Prieto to become Sports Authority president

Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, who was replaced as Assembly Speaker earlier this year, will resign his Assembly seat to become president and CEO of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, the state agency that oversees the Meadowlands.
Recommended for the post by Gov. Phil Murphy, Prieto will assume his new duties at the NJSEA on Feb. 25, and will receive an annual salary of $225,000.
Prieto under law must step down from his assembly seat in the 32nd district that includes all of Secaucus, North Bergen and other towns outside Hudson County. It has not yet been determined who will be named to replace him in the interim, before a special election can be held later this year.

Yacht owners charged for insurance fraud

Following a four-month investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Kerwin Rigaud, 46, of Jersey City, was charged on Feb. 8 with insurance fraud. Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said the Insurance Fraud Unit had looked into allegations against Rigaud.
The allegations include fabricating claims and exaggerating damages from 2014 to the present in schemes to defraud multiple insurance companies of more than $200,000.
Rigaud, an accountant, has been charged with multiple insurance fraud violations related to his yacht, “Miss Behaving,” which he berths at Liberty Harbor Marina in Jersey City.

A celebration of spring

For the second year in the row, Barrow Mansion will host a celebration of spring known as Holi on March 3 and 4.
Holi is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has even become popular with non-Hindus throughout the world. The date varies from year to year, coming sometimes in March or even as early as February. The festival always celebrates the coming of spring.
The event will honor and include members of Jersey City’s South Asian community.
Traditional Mithilia and Madhubani art will be central to the exhibit.
This year’s event will strive to be more diverse and inclusive with varied artists also inspired by the theme of the Holi which is the spiritual and cultural celebration of renewal, resurrection, the triumph of the light over darkness with the coming of spring. The Holi is celebrated with joyful colors perfect for an exhibit of art, music and dance.”
So the show will also include a performance of dance and music by the renowned Tabla musician Anirban Roy Chowdhury on March 3 and a performance of dance and music by the Shenaaz Dance Academy on March 4.
The Holi, organizers point out, originated throughout South and East Asia as a festival signifying the victory of good over evil and the coming of spring. It is now celebrated worldwide.
The event will feature a group art show including artists, Shilpa Gowda, Bithika Adhikary, Nainee Shah, Cecilia Martinez, Maria Lupianez, Mahalaxmi Karn and more.
This year’s exhibit will be held on March 3, 12 noon to 10 p.m. and March 4, 12 noon to 8 p. m.

NJ Transit approves proposed alignment for light rail expansion into Bergen County

The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail’s (HBLR) expansion into Bergen County received a major boost this week, as NJ Transit has just approved the plan’s proposed alignment, per a press release.
The approval for the project’s Locally Preferred Alternative, detailed in its 2017 Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact statement, is mandatory in the federal environmental review process.
The route is a 10-mile, seven station extension from HBLR’s current Tonnelle Avenue terminus in North Bergen. It would include an additional North Bergen stop at 91st Street, and others in Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia, all the way to the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.
NJ Transit’s Board of Directors also authorized the route’s submission to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority Board of Trustees for designation and inclusion in their Long-Range Regional Transportation Plan.
By choosing this route, NJ Transit will be able to begin design and engineering activities once they complete the Final Environmental Impact Statement, and the Federal Transit Administration grants a Record of Decision for the project.

Get free income tax preparation help

United Way of Hudson County is teaming with the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program and HOPES to prepare and file federal and state income taxes for locals. The service runs through April 13.
To be eligible, participants must have been New Jersey residents for all of last year. They must also have a Social Security number, work in New Jersey or New York (or have taxable income like pensions, IRA distributions, interest, or stock trades.), and not have an income from a rental property or a business with employees, inventory, a loss, or over $25,000 in total expenses.
The AARP Foundation will be offering walk-in filings Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Foundation is located at 855 Bergen Ave. in Jersey City
HOPES will be offering filings Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., by appointment only.
HOPES has locations in the Hoboken area, including 532 Jackson St., Unit 1B and 300 Bloomfield St.
Call (201) 468-8805 for more assistance and information.

