No one said it was going to be pretty! In a whirlwind of meetings with the City, press conferences and letters back and forth, the City and our elected officials made it clear to the Port Authority that the current process was backward and should be started over from the beginning.
On July 20, the Community board engaged in a constructive discussion of the parameters that should be respected to allay the community concerns. This became the basis for a letter to the Port Authority voted at the July 27th full board.
After meeting with the city, in late July, Elected officials sent a letter to the Port Authority and doubled down with a press conference and testimonies at the Port Authority Board , highlighting the numerous reasons why the proposals were unacceptable to the community and asking to sop the competition.
(Politico NorthJerseycom NYCgov NY Post Crains Crains)
With the Port Authority vowing to stay the course and continue its competition , the New York elected officials led by Congressman Jerry Nadler declined to attend a meeting arranged by the Port Authority for the competitors of the Design and deliverability competition to hear community input. In a letter to the Port Authority dated August 2016, our elected officials objected to a process where some of the options have been arbitrarily taken off the table without analysis (specifically a New Jersey location), where eminent domain and increased air pollution will probably derail the project, and where there has been no regional planning. They instead requested a new meeting with the Port Authority management. (Politico Politico)
The Port Authority declined to stop the Design competition but is now calling it a first step. The New Jersey elected officials sent a letter to the Port Authority to reiterate their position of one seat ride and urgency .
Meetings are being set with the Port Authority to initiate the dialogue.