This after Christie Nixed a much needed tunnel project earlier in his term to earn political points with his base, while doing a disservice to the people of his state and the region:
The governors of New York and New Jersey sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday offering to line up funding for half of the costs of new Hudson River rail tunnels if the federal government pledges grants for the other half.
In the letter, Govs. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey emphasized the importance of building tunnels and committed to paying for their “fair share” of the project, which could cost as much as $20 billion.
“We are writing jointly in an attempt to move the stalled project forward by putting a funding proposal on the table that we believe is realistic, appropriate and fair: split the responsibility for the cost,” they said in the letter.
The letter comes a month after Mr. Christie, a Republican who is running for president, met with the federal transportation secretary, Anthony Foxx, in New Jersey and agreed to work with him on a plan to build the tunnels, known as the Gateway Project. Major rail delays in July brought renewed attention to the century-old tunnels that run under the river and need repairs because of damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
On Tuesday, Mr. Foxx said in a statement that the governors had taken “a big step forward: They’ve come to the table.” He said he would work quickly with local officials to move forward on the details of paying for the project.
The letter from the governors does not explain how the states would raise their share of the project’s costs. (Mr. Christie canceled an earlier tunnel project, saying it placed an unfair financial burden on taxpayers in his state.)
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, had criticized federal officials for not saying how much of the funding would come from federal grants. Last month, he told reporters, “It’s not my tunnel,” arguing that the current tunnel was owned by Amtrak and used by Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.
In the letter, the governors suggested that the regional effort would be led by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an agency that has been under legal and political scrutiny for more than a year amid criminal and legislative investigations. Last week, the chief executive of United Airlines resigned amid a federal inquiry into whether the airline traded favors with the authority’s then-chairman, David Samson.
Still, officials in both states praised the governors’ letter.
“This is a huge step forward,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York. “Now we’re seeing light at the beginning of the tunnel.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/n...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
The governors of New York and New Jersey sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday offering to line up funding for half of the costs of new Hudson River rail tunnels if the federal government pledges grants for the other half.
In the letter, Govs. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey emphasized the importance of building tunnels and committed to paying for their “fair share” of the project, which could cost as much as $20 billion.
“We are writing jointly in an attempt to move the stalled project forward by putting a funding proposal on the table that we believe is realistic, appropriate and fair: split the responsibility for the cost,” they said in the letter.
The letter comes a month after Mr. Christie, a Republican who is running for president, met with the federal transportation secretary, Anthony Foxx, in New Jersey and agreed to work with him on a plan to build the tunnels, known as the Gateway Project. Major rail delays in July brought renewed attention to the century-old tunnels that run under the river and need repairs because of damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
On Tuesday, Mr. Foxx said in a statement that the governors had taken “a big step forward: They’ve come to the table.” He said he would work quickly with local officials to move forward on the details of paying for the project.
The letter from the governors does not explain how the states would raise their share of the project’s costs. (Mr. Christie canceled an earlier tunnel project, saying it placed an unfair financial burden on taxpayers in his state.)
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, had criticized federal officials for not saying how much of the funding would come from federal grants. Last month, he told reporters, “It’s not my tunnel,” arguing that the current tunnel was owned by Amtrak and used by Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.
In the letter, the governors suggested that the regional effort would be led by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an agency that has been under legal and political scrutiny for more than a year amid criminal and legislative investigations. Last week, the chief executive of United Airlines resigned amid a federal inquiry into whether the airline traded favors with the authority’s then-chairman, David Samson.
Still, officials in both states praised the governors’ letter.
“This is a huge step forward,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York. “Now we’re seeing light at the beginning of the tunnel.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/n...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
