Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor

Last updated

The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor (WCNYH) was a regulatory agency in the Port of New York and New Jersey in the northeast of the United States. The bi-state agency was founded in 1953 by a Congressional authorized compact between New York and New Jersey "for the purpose of eliminating various evils on the waterfront in the Port of New York Harbor." Under statutory mandate, the mission of the commission is to investigate, deter, combat and remedy criminal activity and influence in the port district and also ensures fair hiring and employment practices.

Contents

Since 2018 New Jersey had attempted to withdraw from the pact. [1] In 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled that it could do so, and the commission was dissolved. [2] [3]

History

The commission was set up in August 1953 (a year before the movie On the Waterfront ) to combat labor racketeering. [4] The commission was initially created to combat unfair hiring practices on the waterfront in response to the growing number of crimes being committed there.

The Division of Licensing and Employment Information Centers was responsible for screening, registering, and licensing individuals who are interested in working at the dock. The commission was authorized to deny or revoke the registration or licenses of those who involved themselves in criminal activity.

Police Division

Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor Police
Common nameWaterfront Commission of New York Harbor Police
Abbreviation WCPD
Agency overview
Formed1953
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionNew York, New York, U.S.
Legal jurisdictionNew York City
General nature
Operational structure
Peace Officers30
Parent agencyWaterfront Commission of New York Harbor
Facilities
Patrol carsPatrol Cars
BoatsPatrol Boat
Website
Official Site

The WCNYH has a law enforcement division (a.k.a. WCPD), [5] who are New york state peace officers. They provided safety and security services at WCNYH areas within new york city.

Operations

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has argued that the agency, has outlived its usefulness, and that the New Jersey State Police will take over law enforcement operations at New Jersey ports. [6]

The Waterfront ( police ) division only operated on property owned by the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor in lower Manhattan and Redhook Brooklyn.

The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor cooperated with other law enforcement authorities in pursuing investigations into waterfront-related crimes.

Investigations

The Waterfront Commission participated in the investigation of criminal activities by the leaders and members of the Gambino crime family and union leaders. Charges of racketeering conspiracy, extortion, theft of union benefits, mail fraud, false statements, loansharking, embezzlement of union funds, money laundering, and illegal gambling, dating back over three decades, were brought forth by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in February 2008 against leaders of the Gambino crime family, their associates, and union officials. [7]

Equipment

WCPD used marked police patrol cars (such as Ford Explorer [8] ), command center vehicles [9] and boats for water work. [10]

WCPD Officers wear a dark blue uniform in the style as other law enforcement in new york city. [9] Identification included the WCPD patch on both sides of the upper garments and a WCPD shield (badge) on the left breast. [9]

New York State Inspector General report

On August 11, 2009, the New York State Inspector General Joseph Fisch issued a report of his two-year investigation of the Waterfront Commission. The report detailed extensive illegal, corrupt and unethical behavior on the part of Waterfront Commission staff. Following release of the report, the large majority of the commission's executive staff were fired, including the New Jersey Commissioner Michael J. Madonna (the New York Commissioner's seat was vacant at the time of the report's release, although the report faulted the actions of the former New York Commissioner, Michael C. Axelrod). [11] [12]

The report's existence was due, in part, to two whistleblowers, Kevin McGown and Brian Smith, who both resigned and have since filed a discrimination complaint against the agency. [13]

New Jersey withdrawal from pact

In October 2014, the New Jersey Senate passed measure S-2277 which would direct the governor of New Jersey to withdraw from the bi-state compact and transfer the commission's oversight responsibilities in New Jersey to the state police. [14] In May 2015, Governor Chris Christie conditionally vetoed S-2277 (and the corresponding bill A-3506 passed by the New Jersey General Assembly), citing his concerns that the state lacked the authority to withdraw from the compact and arguing that the solution should be to modify the operations of the commission to minimize interference with waterfront operations. [15]

Among his final actions in January 2018 before leaving office, Christie signed legislation allowing the state to withdraw from the pact. [16] [1]

New York v. New Jersey (2023)

