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Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer (right) speaks to the crowd assisted by Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality; during a rally held in support of gay marriage in New Jersey, held in Hoboken. 07/24/11 Photo Jerry McCrea/The Star-Ledger

(Jerry McCrea)

HOBOKEN — Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer tonight added the state's Hurricane Sandy recovery czar to the list of Christie administration officials who she says pressured her for more development in her city in exchange for rebuilding grant money.

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Zimmer alleged she'd met with Office of Recovery and Rebuilding Executive Director Marc Ferzan a month ago to discuss her application for the federal Rebuild by Design competition, which provides money for mitigation projects.

During the meeting, Zimmer said she asked Ferzan for support for her entry to which she said Ferzan responded "well, Mayor, you need to let me know how much development you're willing to do. "

"So the lieutenant governor gave a message," she said. " I didn't do exactly what they want, you know, and so the pressure continues."

Zimmer said it was a continuation of the pressure she received in May, when she says Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno told her the city's Sandy recovery money could be shut off if Zimmer did not lend her support to a redevelopment project favored by the governor.

Guadagno denied the allegation earlier today, calling it "illogical."

Zimmer also alleged that Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable applied similar pressure, telling Zimmer in May that recovery money would flow if she supported the redevelopment project.

A spokesman for the department called the accusation "categorically false."

Zimmer announced Monday that she had been contacted by the U.S. Attorney's office to discuss her allegations and said today, other people in Hoboken were interviewed, though she did not say who..

A spokesman for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Zimmer's latest accusation against Ferzan.

The governor's office has lashed out at both Zimmer and MSNBC, which first aired the accusation, going dollar by dollar through the millions in recovery money Hoboken has received and denying the allegation that Hobo0ken has been treated unfairly.

Today, Ferzan also defended the administration's handling of Hoboken's recovery requests, calling Zimmer's allegation that the city has been shortchanged a "mischaracterization" and explaining that Zimmer had requested some $100 million in mitigation funds out of a pool of only $300 million.

Statewide, some $14 billion in applications were received by the state for the relatively small pool of money.

"Obviously $300 million versus $14 billion, that's a big delta," he said on a conference call with reporters this afternoon.