New York asks supreme court to stop New Jersey from leaving crime-fighting agency
New Jersey plans to withdraw from the bistate Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor on March 28.
The Port of Newark in New Jersey. – PHOTO: VICTOR J. BLUE/BLOOMBERG NEWS
The state of New York asked the Supreme Court on Monday to stop New Jersey from dismantling a bistate agency that fights crime at the East Coast’s busiest port.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Gov. Kathy Hochul, both Democrats, said the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor is vital to fighting corruption and ensuring fair hiring at the Port of New York and New Jersey. New York’s motion asks the court to block New Jersey’s withdrawal, scheduled for March 28, while the justices decide whether to consider further action.
”New Jersey’s withdrawal would likely cause immediate and irreparable harm to New York, resulting in increased criminal activity, higher prices on incoming goods, and racial and gender inequities in hiring at the port,” the officials said in a statement.
New York and New Jersey established the Waterfront Commission almost 70 years ago in an agreement that was approved by Congress. At the time, the agency battled corruption and violence that was concentrated in New York and was immortalized in the 1954 movie “On the Waterfront.“ Since then, most of the port’s operations have shifted from New York facilities to those in New Jersey.
The legal fight pits two labor-friendly, Democratic-controlled states against each other. The states also share control over many of the region’s transportation hubs, bridges and tunnels via a separate bistate agency, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
New Jersey officials, backed by the dockworker’s union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, say organized crime has been driven out of the port and that the commission is a roadblock to hiring and operations improvements. The commission still regularly suspends longshore workers and denies or revokes workers’ licenses because of criminal wrongdoing or for associating with organized crime. Law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, say the commission still serves a vital purpose.
New Jersey officials passed a law in 2018 unilaterally withdrawing from the agency, and the Waterfront Commission sued New Jersey to prevent the withdrawal.
The commission lost its case after a federal appeals court ruled that the commission didn’t have the power to sue a state against its wishes; in November, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal. The U.S. Justice Department, in a brief to the high court in October, said the most obvious plaintiff in such a case is the state of New York.
New Jersey plans to transfer the commission’s duties to the New Jersey State Police.
A spokesman for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said: “New Jersey welcomes the opportunity to vigorously defend its law withdrawing the state from the Waterfront Commission, which has long outlived its usefulness and does not fairly represent New Jersey’s interests.”
Write to Paul Berger at paul.berger@wsj.com and Jess Bravin at jess.bravin+1@wsj.com