PA approves $364M Holland Tunnel upgrade

The Port Authority Board of New York and New Jersey approved a major rehabilitation and resiliency project for the Holland Tunnel to repair and restore critical mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems caused by Superstorm Sandy, and to install protective measures to mitigate future flooding in the facility.
The $364.2 million project includes repairs and replacement of systems damaged by latent salt resulting from the Oct. 29, 2012 storm, which filled the tunnel with 30 million gallons of water and resulted in flooding up to 9 feet above the North Tube roadway.
As part of the project, repair and replacement will be done to the tunnel’s power cables, fire detection system, voice communication system, lighting, pump room equipment, and repairs to concrete, drum rings, curbs, ceilings and wall tiles. The project includes improved lighting to enhance driver visibility in the tunnel. Approximately 84 percent of the project cost is projected to be reimbursed by federal funds.
In addition to repairs to tunnel systems, the project also includes resiliency measures to increase the stop log height at the doorways of the ventilation buildings in New York and New Jersey to meet current FEMA design flood elevation standards.
Work on the project is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2019 and take approximately five years to complete. The work must be staged during limited overnight hours to minimize disruption to travelers. Full single-tube closings are expected for 48 months. It is anticipated that one tube will be closed at a time, with traffic diverted to the Lincoln Tunnel during the closure.

Trump administration deals ‘serious jeopardy’ to Gateway Tunnel project

Federal transportation officials have assigned the Gateway rail tunnel and other components of the massive infrastructure project a new rating that further jeopardizes the chances of winning grant money from Washington.
A story on Politico.com says the Federal Transit Administration sent an annual funding report to Congress on Monday for its Capital Investment Grants Program that assigned a “Medium-Low“ rating to the proposed $13 billion Hudson River tunnel, the second-lowest on a five-point scale. It was the first time the grant application had received a formal rating. The FTA also reduced the rating of the Portal Bridge North project from “Medium-High“ to “Medium-Low.” That bridge replacement that would fix one of the single-greatest bottlenecks on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line.
Those involved in the Gateway Program said the change was likely to put chances of receiving federal funding under the New Starts program in serious jeopardy.
The Trump administration rejected an Obama-era agreement to cover half the cost of the broader $30 billion Gateway Program, which calls for constructing two new tubes connecting New Jersey to midtown Manhattan and repairing the existing tunnel that is now falling apart. The White House has also proposed ending the New Starts program, but Congress has so far protected the funding source.
“In case it wasn’t clear before, President Trump today tried to land another death blow to Gateway by having his Federal Transit Administration (FTA) vindictively and inexplicably downgrade the project in order to cut off critical federal funding,” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said in a statement on Monday.
In the case of the Portal Bridge project, which previously received a rating in February 2017 and was estimated to cost $1.6 billion, the FTA is taking the position that the amount of committed or budgeted funding from other sources had fallen from 57 percent to 21 percent of the total cost. The FTA said that is a primary reason the rating was reduced. The new ratings were issued in November and, according to a person familiar with the Gateway application, did not factor in any information received in October, when new details had become available.
John D. Porcari, the interim executive director of Gateway Program Development Corp., said the ratings fail to take into account the commitments from New York and New Jersey. The states have agreed to split half the cost of the tunnel project, putting up $5.5 billion, though they’ll need federal loans in order to do so. The grant application asks the federal government to cover the remaining costs.
Porcari said the Portal Bridge application, in which local agencies would also cover about half the total cost, “has only been improved with each updated submittal” since the first rating was issued. He noted early construction work has been underway for several months.

