Top Christie official calls Hoboken mayor’s storm funding claims ‘absurd’ (via NJ.com)
One of the top Christie administration officials that Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer has accused of threatening to withhold storm aid if she didn’t push forward a redevelopment project called her allegations “patently false and absurd on their face.” In…
This morning in Union Beach, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno strongly denied Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s allegations that Sandy relief funds for the city were contingent upon the approval of a proposed Rockefeller Group development. Zimmer made her allegations Saturday morning on MSNBC’s Up with Steve Kornacki.
Speaking at the Union Beach Firehouse on Poole Ave, at an event commemorating Martin Luther King Jr Day, Guadagno prefaced her remarks by saying she would not be taking questions at the end of her statement. “As you know, there are ongoing investigations. I’m sure all the fact will come out at the appropriate time.”
Guadagno said:
“Mayor Zimmer’s version of our conversation in May or 2013 is not only false, but is illogical and does not withstand scrutiny when all of the facts are examined. Any suggestion that Sandy funds were tied to the approval of any project in New Jersey is completely false.
Standing in Union Beach, as we are today, with some of the mayors whose towns were devastated by Sandy, and also, being a Sandy victim myself, makes the mayor’s allegations particularly offensive to me.
Posted: January 20th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Chris Christie, Dawn Zimmer, Hoboken, Union Beach | Tags: Hoboken, Kim Guadagno, Lt Gov Kim Guadagno, Sandy Relief Funds, Union Beach | 7 Comments »
Hoboken mayor discussed Chris Christie, Sandy aid allegations with U.S. Attorney, she says (via NJ.com)
NEWARK — Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said she met with federal prosecutors today, a day after she alleged members of Gov. Chris Christie’s administration threatened to withhold Hurricane Sandy aid from her city if she did not approve a real estate…
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer on MSNBC’s Up with Steve Kornacki, January 18, 2014
Monmouth 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 redevelopment approval coveted by Governor Chris Christie with a high degree of skepticism, because their storm ravaged communities have yet to see significant money yet either.
One elected official who asked not to be quoted said, “If Hoboken had approved that Rockefeller project, Zimmer would still be standing on her head at a Hoboken street corner looking for her Sandy money. The money hasn’t started to flow yet.”
“Is it believable that Guadagno (Lt. Governor Kim Guadango) or Constable (DCA Commissioner Richard Constable) encouraged Zimmer to expedite an project? Yes. As a quid pro quo for Sandy dollars? No way,” another official said.
Zimmer alleged on MSNBC’s Up with Steve Kornacki this morning that Guadagno pulled her aside at a Hoboken ribbon cutting and warned that Sandy Relief money to Hoboken was contingent on a development application by the Rockefeller Group being approved by the city. Zimmer said that Constable told her at a Monmouth University symposium on Sandy recovery that relief dollars would flow if the Rockefeller application was approved.
After talking to local and state officials today, MMM understands that the federal money for Sandy Relief is flowing dripping through four sources; FEMA, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) which administers relief for homeowners, the New Jersey Economic Development Agency(EDA) and County Governments which are administering Hazard Mitigation Grants. The Hazard Mitigation Grants are funded by FEMA and distributed to the counties by the State Office of Emergency Management.
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.
Posted: January 18th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Chris Christie, Dawn Zimmer, Hoboken | Tags: Bridgegate, David Samson, Department of Community Affairs, Governor Chris Christie, Kim Guadagno, MSNBC, Port Authority of NY/NJ, Richard Constable, Steve Kornacki | 13 Comments »© Copyright 2024 | MoreMonmouthMusings | All Rights Reserved