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Last May 8, a severe rainstorm left the streets of this city flooded once again, causing the mayor, Dawn Zimmer, to recall the inundation from Hurricane Sandy.

So she dashed off a letter to Gov. Chris Christie, imploring him to help with Hoboken’s “ongoing flooding emergency,” and attached photos of cars in water up to their hoods. She was due to meet the next day with officials of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, when she hoped to talk about protecting Hoboken from the next catastrophic deluge to come.

But, according to newly obtained emails sent among the participants, the first topic of discussion on the agenda was “review of concepts for flood control measures at Rockefeller property,” a reference to a billion-dollar office complex proposed at the north end of town. The developer, the Rockefeller Group, which had long been trying to gain approval from local officials, sent two executives, two lobbyists and an engineer to the meeting.

....whatever the outcome of the inquiries, the emails and interviews make clear that the development-wary mayor was coming under increasing and repeated pressure from politically connected lawyers working for Rockefeller Group and from the Christie administration. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/nyregion/powerful-allies-pushed-a-pr
oject-in-new-jersey.html

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The Rockefeller investment was a risky proposition from the start. There were no indications of what zoning changes the Council would allow in Hoboken, where a 14-story building is considered a high-rise, and many residents wanted to retain the relatively low-scale character of the city.

According to people who know him, Mr. Smith presumed that the company, with its resources and connections, could overcome any obstacles and get the project approved within two years.

In 2007, Rockefeller Group hired Wolff & Samson, a law firm with deep ties to New Jersey’s Republican leaders, to handle environmental issues.

Ms. Zimmer became mayor in 2009, promising more transparency in dealing with developers and better planning for the city’s future.

“It was a political sea change in Hoboken,” said Thomas W. Newman, a cabinetmaker and former councilman. “Part of the machine-style politics of the past was making deals with the developers.”

Efforts on the state level accelerated after the election of Mr. Christie as governor in late 2009. Mr. Christie, like most governors, has been eager for new developments and uses them to lure companies to New Jersey. He also is close to David Samson, a Wolff & Samson founder whom the governor would name as chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in October 2010, a connection that Ms. Zimmer and her supporters have highlighted.

The company suggested that the mayor seek money for a planning study from the Port Authority. Bill Baroni, a former state senator and Christie appointee at the Port Authority, authorized up to $75,000 for the study.

The study dragged on for two years, delayed partly because of the hurricane. Four years after buying the Hoboken parcels, Rockefeller Group still had no certainty that it could build a large-scale project, so it asked Wolff & Samson to expand its work with the Christie administration in early 2012, two executives involved with the project say.

When the study, conducted by a planning firm based in Trenton, was finally completed in early 2013, it concluded that out of 19 north end blocks, only the three Rockefeller Group blocks qualified for redevelopment. That recommendation, if ratified by the city, would have given Rockefeller tax breaks for up to 30 years. Much more at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/nyregion/powerful-allies-pushed-a-pr
oject-in-new-jersey.html

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He may not change, but the conversation can - if we decide to do it.

Right now all we've done is segue from every thread becoming about him - to every thread becoming a series of pics and comments about how we're not gong to let it be about him.

Just actually ignore the little shit. He can keep spewing - but we don't have to let him dominate EVERY GODDAMNED conversation.

Maybe we need some sort of designation. The first person to acknowledge any of that shit is the "sucker of the day" or something.

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Hoboken Site Developer Dismisses Law Firm Tied to Christie

Rockefeller Group, a real estate developer whose proposed office complex in Hoboken, N.J., is at the center of allegations that associates of Gov. Chris Christie threatened to withhold Hurricane Sandy relief money from the city unless the project received approval, has severed its connections with a law firm with close ties to the governor.

Rockefeller Group said on Thursday that last week it had terminated its contract with the firm, Wolff & Samson, ending a relationship that began in 2007.

“Given the investigation,” Dwayne Doherty, a spokesman for Rockefeller Group, said, “we’ve decided to shift our work on the project to another firm.”

Wolff & Samson was founded by David Samson, whom Mr. Christie named as chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2010. A former member of Mr. Christie’s cabinet, Lori Grifa, who now works at the law firm, lobbied state officials on behalf of the project.

Rockefeller Group said the allegations were “deplorable” if true. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/nyregion/hoboken-site-developer-dism
isses-law-firm.html?_r=0

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