Since taking the office of president on Friday, Jan. 20, Donald Trump has signed 12 executive orders, including one that weakens the reach of the Affordable Care Act and one that says federal dollars may not go to organizations that provide abortion services (including some that provide contraception and counseling). Also during his first week, he has said he’d investigate what he believes to be up to 5 million illegal votes in his election and has said he’ll build a wall on the border with Mexico.
Dozens of women and a handful of men from Jersey City, Hoboken, and other local towns took 14 buses from Hudson County to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, Jan. 21 to march for women’s rights and for civil rights for disadvantaged groups. Similar protests were held in New York, Toronto, and London.
Hoisting signs such as “Nasty woman in training,” “These boobs were made for marching,” “My body my choice,” “Women’s rights are human rights,” “Dump Trump,” “Don’t tread on me,” “Men of quality do not fear equality,” and “Keep your tiny hands off my rights,” the women spent six hours in the nation’s capital before heading home.
The protest was said to be the largest in U.S. history.
“I hope today is the beginning of a movement to keep the next four years moving forward and not allow this administration to pull us back,” said Hoboken resident Liz Cohen on one of the buses, as the group rolled down to D.C. Participants had to be at the buses by 4:30 a.m.
Cohen, one of the trip’s organizers, said 206 local people made the trip to D.C. after months of planning. Only six dropped out.
“Some people were ill, others decided to attend the march in New York City instead, and we had one family who decided not to go because of the violence in D.C. the day of the inauguration, which is understandable,” said Cohen.

The march

Eileen Vanderhaden, 74, who has lived in Hoboken for 24 years, was one of the marchers. “I’m no stranger to activism,” she said. “I marched for women’s rights in the ’90s and against the Vietnam and Iraq wars. But this march for some reason, seeing all those women and men with a singular purpose, was so thrilling for me I had a lump in my throat the whole day.”
_____________
“I remember at one point my boss called me in and said, ‘I don’t know why they allow women to be put into important roles.’ ” – Eileen Vanderhaden, 74
____________
Vanderhaden said she has experienced workplace discrimination in the past because of her gender, when she worked in data security.
“I remember at one point my boss called me in and said, ‘I don’t know why they allow women to be put into important roles,’ ” she said. “ ‘All they really want is enough money to buy a good pretty pocketbook. Women do not belong in the workplace. They belong home with their children.’ I was more than happy to testify against him a few years later when he was being sued by a former Hispanic employee.”
Vanderhaden said she was overwhelmed by the love and support of the protestors, even when people who were against the march made their way through the crowd. Those people carried signs against abortion and homosexual rights.
“No one was mean,” she said. “Everyone was kind when those men with the Jesus signs came through. All people did was part and begin chanting, ‘Love trumps hate’.”
Jersey City resident Harriet Taub, 63, said, “There was never a moment from the time I heard about the march that I didn’t want to be a part of it. The tone and tenor of our government is so divisive and mean-spirited that I think it’s important to rally around and be together and say we won’t stand for this.”
Taub said she had marched in D.C for women’s reproductive rights in the 1990s with her then 7-year-old daughter, who was now marching in Toronto with her husband.
She said protesting goes hand in hand with democracy.
“It’s important for anyone and everyone to get together and make a statement and let people know protesting is still a right,” Taub said. “When you take away those rights democracy goes out the window. We have a right to stand together and say, ‘We are watching you and you can’t ignore us.’ I’m hopeful that this march will show the administration and those in political power that we will not accept business as usual, and that they can’t give way to the stroke of a pen and get rid of all the progress this country has made.”
Taub noted, “I have family in Melbourne, Australia, friends marching in Boston, and it’s exciting to see it’s not a localized thing or polarized. Its liberals and conservatives, it’s West Coast and East Coast.”
Thomas Egan, 58, a former Hoboken resident and current Jersey City resident for the past 20 years, felt the march’s positive spirit and enjoyed the creative signs and involvement. He was upset by the election results.
“I felt it would be a historic event if enough people came, and it would become a marker in history,” he said. “Yeah, you could say I was surprised by the election. It was a nightmare. We were looking at the polls thinking it was going to be all right. Then we watched it all fall apart.”
“I went from the despair and depression after the election to absolute joy and a renewal of energy to keep going,” said Cohen after the march. “I remember how horrible I felt. I was literally grieving, thinking the world had come to an end, and now to have been here and think about this today; what a difference. I feel so empowered.”
Hoboken resident Barbara Gambach Weinstein said she thought the march included people from all backgrounds and people with different agendas and some took inspiration from the suffragettes.
“I like the comprehensive nature of the march,” said Weinstein. “This is just the beginning. This is just one part of the strategy. I wore white today because this is what the suffragettes wore to fight and protest before they finally got women the right to vote. They used all the techniques available to them.”
She said, “They marched, they protested, organized, and then went to legislation. This march includes not only women’s rights but movements like Black Lives Matter and women fighting for immigration.”
Jackie Santos, a 26-year-old elementary school teacher from Jersey City, said this was her first march in D.C. She chose to go to D.C. instead of New York. “This is right where all the big decisions are made. Coming here felt more exciting and powerful.”
“There was a lot of positivity and good energy,” she said. “I was a little nervous. Before I came, people were telling me to be careful because it might be dangerous, but it wasn’t at all.”
Santos said she was proud to have been one of the over 1 million people who attended and was comforted by the fact that she wasn’t alone.
The daughter of Hoboken’s late favorite son, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, made it clear on Twitter which side she was on. On Jan. 24 she tweeted “I’ve never been so scared but I will stand up and fight till the end. #Resistance” with an image of an American flag.

