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Sweeney Welcomes Legal Victory on Waterfront Commission

Trenton – Senate President Steve Sweeney today issued the following statement welcoming the successful appellate court decision affirming the law abolishing the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, the bi-state agency created more than 65 years ago.
Senator Sweeney led the effort to appeal a previous court decision that, left unchallenged, would have nullified the 2018 law. That appeal led to today’s victory in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
“This is a hard fought legal victory that affirms the law we wrote to abolish a commission that had outlived its purpose. It became an obstacle to economic activity that was costing us jobs in the shipping industry, which continues to be a key part of the state’s economy. New Jersey is a transportation hub for the region that fuels the flow of goods through the bi-state region. There are more than 50 companies operating on the waterfront that have a registry of nearly 6,500 longshoremen and other workers. We want to give them the opportunity to be fully employed and to be part of a thriving sector of our economy.”
The New Jersey law that withdrew the state from the regional compact and transferred oversight responsibilities to the State Police was approved by the Senate with a vote of 38-0 and by the Assembly with a vote of 66-1, before being signed into law in January of 2018.