Is a Billion Dollar Development Project at the Heart of Bridgegate?

[Tx4obama]

Is a Billion Dollar Development Project at the Heart of Bridgegate?

Brian Murphy – January 12, 2014, 5:23 PM EST

This morning I was a guest on MSNBC’s “Up With Steve Kornacki” where Steve Kornacki offered up some new reporting on the September 2013 George Washington Bridge closures. (See segment #1 and segment #2) After that segment Steve had me offer some context regarding the politics of real estate development in New Jersey in general and in this case in particular.

I helped Steve out with the reporting on this segment and hope you digest both clips. He and I are in the unique position of having worked for one of the central figures in this still-developing scandal, David Wildstein, one of Chris Christie’s appointees at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Prior to that, David had been the pseudonymous editor of a political news website in N.J. called PoliticsNJ.com. I worked there in 2002, and Steve succeeded me from 2002-2005. Neither of us knew Wildstein’s true identity while we were reporting for the site. Speaking for myself, I found him to be an excellent editor. He always had sources to suggest on a story, let me report it wherever it led, and always had my back. He never let me down. Steve, I am sure, would say the same.

So far, we’ve learned a lot about the consequences of the traffic tie-ups orchestrated in Fort Lee by Wildstein and a now-fired deputy chief of staff in Christie’s office. Commutes were made hellishly long, school buses were snarled in traffic for hours, and EMS responders were held up for so long that some calls were answered on foot. All because two of the three toll lanes that usually serve one on-ramp in Fort Lee, on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge, had been closed. Merging that traffic into just one toll lane caused cars to stack up on the ramp, then onto the approaching streets, then onto side streets, until eventually Fort Lee, the town that hosts the west side of the bridge, was completely clogged.

The unanswered question in this story has been “why?”

-snip-

Full LONG article here: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/is-a-billion-dollar-development-project-at-the-heart-of-bridgegate

Related article below...

Steve Kornacki's theory on the Christie scandal
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024319407

[freshwest]

1. Sounds about right. The Koches don't bother unless a project brings in billions. Nothing cheaper. nt

[monmouth3]

2. That was one hell of an interesting read. "Hudson Lights" sounds like a very good reason to cramp

Fort Lee's plans unless all of that money is re-distributed the way the crooked politicians envision...

[rhett o rick]

3. Sounds like a good theory to me. Conspiracy to delay funding. nm