Mixed feelings from Republicans

Hudson County Republican Party Chairman Jose Arango did not attend the march, but he said he had neighbors, friends, and employees who did.
“My opinion is, it’s a beautiful thing,” he said. “It’s democracy. I congratulate all the women who marched and expressed their concerns. I give a lot of credit to women who started this movement.”
Arango said he found the timing of the march a little early.
“Donald Trump was sworn in to office on Friday and they were already marching the next day before he even made a decision or took a next step,” said Arango.
Arango also believed Hollywood stars like Madonna should have been more careful in their speeches at the marches, and that some celebrities were “irresponsible.”
“I say you have a constitutional right to express yourself freely without saying you are going to blow up the White House,” said Arango, referring to Madonna’s controversial comments, which were actually: “Yes, I’m angry. Yes, I am outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot of blowing up the White House, but I know that this won’t change anything. We cannot fall into despair.”
He added, “She has a lot of youth followers. I think we should have responsible freedom of expression. They criticize Donald Trump for irresponsible speeches, and he has made some mistakes, I agree, but one wrong doesn’t trump another.”
Arango added that speeches like Madonna’s “gave ammunition to our enemies with the way they talk. If I was an enemy of our country I would put Madonna and all these people on a statue. They would be my idol.”

How it began

Cohen decided to get involved after seeing the results of the election in November.
“I was so upset that day,” said Cohen. “I was in mourning literally. I was fully prepared to celebrate the first female president and then it all fell apart.”
Then she heard of the 1 Million Women March, the original title of the Women’s March, and heard of a local meeting of New Jersey Awakens the following week and called the organizer.
“I called her and said I wanted to try and get a bus to go and she said she’d put me on the agenda, and the rest was history.”
Barbara Gross, one of Cohen’s partner organizers, said organizing a project of this magnitude wasn’t easy. There were constant changes, including last-minute bus parking fees, rally point changes, and the weather.
The group paid for the trip using donations and a $50 fee from each participant.
Local businesses and residents donated sunscreen and hand warmers and sponsored seats on the bus for those who would not be able to afford to go otherwise.

What’s next?

Many of the participants in the march felt invigorated after attending. But what is next for the movement?
Several suggested calling their state and local representatives about issues that are important to them. Emailing and on-line petitions don’t make as much of an impact, officials have said.
Scientists around the country have been organizing a march for later this year after Trump supporters have made comments trying to discredit fears of climate change.
Taub said, “Yes, everyone should call their state representatives, or write to them, but we should also call other states’ representatives and talk to them, or research the various national committees to see who serves on them and contact those people as well.”
Taub also called for more education on the fight for gender equality.
“I feel there is an educational gap between women of my generation and millennials or younger,” said Taub. “What you don’t realize is how hard it was to get here. People of your generation grew up with these freedoms and don’t know what it’s like not to have them.”
Among more recent changes in the U.S., the Affordable Care Act ensures that people have health insurance through age 25. Before that, young people often lost their insurance a year or two after college graduation.
Gross said she collected dozens of signs, pins, letters, and emails about the march and donated them to the Hoboken Historical Museum for its archives.
Cohen said she has started contacting her representatives and plans on doing so every Tuesday as part of Take Action Tuesday. She also has begun to take some online tutorials on how to be an effective activist and get others involved.
The group is also planning to meet with other D.C. trip organizers in the area to discuss the next steps.

