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DEAR PARA MEMBERS,

   

The unannounced closings of the George Washington Bridge (GWB) access lanes in Fort Lee -- from Monday September 9 until after rush hour on Friday, September 13 -- were covered by national and international news media shortly thereafter. It became clear quickly that these closures were ordered by the top level appointees of Governor Chris Christie, apparently for political retribution. 

The nature of these closures resulted in hours-long traffic jams, delays of emergency responders, school children unable to get to their first day of classes for nearly two hours, and most perplexing, and contrary to long-established Port Authority procedure, no prior notification had been sent to the Fort Lee police and operations contacts, the mayor's office, and the public. 

 

Media coverage -- the first to track the story were The Record and Wall Street Journal -- details the recent disclosures via subpoenas (issued by the NJ State Assembly Transportation Committee) of documents and testimonies. This subpoena power seems likely to be extended based on the latest news. 

 

So where is PARA in all of this?  The PARA Board has been following the developments of this still-evolving story since the beginning.  It has been especially painful and maddening to think that the PA retirees and employees, whom we know were and are committed to preserve the public trust, are being dragged down by the use of the term "dysfunctional" to describe the entire organization.  We want to be sure that PARA members know that our words are being heard, and that other voices of support are emerging (see today's Opinion page in The Record/NorthJersey.com ). 

 

PARA's President, Dave Gallagher, has been quoted in two articles: the New York Times and the political blog, NJSpotlight.  

Ernesto Butcher, retired COO, shared his reactions with Dave after the NYPost opinion piece was published on January 10 and it is now posted on PARA's Web site. And former PA Executive Director Peter Goldmark (1977-1985) published an article on January 8 in Long Island Newsday about the destructive effects of two lines of authority at the PA.

Finally, thanks to the close monitoring of articles by the PARA Board and our Webmaster, Joe SanSevero, PARA has been posting streams of articles covering this very troubling story on PARA's Web site:  Current Issues -  GWB Controversy. 

 

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DISCLAIMER:  

The Port Authority Retirees Association, Inc. does not provide, and this notice does not constitute, legal or other professional advice. We recommend you contact your own  professional advisor for such matters as neither The Port Authority Retirees Association, Inc., nor anyone associated with this notice, assumes responsibility for your relying on the information provided, even though we have attempted to ensure that it reflects our understanding of what is presented.

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