New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says having the State Police investigate organized crime along docks and piers will be smoother and “just as safe” as when the job fell to the soon-to-be-dismantled Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed New Jersey to unilaterally withdraw from the commission, which was created more than 70 years ago in a bi-state compact with New York to fight mob activity at the seaports. The move effectively dissolves the agency.
“It’s become a sham,” Murphy said of the commission on WNYC’s “Ask Governor Murphy” call-in show Wednesday night. He said 90% of shipping activity happens on the New Jersey side of the harbor and State Police are capable of taking over enforcement duties.
“We’re not blind to organized crime; we’re not blind to the fact that you need hardcore regulators. Jersey is the king of the hill on all of that,” Murphy said.
But he added that organized crime was not what it used to be in the early-to-mid-1950s, and argued the commission had become ineffective and was over-regulating business at the ports.
Under the current arrangement, New York and New Jersey each have one representative at the Waterfront Commission, and both sides must come to an agreement when removing workers with mob ties or criminal backgrounds from the seaports. The state’s effort to abandon the waterfront watchdog began in 2018, when Gov. Chris Christie signed into law a bill requiring New Jersey to withdraw from the commission.
Last year, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sued New Jersey to stop the dissolution of the commission. Because it was a lawsuit between two states, the proceeding went straight to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a ruling written by Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh last month, all nine justices agreed the compact between New York and New Jersey allowed the latter to unilaterally withdraw.
Hochul, in a joint statement with state Attorney General Letitia James last month, said she was…
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