Woman targeted

Meanwhile, women in other parts of the country have faced blowback for speaking out.
One woman in Mississippi responded on Facebook to some of her state senator, Chris McDaniels’, remarks about the march such as, “So a group of unhappy liberal women march on Washington D.C. We shouldn’t be surprised; almost all liberal women are unhappy. Perhaps there’s a correlation… If they can afford all those piercings, tattoos, body paintings, signs, and plane tickets, then why do they want us to pay for their birth control?” The woman commented that he should be representing everyone, then called him a “f—wit” and asked her friends to call his office and let their voices be heard. In response, he reportedly posted her image and Facebook information, stating “She obviously believes you should be paying for her birth control. Why not let her know how you feel?” She told a reporter that she was harassed in response.
Marilyn Baer can be reached at marilynb@hudsonreporter.com.

Prieto to become Sports Authority president

Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, who was replaced as Assembly Speaker earlier this year, will resign his Assembly seat to become president and CEO of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, the state agency that oversees the Meadowlands.
Recommended for the post by Gov. Phil Murphy, Prieto will assume his new duties at the NJSEA on Feb. 25, and will receive an annual salary of $225,000.
Prieto under law must step down from his assembly seat in the 32nd district that includes all of Secaucus, North Bergen and other towns outside Hudson County. It has not yet been determined who will be named to replace him in the interim, before a special election can be held later this year.

Yacht owners charged for insurance fraud

Following a four-month investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Kerwin Rigaud, 46, of Jersey City, was charged on Feb. 8 with insurance fraud. Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said the Insurance Fraud Unit had looked into allegations against Rigaud.
The allegations include fabricating claims and exaggerating damages from 2014 to the present in schemes to defraud multiple insurance companies of more than $200,000.
Rigaud, an accountant, has been charged with multiple insurance fraud violations related to his yacht, “Miss Behaving,” which he berths at Liberty Harbor Marina in Jersey City.

A celebration of spring

For the second year in the row, Barrow Mansion will host a celebration of spring known as Holi on March 3 and 4.
Holi is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has even become popular with non-Hindus throughout the world. The date varies from year to year, coming sometimes in March or even as early as February. The festival always celebrates the coming of spring.
The event will honor and include members of Jersey City’s South Asian community.
Traditional Mithilia and Madhubani art will be central to the exhibit.
This year’s event will strive to be more diverse and inclusive with varied artists also inspired by the theme of the Holi which is the spiritual and cultural celebration of renewal, resurrection, the triumph of the light over darkness with the coming of spring. The Holi is celebrated with joyful colors perfect for an exhibit of art, music and dance.”
So the show will also include a performance of dance and music by the renowned Tabla musician Anirban Roy Chowdhury on March 3 and a performance of dance and music by the Shenaaz Dance Academy on March 4.
The Holi, organizers point out, originated throughout South and East Asia as a festival signifying the victory of good over evil and the coming of spring. It is now celebrated worldwide.
The event will feature a group art show including artists, Shilpa Gowda, Bithika Adhikary, Nainee Shah, Cecilia Martinez, Maria Lupianez, Mahalaxmi Karn and more.
This year’s exhibit will be held on March 3, 12 noon to 10 p.m. and March 4, 12 noon to 8 p. m.

NJ Transit approves proposed alignment for light rail expansion into Bergen County

The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail’s (HBLR) expansion into Bergen County received a major boost this week, as NJ Transit has just approved the plan’s proposed alignment, per a press release.
The approval for the project’s Locally Preferred Alternative, detailed in its 2017 Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact statement, is mandatory in the federal environmental review process.
The route is a 10-mile, seven station extension from HBLR’s current Tonnelle Avenue terminus in North Bergen. It would include an additional North Bergen stop at 91st Street, and others in Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia, all the way to the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.
NJ Transit’s Board of Directors also authorized the route’s submission to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority Board of Trustees for designation and inclusion in their Long-Range Regional Transportation Plan.
By choosing this route, NJ Transit will be able to begin design and engineering activities once they complete the Final Environmental Impact Statement, and the Federal Transit Administration grants a Record of Decision for the project.

