WHY IS THE PORT AUTHORITY SO SCREWED UP?

Posted on by Mary Pat Gallagher

It is hard to believe now but in the decades following its creation in 1921, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was considered a prime example of an effective and efficient public agency that truly operated in the public interest.

That reputation has been sullied in recent years and not just by the Bridgegate lane-closing scandal and the ensuing criminal convictions of some of those involved. There is also former Port Authority chairman David Samson, who was convicted of misusing his position to shake down United Airlines so that it would reinstate direct flights from Newark to his weekend home. On a broader scale are revelations of how New Jersey Governor Chris Christie used the agency’s resources to reward political allies, while tolls at Port Authority crossings and fares hikes on PATH trains have been repeatedly hiked.

Continue reading WHY IS THE PORT AUTHORITY SO SCREWED UP?

Hoboken Refuses to Recognize Public Petition

Posted on by Myles Zhang

Written by Cheryl Fallick

On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Hudson County, Docket No. L-2375-11. Victor A. Afanador argued the cause for appellants/cross-respondents James Farina and City of Hoboken (Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC, attorneys; Mr. Afanador, of counsel and on the briefs; Marissa L. Quigley, on the briefs).

Charles X. Gormally argued the cause for appellants/cross-respondents Mile Square Taxpayer Association 2009, Inc. and Gina DeNardo (Brach Eichler, L.L.C., attorneys; Mr. Gormally, of counsel and on the briefs; Sean A. Smith, on the briefs).

You can read the full ruling here

New Jersey’s Vanishing Non-Profit Hospitals

Posted on by Renée Steinhagen

Starting this year, New Jersey nonprofit hospitals are set to be sold to out-of-state, for-profit entities at an alarming rate. New Jersey is already home to for-profit hospitals in which profitability seems to rest largely on complicated sale-leasebacks of their land and buildings, patient admissions through the emergency room that allow for excessive charges for “out-of-network” care, and other predatory practices.

These for-profit models appear to be in direct contrast to the goals of health reform, which call for reducing unnecessary treatment, increasing patient satisfaction and ensuring that all Americans have access to primary and preventive care in community settings, while reducing expensive emergency room use.

Continue reading New Jersey’s Vanishing Non-Profit Hospitals