HOBOKEN — NJ Transit and the developer at the center of allegations against Gov. Chris Christie reportedly agreed to build a new light rail station in the city —without involving the Hoboken mayor.

The Rockefeller Group struck a "memorandum of understanding" with NJ Transit last year to build a new light rail station near its property in the northern section of the city, The New York Times reported on Thursday. Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer didn't know about the agreement, city spokesman Juan Melli told NJ.com. The city has filed an Open Public Records Act request to obtain the agreement, Melli said. (NJ.com has also filed a public records request to obtain the document.)

Calls and emails to the Rockefeller Group were not returned. A spokesman for NJ Trasit, William Smith, refused to comment on the proposed light rail station.

The station is reportedly part of the developer's controversial plans for underdeveloped land in northern Hoboken. The Rockefeller Group proposed building a 40-story office tower in the area, a project that is at the center of allegations that Christie's administration withheld Hurricane Sandy relief funds to promote the development. Zimmer accused Christie last month of threatening to hold back relief money if she didn't back the Rockefeller Group's project. The U.S. Attorney's Office subpoenaed Hoboken last week in connection to Zimmer's allegations.

The prospect of a new light rail station — joining three others in the city— would make the Rockefeller Group's project more attractive to potential tenants, The New York Times noted. The Hudson-Bergen light rail came to Hoboken in 2002, opening at Hoboken Terminal, according to NJ Transit's website. Two more stops were added in 2004 at Second and Ninth streets.

This isn't the first time that an additional light rail station has been suggested in this section of the city. A new light rail station was among the suggestions publicized after the city council voted in 2009 in favor of a redevelopment study of the 19-block area of northwest Hoboken, the Jersey Journal reported at the time.

City officials recently announced the next step in planning out redevelopment in the so-called North End Redevelopment Zone. The city will soon issue requests to planning and design firms to determine how the land should be developed, according to the Hudson Reporter. The city expects to award a contract soon after passing its 2014 budget, according to the report.