Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR Realty and vice chair of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said he expects the bi-state agency will make reforms in the wake of the “Bridgegate” scandal involving New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his allegedly politically motivated snarling of traffic on the George Washington Bridge. See the video below.
In December, Port Authority emails were revealed suggesting that Christie’s aides arranged lane closures on the bridge in Fort Lee, N.J., in the fall as alleged political payback. At the time of the closures, the Port Authority had claimed that a traffic safety study had prompted them.
Rechler said the Port Authority will use this scandal as an impetus for changes at the agency.
“There’s been historically concerns of dysfunctionality and politicization of it and trying to figure out ways to incrementally make that better … What we’re gonna do is have some of those questions answered, assess the situation, and figure out what we need to do to ensure it doesn’t happen again and make the Port more productive,” Rechler told Crain’s.
Rechler, whose firm RXR is a multibillion-dollar private real estate company, said he was disappointed by the “Bridgegate” scandal.
“It’s obviously disheartening from the Port’s perspective … you have a couple of bad apples do something so terrible … it’s disappointing,” Rechler said. [Crain’s] — Mark Maurer