(The Center Square) — After a five-year court fight, New Jersey has finally muscled New York out of its waterfront.
On Wednesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced that the state police have officially taken over security at the Port of New Jersey and will now oversee administrative, regulatory tasks previously handled by the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor. That includes mandatory employment licensing for dock workers and law enforcement investigations.
The move comes three months after the U.S. Supreme Court sided with New Jersey in its push to leave the waterfront commission, created with New York 70 years ago to rout out organized crime and corruption along New York Harbor’s docks.
Murphy said the move makes good on his campaign pledges to scrap the “outdated” commission and expressed confidence that New Jersey can keep the mob off the waterfront.
“I know that the New Jersey State Police, one of the nation’s finest law enforcement forces, will do a superb job taking over the commission’s responsibilities, and I look forward to this new chapter in the Port’s history,” he said in a statement.
The takeover is authorized under a 2018 law signed by then-Gov. Chris Christie required New Jersey State Police to be in charge of licensing dock workers and policing the port if the commission was dissolved.
In court proceedings, New Jersey argued the commission is no longer relevant, pointing out that much of New York Harbor’s cargo activity has shifted from New York City piers to major terminals in Newark and other cities. Murphy and others said the regulatory body creates unnecessary red tape that drives up the cost of doing business on the docks.
“This day is years in the making, and we never stopped fighting for New Jersey’s right to control its own port – a fight that took us all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Attorney General Matthew Platkin, whose office argued the case, said in a statement. “We begin a new era of commerce and security of the state’s waterfront.”
New York argued that New Jersey couldn’t unilaterally walk away from the pact and said the commission is relevant with organized crime still looking to get a piece of the action. The state filed a lawsuit to prevent New Jersey from leaving.
But justices sided with New Jersey’s argument that it was entitled to unilaterally walk away from the commission as a sovereign state.
Despite lingering concerns, New Jersey law enforcement officials said Wednesday they are confident in their ability to keep criminals in check and ensure the safety of the waterfront but pledged to continue cooperating with New York law enforcement.
In a statement, State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan said New Jersey state troopers are “among the finest and most capable law enforcement officers in the country and possess all the competencies to investigate and disrupt crime and manage a multitude of complex administrative functions.”
