Kushner Cos. scores public records win in ongoing legal fight with Jersey City

New York-based developer the Kushner Companies scored a favorable ruling in a case related to a public records request made in connection to its One Journal Square project in Jersey City, NJ.com reported this week. A Hudson County judge initiated a criminal contempt proceedings against Jersey City for failing to comply with a request from the Kushner Companies, whose founder Charles Kushner has deep ties to New Jersey and familial connections to the White House. The ruling came after Kushner Companies and KABR Group filed a complaint in September over tax abatement documents related to a nearby Journal Square project by KRE Group, which is led by Charles Kushner’s brother, Murray Kushner. Kushner Companies and KABR are also pressing claims in federal court accusing Jersey City officials and the city’s Mayor Steven Fulop of treating them unequally due to their political affiliations. Jersey City has said it will appeal the latest ruling, according to NJ.com, although the city is now on the hook for $137,000 in legal fees. JerseyDigs recently reported that Jersey City must pay $95,000 in attorney fees incurred by the Kushner Companies in its battle with Fulop’s administration and $42,000 to two other property owners in a separate public records fight related to the troubled Sixth Street Embankment, an abandoned elevated freight line that the city wants to turn into a park. JerseyDigs also noted this week another evolving dispute between the Kushner Companies and a Mediterranean restaurant tenant at a building it owns at 26 Journal Square in Jersey City. [NJ.com]