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| Proposed New York Waterway maintenance depot at former UDD site |
Hear ye, hear ye:
HUDSON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT DISMISSES NEW YORK WATERWAY LAWSUIT AGAINST CITY OF HOBOKEN
This morning, the Hudson County Superior Court dismissed the lawsuit filed by New York Waterway against the City of Hoboken. The lawsuit sought declaratory judgement against the City to allow New York Waterway to begin building a heavy refueling station at Union Dry Dock without obtaining approvals from the City and circumventing local land use approvals. Most notably, Judge Jablonski referred to New York Waterway’s claim that without its use of Union Dry Dock, a regional transportation crisis would occur, as “unsubstantiated.”
“Hoboken is appreciative of the Court’s sound decision on this matter of critical importance to our City,” said Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla. “It affirms that no one is above the law, and the rules apply equally to everyone including New York Waterway. As we’ve said all along, New York Waterway manufactured the claim of a ‘regional transportation crisis’ without Union Dry Dock and I’m thankful the Hudson County Superior Court characterized the claim as ‘unsubstantiated.’ Hoboken remains committed to acquiring Union Dry Dock for public, open space, and I’m thankful this decision puts us one step closer to making this a reality.”
In addition, during oral arguments this morning, an attorney for New York Waterway referred to the Hoboken Police Department as the “Gestapo,” the official secret police of Nazi Germany.
“It’s abhorrent that New York Waterway’s high paid attorney would equate the Hoboken Police Department as the ‘Gestapo,’ said Lt. John Petrosino, President of the Hoboken Police Superior Officers Association. “Any comparison between the hardworking men and women of the Hoboken Police Department and the Nazi regime is offensive and insulting. We demand an immediate and unequivocal apology from New York Waterway.”
“I strongly condemn the sickening comparison between Nazis and the Hoboken Police Department,” said Mayor Bhalla. “This inflammatory language has no place in a court of law or anywhere else in society, and Mr. Imperatore owes the Hoboken Police Department and our City an apology.”
IMO, the "gestapo" rhetoric (both by NY Waterway & Hoboken's hand-wringing response) is OTT.
ReplyDeleteIf Petrosino was at all involved in the salary negotiations &/or familiar with the tactics used by the police dep't back when Mayor Zimmer (and the council) was negotiating with them, he should be well aware that HPD can be difficult. They showed up at council meetings wearing bright yellow shirts & carrying guns. Let me tell you something, I was uncomfortable & I was just there to give support to the council. I didn't speak. I did nothing, but I was very worried about my safety from HPD at those meetings (I think I went to 2).
And if Mayor Bhalla wants me to believe that NYWaterway was actually trying to invoke Nazi imagery into this situation, he's going to have to look for a different sucker to believe that bull.
I've watched Hogan's Heroes too many times to think of anything more than the bumbling fools Colonel Klink & Sgt Schultz when I hear gestapo (and yea yea, they weren't the gestapo on the show, but they were really funny).
My advice: Let's try not to find offense in every single thing that can tacitly be related back to Nazi Germany & instead focus on the manufactured crisis created by the Impertore family & NYWaterway.
While I agree with much of what you say - I was at that meeting too -it's really hard to argue that referencing the gestapo is not using Nazi imagery.
DeleteThe City isn't manufacturing the issue here. NYWW did.
Ok, I'll concede that City isn't manufacturing the issue, they're just hand-wringing.
DeleteIn all seriousness: That meeting was not a fun night.
I think given the political context, in which NYWW is desperately hoping the governor will intervene on their behalf and block ED, the use of the term gestapo was so counter to the client's interest that it comes close to being malpractice. And if the Mayor had failed to capitalize on it that would have been the mayoral equivalent of malpractice on his part.
DeleteAgreed that was not a fun meeting. Its nice that at least a few people remember how hard it was to restructure the HPD. Most folks have forgotten.