Hoboken Mayor Charges That Christie Administration Held Sandy Relief Hostage
Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and DCA Commissioner Richard Constable fingered by Zimmer
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer told MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki this morning that Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable threatened to deprive Hoboken of Sandy Relief funds if she did not secure a development approval for for a project favored by Governor Chris Christie.
The Rockefeller Group project hasn’t been approved and Hoboken has only gotten a small fraction of the Sandy Relief it requested. Port Authority Chairman David Samson’s law firm, Wolf and Samson, represents the Rockefeller Group.
Zimmer requested $127 million in aide for Hoboken, 80% of which was underwater after the Superstorm hit in October of 2012. The city has received $142,000 for a back up generator and $200,000 in recovery grants.
On Karnack’s show, UP with Steve Kornacki, Zimmer said she should have come forth sooner.
The governor’s office has denied the claims. Spokesperson Michael Drewniak issued the following statement to MSNBC:
“Mayor Zimmer has been effusive in her public praise of the Governor’s Office and the assistance we’ve provided in terms of economic development and Sandy aid,” Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak wrote in a statement. “What or who is driving her only now to say such outlandishly false things is anyone’s guess.”
A Hudson County Jury apparently did not believe Zimmer’s testimony last month when they awarded Hoboken’s former public safety director $440,000 in a discrimination suit . The jury held the City, not Zimmer, accountable for the discrimination.
Zimmer showed Korancki documents and her diaries to back up the explosive claims she made this morning. She said she would be willing to testify under oath.
More from my site
Former Port Authority chairman Samson tries to head off ethics probe
Monmouth Mayors Cast Doubt On Zimmer’s Quid Pro Quo Claims
Samson Loses Rockefeller Group’s Business
Christie Appoints Codey/Byrne Administrations Veteran to run the Department of Community Affairs
Analysis: U.S. Attorney’s Trail Shows Hoboken Charges More Serious
Top Christie official calls Hoboken mayor’s storm funding claims ‘absurd’
Hoboken mayor discussed Chris Christie, Sandy aid allegations with U.S. Attorney, she says
Thompson: Bridgegate Indictments Will Be Cover Up Related
Christie meets the press
Guadagno Denies Zimmer’s Allegations
The hits to this administration keep on coming. I didn’t think Guadagno was part of the mob mentality taking place among CC’s cohorts–but I see I am wrong.
But then again I have read critical pieces railing against Kim from the case of the Hunterdon County Prosecutor being fired for pursuing a case against a county official and of course the pension thing I have been reading off and on for the last 3 years.
Did anyone see today’s front page APP?? Nudnicks as some people refer to? It looks like booking pictures of the Christie administration. These are the people that SO FAR received subpoenas. This is getting worrisome.
[…] By Art Gallagher | MoreMonmouthMusings.com […]
When these folks ask for 127 million, do they provide an itemized list of purchases totaling 127 million, or are they being like little kids and asking for some amount that sounds like “a lot”? I’d love to know what that dope thinks the people of Hoboken need that costs 127 million and is a direct result of Sandy and not a result of years of her poor ability to govern her city and manage a budget and that other people should pay for with priority over their own issues.
Ps subpoenas are often made of innocent people to gather information of a guilty party. Subpoenas are not a sign of guilt or wrong doing…. You should know that being a double dippin law agent.
If this unraveling mess hasn’t finally convinced you all that you can never trust any Dem “bi-partisan, cooperating, across-the-aisle” behavior – that it is fake,and is only there because they haven’t yet figured out how to take somebody down, I don’t know what will. This piling- on and overkill will never end, and could go on record as one of the worst political ” murders” in state history,before they are done grandstanding, lying, and wasting millions more dollars to get back up on tip.. If you now haven’t learned that the ONLY good Dem is a beaten Dem, sitting in the back in the minority, we can’t help you.. It will take years , and maybe never, to get ANY power or significance back for the GOP in this state, now.. Will sadly tune into what appears will be the most subdued Inaugural ever on Tuesday, and will take no solace in knowing many of us “told you so”.. ” the bigger they are, the harder they fall,” and this appears to be shaping up to be a very painful bellyflop.. When arrogance and elitism take the place of humility and reality in politics, this is exactly what unfortunately happens! Pretty soon it looks like a resignation would be better than the pain and further embarrassment of impeachment.. It’s a shame it came to this..
I saw how large the relief fund headed up by MaryPat and some of her friends was getting, I kept saying: get it out there, send out checks every week, do not hold it til election time, and please put all the numbers out there, and show a lot of accounting and transparency.. Added to that one, was the badly run solicitation for the tourism ads: MANY states have their governors and families in them, but, the timing,close to their elections is problematic- anyone could say it needed to be counted as in-kind contributions on his reports, when it got within the election timetable.. We could go on and on with deliberate and poorly thought-out mistakes.. He was right when he said “mistakes were made-” but, that whole pile of smart young things,and countless people with law degrees, seem to have had nary a lick of political reality and insight! And boy, would they never listen- didn’t happen- they were all in-charge, and they sure knew better! .. It is all sad water under the bridge, (forgive the “bridge”reference now,” )but I wish I thought anybody left in the GOP has learned a thing from this fiasco!!
@ Line Item. The needs of Hoboken are well documented. The city itself was roughly 80% under water after Sandy with losses (not including private property estimated at $10 million.) The challenge is trying to prevent the same thing from happening in the future as rising sea levels will only make the damage from the next big storm even worse. In that vein, many projects have been proposed including purchasing land (to be made into a park) so that there will be a little bit a ground in Hoboken that can absorb floodwaters.
If what Zimmer said is true, someone should go to jail.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hoboken-mayor-dawn-zimmer-christie-top-lieutenants-sandy-money-connected-redevelopment-plan-article-1.1583828
[…] County mayors and other municipal officials are reacting to Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s allegations that her city is not receiving Sandy Relief funds because she hasn’t pushed through a […]
You have to be kidding me. Look how many people stepped forward and complained about the pay for play going on. Politics ass usually. Our Lt Governor is no saint as we all know and there is a federal lawsuit coming down the pike on her for falsely signing election paperwork.
Lets wait and see what she has to say about these allegations–if she says anything at all.
[…] By Art Gallagher | MoreMonmouthMusings.com […]
[…] By Art Gallagher | MoreMonmouthMusings.com […]
[…] Zimmer claimed on MSNBC’s Up with Steve Kornacki last Saturday that Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno told her that Sandy Relief money was contingent on the approval of a proposed Rockefeller Group development. Zimmer offered Kornacki her diary to support her claims against Guadagno and says she has since turned the diary over to the U.S. Attorney. […]