New York v. New Jersey
Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg
Argued March 1, 2023
Decided April 18, 2023
Full case nameNew York v. New Jersey
Docket no. 22-156
Citations598 U.S. ___ ( more )
Argument Oral argument
Holding
As the compact between New Jersey and New York did not specify a withdrawal mechanism, New Jersey may unilaterally withdraw from the WCNYH.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas  · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor  · Elena Kagan
Neil Gorsuch  · Brett Kavanaugh
Amy Coney Barrett  · Ketanji Brown Jackson
Case opinion
MajorityKavanaugh, joined by Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett, Jackson

The Supreme Court paused New Jersey's withdrawal from the compact creating the commission until it has addressed the merits of an injunction filed by the State of New York. In April 2023, the Court ruled unanimously in favor of New Jersey, stating that unilateral withdrawal was permissible as the interstate compact creating the commission did not address withdrawals from it. Because there is no explicit form of withdrawal in the compact, the Court found that default contract law from the time of the compact's creation applied, which allows termination of a contract by either party. [17] [18] [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Authority of New York and New Jersey</span> Transportation facility agency in New York City and New Jersey

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized by the United States Congress. The Port Authority oversees much of the regional transportation infrastructure, including bridges, tunnels, airports, and seaports, within the geographical jurisdiction of the Port of New York and New Jersey. This 1,500-square-mile (3,900 km2) port district is generally encompassed within a 25-mile (40 km) radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. The Port Authority is headquartered at 4 World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Harbor</span> Harbor in New York and New Jersey

New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay and an extremely small portion of the Lower Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York/New Jersey Bight near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the East Coast of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware River Port Authority</span> Pennsylvania and New Jersey bi-state transport agency

The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), officially the Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is a bi-state agency instrumentality created by a congressionally approved interstate compact between the state governments of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The authority is principally charged to maintain and develop transportation links between the two states with four bridges and a mass transit rail line across the Delaware River. Though the DRPA has "port" in its name, it does not own or operate any ports.

In the United States, an interstate compact is a pact or agreement between two or more states, or between states and any foreign sub-national government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Longshoremen's Association</span> North American labor union

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is a North American labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways; on the West Coast, the dominant union is the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. The ILA has approximately 200 local affiliates in port cities in these areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey State Police</span> State law enforcement agency of New Jersey

The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) is the official state police force of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with statewide jurisdiction, designated by troop sectors.

Stuart Jeff Rabner is the chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He served as New Jersey Attorney General, chief counsel to Governor Jon Corzine, and as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of New York and New Jersey</span> Port in New York and New Jersey, United States

The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a 25-mile (40 km) radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

David Samson is an American lawyer who served as New Jersey Attorney General under Democratic Governor Jim McGreevey from 2002 to 2003. He served as the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) from 2011 until his resignation on March 28, 2014 in the aftermath of the Fort Lee lane closure scandal. Samson is a partner and founding member of the law firm Wolff & Samson from which he resigned in April 2015, and had been an ally of Governor Chris Christie.

De Veau v. Braisted, 363 U.S. 144 (1960), is a 5-to-3 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States that an interstate compact restricting convicted felons from holding union office is not preempted by the National Labor Relations Act or the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, does not violate the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, and is not an ex post facto law or bill of attainder in violation of Article One, Section 10 of the Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gambling in New Jersey</span>

Gambling in New Jersey includes casino gambling in Atlantic City, the New Jersey Lottery, horse racing, off-track betting, charity gambling, amusement games, and social gambling. New Jersey's gambling laws are among the least restrictive in the United States. In 2013, the state began to allow in-state online gambling. Five years later in 2018, the state won a lawsuit that dismantled Nevada's monopoly on legal sports betting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governorship of Chris Christie</span>

Chris Christie took office as the 55th Governor of New Jersey on January 19, 2010, began his second term on January 21, 2014, and left office on January 16, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Speziale</span>

Gerald Speziale is an American law enforcement officer and Public Safety Director of the Paterson Police Department and the Paterson Fire Department in Paterson, New Jersey. A former member of the New York City Police Department, Speziale has also served as the Sheriff of Passaic County, New Jersey, as Deputy Police Superintendent - Assistant Director of Public Safety for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, and as Chief of Police for the City of Prichard, Alabama. He has worked as an undercover officer in the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and for the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force while in the NYPD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Lee lane closure scandal</span> 2013–14 New Jersey political scandal

The Fort Lee lane closure scandal, better known as Bridgegate, was a political scandal in the U.S. state of New Jersey in 2013 and 2014. It involved a staff member and political appointees of then-governor Chris Christie colluding to create traffic jams in Fort Lee, New Jersey by closing lanes at the main toll plaza for the upper level of the George Washington Bridge.

