By: Ilana Siyance
The states of New York and New Jersey are squabbling over the fate of the bi-state Waterfront Commission.
The Empire State and Garden state have long shared responsibility for the Waterfront Commission– a watchdog agency, guarding against mob activity and racketeering in and around the docks of the Port of New York and New Jersey. NJ lawmakers voted to exit the Commission in 2018, claiming there is no more need for the commission. A circuit court has ruled in New Jersey’s favor.
As reported by the NY Post, on Monday NYS Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James have sued the state of NJ in US Supreme Court. Gov. Hochul says NJ’s withdrawal would be “unlawful”. “For decades, the Waterfront Commission has been a critical partnership to keep our ports and our communities safe,” James said in a statement. “This commission has long proved to be a necessary force to root out corruption and organized crime, and we will use every tool at our disposal to ensure its powers remain intact and our communities benefit from its important work.”
NJ maintains that the agency has run its course and is now being over regulated by the bi-state agency. Their state’s politicians say the New Jersey State Police can manage enforcement at New Jersey ports, and that it is not in the state’s interest to stay in the agency.
On Monday, in a joint statement, Hochul and James said, “the work of the Commission is far from over”. The pols say there is still organized crime, and unfair hiring, pointing to an incident just last year, when a Gambino mob captain was convicted for fraud and racketeering. “Weakening or ultimately terminating the Commission’s ability to conduct criminal investigations and background checks and regulate the hiring, registration, and licensing of waterfront employees will likely increase opportunities for individuals associated with organized crime enterprises to obtain employment at the port or otherwise exert control over port operations,” the NY leaders said.
The legal filing requests the court to “preliminarily and permanently” rule that NJ can’t leave the commission without the NY’s consent.
NJ Gov. Phil Murphy’s office replied to The Post, commenting that NJ “welcomes the opportunity to vigorously defend its law withdrawing the state from the Waterfront Commission.”
The commission “has long outlived its usefulness and does not fairly represent New Jersey’s interests,” said the Gov.’s Deputy Press Secretary, Michael Zhadanovsky. “We are hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court will reject this last-ditch and last-minute effort to prevent the New Jersey State Police from assuming enforcement authority at the Port on March 28.
