Gov. Phil Murphy, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla at odds over Union Dry Dock vote

Gov. Phil Murphy spent the Easter weekend in a dispute with one of his Democratic allies over a 3-acre Hoboken waterfront property that both the city and NJ Transit want.

NJ Transit's board was scheduled to vote Wednesday on the purchase of the Union Dry Dock, which the agency would lease to NY Waterway as a ferry maintenance base.

Hoboken's mayor, Ravi Bhalla, the City Council and nearby residents oppose the purchase. They want to buy the site to complete the city's Hudson River greenway and were prepared to use the power of eminent domain to get it.

On Monday afternoon, the two offices were attempting to smooth out their differences, raising the possibility that the vote would be canceled.

But from the moment it was scheduled last week, Bhalla came out swinging against the very same governor he'd endorsed and campaigned with.

Over the weekend, Bhalla sharply criticized the Murphy administration for suddenly pursuing a deal it previously opposed. Saying the governor's office had "hijacked" his attempts to meet with NJ Transit about finding an alternative site for NY Waterway, Bhalla called the agency's quick move to vote on the deal "an insult to the public."

"It is disappointing that NJT deems it appropriate to send me a letter on a Saturday night before Easter about taking such an action while the district schools are closed for spring break and many families — mine included — are away for the holiday break," he wrote Sunday in a letter to Hoboken residents.

Bhalla charged that the board's emergency meeting was another example of the management practices that, under the Christie administration, had damaged employee morale and customer service and created serious safety hazards.

In December, Murphy, who was governor-elect, called NJ Transit a "national disgrace."

"Unfortunately, in terms of transparency, actions like these demonstrate that the agency has yet to make the changes it needs in how operates," Bhalla wrote Sunday.

Change of heart?

Days before he took office in January, Murphy slammed the Union Dry Dock deal as "irresponsible" and criticized NJ Transit for scheduling a vote on the issue on a holiday — Martin Luther King's birthday.

Facing dozens of Hoboken residents and Bhalla that day, the board pulled the item from its agenda.

But this past weekend, NJ Transit's executive director, Kevin Corbett, sent a letter to Bhalla that said the agency planned to move forward with the purchase this week.

Bhalla, who had committed to using the city's eminent domain power to acquire the site, said Monday that he would suspend that effort in exchange for NJ Transit's canceling the Wednesday meeting.

Bhalla was one of Murphy's earliest supporters in last year's gubernatorial race. Bhalla, then a candidate for mayor, endorsed Murphy in the Democratic primary. Later, they campaigned together with Hoboken's mayor at the time, Dawn Zimmer.

NJ Transit has a statutory obligation to provide ferry service to New Jersey commuters, and NY Waterway carries most of them.

NY Waterway must vacate its current ferry maintenance hub in Weehawken by June 1, so the purchase of the Hoboken site would guarantee that the company can continue to service its fleet.

Alternative site

Bhalla and Hoboken's council had been pushing NJ Transit to consider another site in Bayonne for its maintenance base.

Bhalla had made several attempts to meet with Corbett on the issue, but winter weather interfered with those efforts.

In his letter to Bhalla on Saturday, Corbett said NJ Transit would still evaluate the Bayonne site, called the Military Ocean Terminal, for potentially housing the NY Waterway facility.

But in the meantime, Corbett explained, NJ Transit needed to purchase the Hoboken site to ensure that NY Waterway could continue to service its fleet after June 1.

"As the owner and landlord of the site, NJ Transit will be in the best position to safeguard the interests of New Jersey and its many ferry-commuting residents while also taking into consideration legitimate local interests," Corbett wrote.

But Bhalla countered that NJ Transit's emergency meeting this week was unnecessary and should be canceled. On Friday, he offered to give the agency a 45-day extension to consider its March 23 offer to purchase the Union Dry Dock for $11.6 million.

With Corbett's letter Saturday indicating that NJ Transit would seek to purchase the site before Hoboken's eminent domain power kicked in, Bhalla on Monday suspended the process the city had initiated.

"This decision is in direct response to a proposal Governor Murphy made directly to me last week: suspend or withdraw eminent domain proceedings, and the board meeting will be canceled so we can all get in a room this week and find a way forward," he said.

"By suspending eminent domain proceedings, I have met my end of the bargain and respectfully ask the governor to do the same," Bhalla continued. "The emergency meeting should be canceled so we may find a way forward that considers all legitimate interests."

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