Get free income tax preparation help

United Way of Hudson County is teaming with the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program and HOPES to prepare and file federal and state income taxes for locals. The service runs through April 13.
To be eligible, participants must have been New Jersey residents for all of last year. They must also have a Social Security number, work in New Jersey or New York (or have taxable income like pensions, IRA distributions, interest, or stock trades.), and not have an income from a rental property or a business with employees, inventory, a loss, or over $25,000 in total expenses.
The AARP Foundation will be offering walk-in filings Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Foundation is located at 855 Bergen Ave. in Jersey City
HOPES will be offering filings Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., by appointment only.
HOPES has locations in the Hoboken area, including 532 Jackson St., Unit 1B and 300 Bloomfield St.
Call (201) 468-8805 for more assistance and information.

PA approves $364M Holland Tunnel upgrade

The Port Authority Board of New York and New Jersey approved a major rehabilitation and resiliency project for the Holland Tunnel to repair and restore critical mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems caused by Superstorm Sandy, and to install protective measures to mitigate future flooding in the facility.
The $364.2 million project includes repairs and replacement of systems damaged by latent salt resulting from the Oct. 29, 2012 storm, which filled the tunnel with 30 million gallons of water and resulted in flooding up to 9 feet above the North Tube roadway.
As part of the project, repair and replacement will be done to the tunnel’s power cables, fire detection system, voice communication system, lighting, pump room equipment, and repairs to concrete, drum rings, curbs, ceilings and wall tiles. The project includes improved lighting to enhance driver visibility in the tunnel. Approximately 84 percent of the project cost is projected to be reimbursed by federal funds.
In addition to repairs to tunnel systems, the project also includes resiliency measures to increase the stop log height at the doorways of the ventilation buildings in New York and New Jersey to meet current FEMA design flood elevation standards.
Work on the project is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2019 and take approximately five years to complete. The work must be staged during limited overnight hours to minimize disruption to travelers. Full single-tube closings are expected for 48 months. It is anticipated that one tube will be closed at a time, with traffic diverted to the Lincoln Tunnel during the closure.

Trump administration deals ‘serious jeopardy’ to Gateway Tunnel project

Federal transportation officials have assigned the Gateway rail tunnel and other components of the massive infrastructure project a new rating that further jeopardizes the chances of winning grant money from Washington.
A story on Politico.com says the Federal Transit Administration sent an annual funding report to Congress on Monday for its Capital Investment Grants Program that assigned a “Medium-Low“ rating to the proposed $13 billion Hudson River tunnel, the second-lowest on a five-point scale. It was the first time the grant application had received a formal rating. The FTA also reduced the rating of the Portal Bridge North project from “Medium-High“ to “Medium-Low.” That bridge replacement that would fix one of the single-greatest bottlenecks on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line.
Those involved in the Gateway Program said the change was likely to put chances of receiving federal funding under the New Starts program in serious jeopardy.
The Trump administration rejected an Obama-era agreement to cover half the cost of the broader $30 billion Gateway Program, which calls for constructing two new tubes connecting New Jersey to midtown Manhattan and repairing the existing tunnel that is now falling apart. The White House has also proposed ending the New Starts program, but Congress has so far protected the funding source.
“In case it wasn’t clear before, President Trump today tried to land another death blow to Gateway by having his Federal Transit Administration (FTA) vindictively and inexplicably downgrade the project in order to cut off critical federal funding,” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said in a statement on Monday.
In the case of the Portal Bridge project, which previously received a rating in February 2017 and was estimated to cost $1.6 billion, the FTA is taking the position that the amount of committed or budgeted funding from other sources had fallen from 57 percent to 21 percent of the total cost. The FTA said that is a primary reason the rating was reduced. The new ratings were issued in November and, according to a person familiar with the Gateway application, did not factor in any information received in October, when new details had become available.
John D. Porcari, the interim executive director of Gateway Program Development Corp., said the ratings fail to take into account the commitments from New York and New Jersey. The states have agreed to split half the cost of the tunnel project, putting up $5.5 billion, though they’ll need federal loans in order to do so. The grant application asks the federal government to cover the remaining costs.
Porcari said the Portal Bridge application, in which local agencies would also cover about half the total cost, “has only been improved with each updated submittal” since the first rating was issued. He noted early construction work has been underway for several months.