Did New York Waterway pull a fast one on local and state officials in its pursuit of bringing a ferry facility to the Union Dry Dock site?

That’s what Hoboken attorneys allege in documents presented to Gov. Phil Murphy last month, in which they called NY Waterway’s claim that it must move its Weehawken refueling and repair facility to the Union Dry Dock because it’s being evicted a “manufactured crisis.”

The intention of NY Waterway, which ferries thousands of people daily between New Jersey and New York, is to clear the way for a 280-unit waterfront development, according to documents prepared for a March 15 stakeholders meeting with Murphy, Hoboken, and NY Waterway officials.

NY Waterway says that residential development is quickly proceeding and has accelerated its need to move operations from the Weehawken site.

The company has been pushing to move the facility to Hoboken’s Union Dry Dock, on Sinatra Drive between Ninth and 10th streets near the Castle Point shoreline – a site NY Waterway purchased for $11.5 million in 2017.

Officials and other stakeholders in the Mile Square City fiercely oppose the proposal — and now the city is claiming NY Waterway concealed relevant information about an alternative site near its current location.

NY Waterway's facility is currently operating on two barges in the Hudson River, near Pershing Road, on water land owned by Romulus Development Corp. NY Waterway and Romulus are operated by the family of Arthur Imperatore.

Two adjacent upland properties, which tax records indicate were purchased for a combined in $75 million February by a U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese real estate investment firm, have been used for years as part of the maintenance facility. Officials with the company say an upland portion is critical for the facility's operations.

A NY Waterway spokesman said the company was “evicted” from the property March 29 and is no longer allowed to use the upland. The company acknowledged, however, that it continues to pay rent to the landowner, Hongkun USA, and is still allowed to access the properties to get on and off the dock.

They say they are on a "month-to-month basis." It is unclear when construction will begin for the development.

But attorneys for Hoboken said NY Waterway's alleged eviction "is a manufactured crisis," and that the company has "made materially false representations" to Murphy, the city and residents "by concealing the existence of the Marina Agreement," a document that include plans for an alternative fueling/repair site in Weehawken.

Hoboken attorneys said the agreement was concealed to “to create a fictional narrative the (Union Dry Dock) was the only viable site for its operations," according to documents obtained through an Open Public Records Act request.

Under the 2016 agreement between Roseland – a subsidiary of Mack-Cali Realty Corp. – and NY Waterway and Romulus Development Corp., the ferry facility would eventually be moved so the adjacent land could be developed, documents show. It gave the company 18 months to find a new location for the facility, but it also provided an alternative site just south of the current facility, in the event no new location is found.

This site was prepared as “a stopgap,” a spokesman for NY Waterway said, adding that the site is not a viable option for a permanent maintenance facility.

“It still wouldn’t get (the facility) on any land,” said NY Waterway spokesman Pat Smith, who noted that adjacent land is critical for the facility to operate.

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla declined to comment for this story. Murphy’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations made by Hoboken’s attorneys.

The lands adjacent to the current ferry facility in Weehawken were previously owned by Port Imperial South, LLC, a Roseland company, but were sold to Lennar Corporation in 2008. Romulus had a partial ownership stake in Port Imperial South, which it sold in 2016.

Hongkun USA then purchased the properties for $27.2 million and $47.7 million in February. Weehawken Planning Board documents show Hongkun USA is planning a 280-unit residential development on the land.

Meanwhile, residents, public officials and other stakeholders in Hoboken see the Union Dry Dock land as one of the last pieces to create a contiguous open public space along the Hudson River. Hundreds of people rallied last month against NY Waterway’s proposed move.

Hoboken contemplated seizing the Union Dry Dock land via eminent domain last year when NJ Transit sought to purchase the property and lease it back to NY Waterway. Hoboken backed off upon request from the governor. The city offered $11.6 million for the property last year, but the company chose not to sell.

NJ Transit's purchase of the land would have all but ensured the land be used as a ferry maintenance site by protecting the property from city seizure.

Hoboken officials, during the March 15 meeting with Murphy and NY Waterway, urged the state not to support the plan to bring the facility to the Union Dry Dock site.

"The City urges the Governor not to approve or assist the development of this private industrial facility at the (Union Dry Dock) site... for the sole financial benefit of a wealthy, private corporation," city attorneys said in the letter.

Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @cwmcdonald_. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.