Star-Ledger: Hoboken mayor claims Christie administration held city's Sandy recovery funds 'hostage'

[flamingdem]

Zimmer, a Democrat who has long been an ally of Christie, made the explosive accusation this morning on national television, telling MSNBC host Steve Kornacki that she was pressured by Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno, Richard Constable, the current commissioner of community affairs, and Lori Grifa, the former commissioner.

---

Zimmer, however, did not support those development plans despite pressure from Grifa, who once tried to set up a conference call with her and Samson to push for it, according to emails Zimmer provided. And Hoboken’s planning board in April voted against designating those three blocks for development, pushing to develop all 19 instead.
At the same time, the Christie administration was distributing Hurricane Sandy recovery funds. Hoboken had been devastated by the storm. Almost 80 percent had been flooded. There was more than $100 million in property damage, according to Zimmer's office.

But even though Zimmer requested more than $100 million from Christie, she received only $342,000.

In May, Zimmer again took to her diary to recount an event she participated in with Constable.

“We are miked up with other panelists all around us, and probably the sound team is listening, and he says ‘I hear you’re against the Rockefeller project… If you move that forward, the money would start flowing to you.”

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/01/hoboken_mayor_claims_christie_administration_held_citys_sandy_recovery_funds_hostage.html

[herding cats]

1. Bergen Record - Hoboken mayor accuses Christie lieutenant of tying Sandy aid to development approval

In a televised interview this morning, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer accused Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno of connecting the city’s application for superstorm Sandy aid to a development project represented by the law firm of the Port Authority’s chairman, David Samson.

Zimmer, a Democrat, said she wrote about the May 2013 incident in her personal journal, pages of which were shown on the MSNBC program where she was interviewed by host Steve Kornacki.

“At the end of a big tour of Shop-Rite and meeting, she pulls me aside, with no one else around and says that I need to move forward with the Rockefeller project. It is very important to the governor,” Kornacki said, reading from what he said Zimmer wrote that day in her journal..

“The word is you are against it. And you need to move it forward or we are not going to be able to help you. I know it’s not right, these things should not be connected but they are, she says. If you tell anyone I said that, I will deny it,” he read.
- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/Hoboken_mayor_accuses_Christie_lieutenant_of_tying_Sandy_aid_to_development_approval.html#sthash.OkULb6oh.dpuf

From the detail in the Star-Ledger article, I'd say they knew she was going to reveal this today on MSNBC.

[flamingdem]

3. This story is deliciously huge in NJ

The chickens are coming home to roost in droves!

[herding cats]

7. As it should be!

It's a much needed cathartic experience for many citizens there. Not to mention it has the added benefit of helping to prevent a Christi presidency!

[ellie]

16. I love a good pile on!

Bring it! Take this guy and his cronies down.

[elleng]

2. Thanks for the summary, flamingdem.

[hollysmom]

4. Oh good, get rid of the Lt Gov at the same time - n/t

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Well, he needed to pocket some of that Sandy money for a campaign advertisement.

/

[flamingdem]

6. Why do that when the Koch Bros have pockets full of $

for campaigning? He was in touch with them. Guess he's impatient and wanted a HUGE war chest to tackle Hillary. Not to bright this fellow.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Well, Republicans want to show they're rugged individuals.

[flamingdem]

15. ha ha true

can't wait to see the numbers, just how much did Christie skim, as well as his cronies. I remember that he didn't want to pay the $2500 spent to helicopter him to his kid's baseball game.

[Baitball Blogger]

21. What a stroke of brilliance on Obama's part to give Christie so much cash.

He must have known something about Christie's devious nature and knew he wouldn't be able to help himself.

Now, think about how this kind of corruption exists in every state. Traps can be set everywhere to get the same results. And it wouldn't always be for the intention of uncovering corruption.

[flamingdem]

22. If this was chess

Obama just achieved checkmate, a nice gift to Hillary?

[Bandit]

25. Actually it was Congress but I like your idea anyway.

[Baitball Blogger]

28. LOL!

Checkmate.

Edited to add: It is curious how perceptions are created. When Jeb Bush was Governor and his brother was president, Florida was well taken care of. One just assumes that the family connection didn't hurt.