David Wildstein is an American businessman, former Republican Party politician, and the founder and editor-in-chief of the New Jersey political news website New Jersey Globe. A former mayor of Livingston, New Jersey, he served as a senior official in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey during the administration of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie until 2013, when Wildstein resigned in the midst of a scandal involving traffic lanes closures. On May 1, 2015, he pleaded guilty to two federal felony counts of conspiracy as part of a plea agreement, but his conviction was later overturned.

Bridget Anne Kelly is the former deputy chief of staff to the Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, known for her participation in the Bridgegate scandal.

Philip Kwon is deputy counsel for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a previous nominee for the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Murphy v. Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, 378 U.S. 52 (1964), was a United States Supreme Court case concerning the self-incrimination clause in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court ruled that a state cannot compel a witness to provide testimony that may be incriminating under other State/Federal laws, even if it granted immunity under its own laws. Decided on the same day as Malloy v. Hogan (1964), the Supreme Court reconsidered its previous rulings that the Federal Government could compel witness testimony that could be incriminating under a state's laws, and states could similarly compel testimony that would be incriminating under Federal law.

New York v New Jersey, 598 U. S. 218 (2023), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that New Jersey had the right to unilaterally withdraw from the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.

References

  1. 1 2 "N.J. officials take a step back in controversial port fight". NJ.com. January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  2. Simko-Bednarski, Evan (March 14, 2022). "New York sues New Jersey over withdrawal from waterfront mob watchdog agency" . Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  3. McGeehan, Patrick (April 18, 2023). "Supreme Court Says New Jersey Can Break 70-Year Anti-Crime Pact With New York". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  4. "Waterfront Commission disputes lawsuit by union and shippers charging hiring interference". NJ.com. November 24, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  5. "Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor – Police".
  6. "Governor Murphy and Acting Attorney General Platkin Oppose New York's Last-Minute Effort to Prevent New Jersey's Withdrawal from the Waterfront Commission - Insider NJ".
  7. Press Release, United States Attorney's Office – Eastern District of New York, February 7, 2008.
  8. "Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor Police Vehicles, Pier 88, New York City". May 28, 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 "Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor Police Command Center, OpSail and Fleet Week 2012, New York City". May 26, 2012.
  10. "Waterfront Commission Police Boat, New York-New Jersey". July 10, 2011.
  11. "Corruption Found at Waterfront Watchdog". The New York Times. August 12, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  12. "Inspector General's Investigation Report" (PDF).
  13. "Whistleblowers On the Waterfront". The Village Voice. September 15, 2009.
  14. Strunsky, Steve (October 10, 2014). "Bill to dissolve Waterfront Commission approved by N.J. Senate panel". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  15. Strunsky, Steve. "Christie acts on bill to dissolve the Waterfront Commission", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 4, 2015. Accessed January 16, 2018. "Gov. Chris Christie rejected legislation intended to dissolve the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, siding with officials of the agency who insist New Jersey cannot unilaterally undo what the two states and Congress did 62 years ago to rid the docks of organized crime.... Christie, a former U.S. attorney for New Jersey whose office handled organized crime cases, recommended that instead of trying to dissolve the commission, lawmakers instead push for bi-state legislation tailoring the commission's role in the hiring process to prevent excessive interference. 'While I am not unsympathetic to the merits of the bill, I am advised that federal law does not permit one state to unilaterally withdraw from a bi-state compact approved by Congress,' read a statement from Christie accompanying his conditional veto."
  16. Livio, Susan K.; and Johnson, Brent. "Chris Christie's final acts: Bills he made law and killed, from drones to circus animals", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 15, 2018. Accessed January 16, 2018. "Christie agreed to allow New Jersey to withdraw from the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, created more than 60 years ago to drive out organized crime. The New Jersey State Police will now handle the duties associated with screening the employees who work on the docks."
  17. "U.S. Supreme Court blocks New Jersey's exit from Waterfront Commission".
  18. "U.S. Supreme Court Stops Efforts to End NY/NJ Waterfront Commission".
  19. Gresko, Jessica (April 18, 2023). "New Jersey wins Supreme Court dispute against New York". AP News. The Associated Press. Retrieved April 18, 2023.