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Interim Report to the New Jersey Legislature Regarding the September 2013 Closure of George Washington Bridge Access Lanes in Fort Lee, N.J

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Interim Report to the New Jersey Legislature Regarding the September 2013 Closure of George Washington Bridge Access Lanes in Fort Lee, N.J INTERIM REPORT TO THE NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE REGARDING THE SEPTEMBER 2013 CLOSURE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE ACCESS LANES IN FORT LEE, N.J. December 8, 2014 Reid J. Schar TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................................ 1 A. Overview .......................................................................................................................................... 1 B. Summary of Facts ............................................................................................................................. 2 1. Before the Lane Closures ........................................................................................................... 2 2. During the Lane Closures ........................................................................................................... 3 3. After the Lane Closures ............................................................................................................. 4 II. TIMELINE AND SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION ............................................................................................. 6 A. Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee ....................... 6 B. Legislative Select Committee on Investigation ................................................................................ 8 1. Special Counsel to the Committee ............................................................................................ 8 2. Committee Subpoenas .............................................................................................................. 9 a. January 27, 2014 Subpoenas .............................................................................................. 9 b. February 10 and 14, 2014 Subpoenas .............................................................................. 10 c. May 5, 2014 Subpoena ..................................................................................................... 11 d. June 13, 2014 Subpoenas ................................................................................................. 11 e. August 25, 2014 Subpoena ............................................................................................... 13 3. Committee Testimony ............................................................................................................. 13 4. Interviews by Special Counsel ................................................................................................. 13 C. Collateral Investigations ................................................................................................................ 14 1. United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey ............................................... 14 2. OOG Review ............................................................................................................................ 14 III. BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................................... 15 A. The George Washington Bridge and Environs ............................................................................... 15 1. George Washington Bridge ..................................................................................................... 15 2. Fort Lee Access Lanes .............................................................................................................. 15 B. Office of the Governor ................................................................................................................... 16 1. Chief of Staff ............................................................................................................................ 16 a. Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs ................................ 16 i b. Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications ....................................................................... 17 2. Chief Counsel ........................................................................................................................... 17 C. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ................................................................................. 18 1. Governance and Executive Leadership ................................................................................... 18 2. Internal Port Authority Planning ............................................................................................. 19 3. Coordination Between Port Authority and Fort Lee ............................................................... 20 IV. FINDINGS OF FACT ................................................................................................................................ 21 A. Political Activity Within Office of Intergovernmental Affairs ........................................................ 21 1. Top 100 Towns and Political Intelligence ................................................................................ 21 2. Staff Cross-Over Between IGA and Governor Christie’s Re-Election Campaign ..................... 23 B. Outreach to Mayor Sokolich .......................................................................................................... 25 1. Contacts with OOG .................................................................................................................. 25 2. Contacts with Port Authority ................................................................................................... 26 3. Shuttle Bus Service .................................................................................................................. 26 4. Request to Endorse Governor Christie .................................................................................... 27 5. Ridley Interactions with Mayor Sokolich ................................................................................. 29 C. August 2013 ................................................................................................................................... 31 1. “Time for Some Traffic Problems” ........................................................................................... 31 2. Ridley Meeting with Sokolich .................................................................................................. 32 3. Fort Lee Chamber of Commerce Invitation ............................................................................. 36 4. Kelly and Wildstein Text Messages ......................................................................................... 37 D. Planning the Lane Closures ............................................................................................................ 37 E. Implementing the Lane Closures ................................................................................................... 39 1. September 6, 2013 (Friday) ..................................................................................................... 39 a. Wildstein Alerts Durando and Fulton ............................................................................... 39 b. Port Authority Engineering and Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals Staff Prepare for Lane Closures .................................................................................................................... 41 c. PAPD Informed ................................................................................................................. 41 2. September 7, 2013 (Saturday) ................................................................................................ 42 3. September 8, 2013 (Sunday) ................................................................................................... 43 F. September 9-13, 2013 ................................................................................................................... 44 ii 1. DAY 1: September 9, 2013 (Monday) ..................................................................................... 44 a. Wildstein Tours Congestion .............................................................................................. 44 b. Fort Lee Reacts to Lane Closures ...................................................................................... 46 c. Midday .............................................................................................................................. 49 d. Kelly Emails Ridley and Mowers ....................................................................................... 50 e. Afternoon .......................................................................................................................... 50 f. Evening .............................................................................................................................. 51 2. DAY 2: September 10, 2013 (Tuesday) ................................................................................... 53 a. Baroni Ignores Repeated Requests for Urgent Assistance ............................................... 53 b. Favia Letter ....................................................................................................................... 55 c. Traffic Monitoring ............................................................................................................. 55 d. Data Collection and Analysis ............................................................................................. 55 3. DAY 3: September 11, 2013
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