[WinkyDink]

9. Digression: Mayor Zimmer looks like the British actor Shaun Evans:

[bettyellen]

10. no she does not.

[Cha]

36. Really. I'm like "What?".

[bettyellen]

38. Can't wait to hear stupid crap like this everyday when Hillary- or any woman- runs

for office. Dudes, we do not care what you think of womens' looks. Save it for your dude bros.

[Tikki]

31. First thing I noticed was how naturally pretty she is...

Tikki

[WinkyDink]

34. Who said Shaun isn't?

[Tikki]

35. Wa ah vr….

Tikki

[bettyellen]

39. she is a delightful person, her sincerity and intelligence shines through when she speaks...

and I am going to bet her notes are meticulous, her rep impossible to tarnish. And THAT is what is vitally important here, and why she deserves our RESPECT.

[Tikki]

40. + forever….

Tikki

[bettyellen]

41. whenever someone puts a female politician up on a pedestal to judge their looks -

whether to praise or slam them. I have to say- why in the world do you think we care to hear your assessment?
You want politics to be a beauty pageant? You like a dumbed down media where shallow assessments of people matter most? Stop being part of the problem.

[Tikki]

42. I did hear her speak…I loved the whole thing…and she is pretty..

So am I.


Tikki

[bettyellen]

43. She is a lovely human being. Have met her several times, and she has a quiet strength and poise of

the sort that only truly ethical and intelligent people possess. She is not so interested in fashion or spending time at the beauty parlor every week. Some citizens have slammed her for that. But, she has other priorities, and I am very happy that she does! Hoboken is fortunate we finally have a mayor that is not corrupt and bleeding the town for all it's worth. We had way too many years of that.

[randome]

11. "It's the end of the world."

[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[flamingdem]

14. Need clue

who dat?

[randome]

17. Really? The drunk in the bar in Hitchcock's 'The Birds'.

The one with the broguish accent who kept saying "It's the end of the world."
[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[flamingdem]

18. Thanks, I like to know movie trivia

and will look for that one on youtube. That movie was scary, I haven't seen it for decades.

[randome]

20. As Christie's world -and the GOP's- come crashing down around them...

...I think they will all be spending more time in bars before a lot of them spend time behind bars.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Rules are made to be broken. Including this one.[/center][/font][hr]

[Schema Thing]

12. I think you highlighted the wrong portion:

this could be the big key: “We are miked up with other panelists all around us, and probably the sound team is listening, and he says...."

[flamingdem]

13. As far as evidence?

Others having heard it could back her up, true.

[Kingofalldems]

19. She volunteered to take a polygraph.

Will Bully Boy?

[Demeter]

23. I sure would like to know why this money was controlled by a Governor, not a Fed

[flamingdem]

24. 1.8 billion given to Christie to administrate

I don't understand why Mayor Zimmer didn't blow the whistle sooner. The intimidation must be extreme, but it makes me wonder about her too.

We're talking a request for 100 million and only getting 350 grand? How could she keep quiet? I must have missed something but that's nuts because how did Hoboken recover?

[bettyellen]

26. I think that unless it was part of a pattern, her lone testimony would be useless.

And she would be putting Hoboken in a very bad position to tilt at that windmill alone. she doesn't have a paper trail, except for her own notes.

[CTyankee]

32. I don't know how it would benefit her to make this whole thing up out of whole cloth.

And I think we have seen plenty of instances of Christie's bullying. It fits the profile...

[bettyellen]

33. Oh, definitely not. But it would have hurt her town a great deal if she was the lone accuser….

And all along, she has still been working hard trying to get Sandy $$ , and also for for flood prevention projects.

[Cha]

37. Mayor Dawn Zimmer explains herself well in Steve's

interview. She kept asking the gov for the money and getting told she'd have to move the Rockefeller redevelopment along on high speed. She says she probably should have come out sooner but was worried there would be more retribution.

She very credible and unfortunately for Crispygoons she's a diary keeper.

[Stuart G]

27. "Hostage"..not a nice word...

Won't sit well with those who still support this asshole...and he will be gone..

with a song..
ding dong, ding dong...thank you..

[hrmjustin]

29. I wonder if he will even finish his term.

[flamingdem]

30. Fingers crossed for Senate hearings

and more singing from the canary cronies