $0.75, to $12.50 during peak hours and $10.50 at off-peak times. It is estimated that an additional $100 million will be collected at the bridges and tunnels in 2015 compared with this year.
The agency’s 2015 budget will be voted on by commissioners at their Dec. 10 meeting.
The agency plans to spend $2.9 billion on day-to-day operations—a 1.8 percent increase over this year. The agency said Tuesday that it was the ninth consecutive year that it had kept its operating budget at or below the annual rate of inflation. That is despite adding hundreds of new officers to a police force that is expected to number 1,840 in 2015, the largest it has been in at least a decade.
Codey introduces Port bill to avoid conflicts and encourage transparency
TRENTON — State Sen. Richard Codey introduced disclosure legislation intended to end conflicts of interest, encourage whistle blowing, and invite public input involving the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and other bi-state agencies.
Codey’s legislation, introduced on Monday, comes amid a flurry of reform proposals prompted by revelations that September’s George Washington Bridge lane closures were carried out by political appointees of Gov. Chris Christie for what was widely suspected to be a political retribution against Fort Lee’s Democratic mayor. A report by a law firm hired by Christie’s office asserted there was no evidence that the governor had advance knowledge of the closures.
Under the Codey legislation, agency board members and executives would be required to disclose whether they or family members have a financial interest in any company doing business with the agency, and would prohibit their participation in related discussions or votes when conflicts arise.
Prosecutors are now looking into whether former Port Authority board members were in conflict involving agency actions that benefited their private firms or clients. (Strunsky/Star-Ledger)
Acting Port Authority chair cautions against splitting up agency in ‘heat of the political moment’
The acting chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said a recommendation that the agency should be broken up is something that “should be considered,” but represents a challenge fraught with complexities that should not be taken likely.
“A wholesale splitting up seems challenging, but it’s something that should be considered, like everything should be considered,” said acting Port Authority Chairman Scott Rechler, who leads the agency’s board of commissioners following Friday’s resignation by David Samson. “But that’s a pretty meaningful, material change, and I would not take it likely.”
Rechler had been asked by The Star-Ledger to comment on remarks last Friday by Gov. Chris Christie, who said he was “intrigued” by a recommendation contained in a report on September’s George Washington Bridge lane closures that his office had commissioned from the law firm Gibson, Dunne & Crutcher. (Strunsky/Star-Ledger)
Port Authority Business Model is Broken, Report Says
NEWARK — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is broken, according to a report issued yesterday, and unless its mission is drastically reshaped, the bi-state agency’s fortunes are more dubious than a ride on the Pulaski Skyway.
The George Washington Bridge lane closing scandal has ignited a debate over the role and behavior of the 93-year-old authority. But the 28-page report by the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at New York University claims the agency’s business model — which includes $800 million in pet projects for the governors of New York and New Jersey — is inherently flawed and its financial woes have been decades in the making.
“The critical problem facing the Port Authority today is not mismanagement, political abuse or rivalry between New York and New Jersey,” Mitchell Moss and Hugh O’Neill, who authored the report, wrote. “The fundamental challenge is that the business model under which the Authority has operated for the past thirty years is no longer sustainable.”
When it was created in 1921, the authority had a simple enough business plan, the report states. Big money generators like the George Washington Bridge and Idlewild Airport — now John F. Kennedy International Airport — helped fund capital projects at other port facilities that did not generate much revenue. (Giambusso/Star-Ledger)
BREAKING UP PA WOULD SOLVE CHRISTIE’S TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND PROBLEM
Tapping Port Authority toll revenues would enable the governor to avoid racking up massive debt or raising the gas tax — two bad moves during the 2016 presidential primaries.
Gov. Chris Christie’s proposal to dismantle the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in order to give each state control more than $1.3 billion in annual tolls would solve his biggest fiscal headache: where to find $1.6 billion a year in state revenue to renew theTransportation Trust Fund (TTF) without adding massive state debt or raising gas taxes right in the middle of the 2016 presidential primaries.
New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s statement this weekend that he might support Christie’s proposal to break up the Port Authority caused consternation among transportation experts, who believe that splitting the agency in two would lead to more dysfunction in transportation development and less long-term regional thinking and planning.(Magyar/NJSpotlight)
Bridgeaplooza : Port Authority chairman David Samson steps down
March 28, 2014, 03:45 pm
By Keith Laing
David Samson, the chairman of the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, has resigned in the wake of a scandal involving lanes being closed on the busiest bridge in the United States.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has been under fire for months since it was revealed that high-ranking officials in his administration were involved in a decision last year to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., by closing lanes on the George Washington Bridge, which connects New Jersey and New York.
Christie said Friday that Samson, a political mentor to the governor, agreed with the findings of a report that was released by his administration earlier this week finding that knowledge of the bridge scandal did not go hired that the officials who have already been named.
Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/highways-bridges-and-roads/202060-nj-port-authority-chairman-resigns#ixzz2xLu29qSO
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‘Fragile’ Port Newark/Elizabeth weighs on N.J. economy
MARCH 27, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2014, 12:28 AM
BY CHRISTOPHER MAAG
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
When the movement of cargo through the shipping terminals in Port Newark/Elizabeth seized up this winter, causing long truck lines that nearly spilled onto the New Jersey Turnpike, people at the port started pointing fingers. Truckers said the longshoremen were lazy. Longshoremen accused the truckers of being disorganized.
And everyone blamed the weather. This past winter’s snowfall “is the root cause of the delays,” said John Nardi, president of the New York Shipping Association.
But a closer look shows that crises at Port Newark/Elizabeth, often called simply Port Newark, are increasingly common and stem from a complex mix of factors, including manpower problems, antiquated procedures and turf battles. The port has closed or nearly closed four times in the last 15 months, twice when the weather was not in play.
“This port is fragile,” said Rick Larrabee, director of port commerce for the Port Authority.
Analysis: Port Authority works under its own set of rules
MARCH 16, 2014, 12:01 AM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Their bylaws allow spending millions of dollars of public money with just a quarter of their members voting. They almost always agree, but rarely say anything about their decisions in public. Even for people at their meetings, it’s sometimes impossible to know how they vote as individuals.
The Port Authority’s commissioners are under increased scrutiny as their board’s chairman, David Samson, has been the subject of a growing number of reports that he voted for projects that benefited his law firm’s clients. Agency officials recently said he meant to recuse himself two years ago from a vote to give a $1-a-year lease to one of those clients, NJ Transit, even though he was recorded as voting for it.
On Wednesday, sources have said, the Port Authority will put that lease up for another vote in an effort to quell controversies stirred when The Record reported on it last month.
Samson, an appointee of Governor Christie’s and a significant figure in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal, has not denied some of the other reported votes, including the authorization of $2.8 billion for two bridge projects that reportedly benefited two of his firm’s clients. But he has maintained that all of his actions on the board are for the benefit of the region and not for personal gain.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/analysis-port-authority-works-under-its-own-set-of-rules-1.743343#sthash.5aqmhiOo.dpuf
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2014, 9:57 AM
By MIKE KELLY
RECORD COLUMNIST
Mike Kelly is a Record columnist. Contact him at kellym@northjersey.com.
THE Port Authority is obsessed with numbers. It counts cars and trucks at its bridges and tunnels, riders on its PATH trains – even gallons of paint needed to cover every girder and cable on the George Washington Bridge.
But here is a number that the bi-state agency ought to be deeply worried about: 16.
That is the number of comments from the general public on the Port Authority’s plan to spend almost $28 billion over the next decade to upgrade its bridges, tunnels, airports and the PATH system. Those 16 comments came from nine people. An additional 20 comments were discovered by the Port Authority in various social media sites. It’s not clear how many people actually made those 20 comments.
Change needed
But one message is incredibly clear. The Port Authority goes about life in what seems to be a separate, unmonitored universe from the rest of life in the New York and New Jersey region. If the agency ever plans to reform itself, that needs to change.
The Port Authority’s aloofness is not a new story. But the issue has gained renewed traction recently because of the lane closure controversy at the George Washington Bridge that not only threatens to undermine Governor Christie’s second term but any possibility that he could emerge as a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2016.
At the heart of that controversy is a question of abuse of power by Christie’s aides and allies who allegedly orchestrated massive traffic jams in Fort Lee during four days last September as a way of punishing the borough’s Democratic mayor for his reluctance to endorse Christie’s reelection.
One of those allies, David Wildstein, was a high-ranking Port Authority executive, appointed by Christie. Without any oversight or even a hint of approval from anyone else in the Port Authority, Wildstein ordered the three access lanes from Fort Lee to the bridge reduced to one.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/columnists/kelly/kelly_022314.html#sthash.78i6V7rI.dpu
Transportation Experts Urge Bistate Blue-Ribbon Panel to Fix Port Authority
Robins, Doig say Assembly GOP plan ignores lesson of Bridgegate by giving governors too much power.
Calling for the creation of a bistate commission to reform the embattled Port Authority, two of New Jersey’s leading transportation policy experts yesterday said legislation proposed by Assembly Republicans ignores the lessons of Bridgegate by giving too much power to the state’s governors.
Martin E. Robins, director emeritus of Rutgers University’s Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Policy Institute, and Jameson W. Doig, author of the definitive history of the Port Authority, endorsed Assembly Republican proposals to enhance ethics, transparency, and financial disclosure at the Port Authority.
But Robins and Doig both sharply criticized the logic of the main reform the GOP legislators proposed to protect the agency from political interference. (Magyar/NJSpotlight)
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