Port Authority study favored politically connected builder for Hoboken redevelopment
A planning report heavily favored the politically connected builder of a $1.1 billion proposed development that is at the center of a dispute between the governor’s office and Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer. The mayor alleges that the Christie administration withheld Sandy recovery money from her city because she did not favor fast-tracking the massive project.
Of the 10 industrial and commercial properties that the report recommended for redevelopment, nine were owned by a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Group, records show.
The Rockefeller Group is represented by the law firm of David Samson, a close Christie adviser whom Christie appointed as chairman of the Port Authority, which paid for the planning study.
But one of the report’s authors said Monday that his team did not favor the Rockefeller Group and that the Port Authority had limited involvement in the report’s preparation.
Dwayne Doherty, a spokesman for the Manhattan-based Rockefeller Group, declined to comment on the project Monday because it is being investigated by federal authorities and a legislative committee.
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