Three lawmakers representing Upper Manhattan on Thursday called for New York to conduct more oversight of the bi-state agency involved in the bridge scandal plaguing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) administration.
State Sen. Adriano Espaillat (D), New York City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez (D) and state Assembly Member Gabriela Rosa (D) issued a joint press release calling for more oversight into last year’s lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, which lies within their districts.
“The George Washington Bridge has enormous impact on the Upper Manhattan neighborhoods I represent,” Espaillat said in the release. “Some of my constituents rely on it to commute to work, and traffic from the bridge frequently causes problems along local streets, and makes conditions less safe for pedestrians. Had this incident been successfully suppressed from the public, it would have marked a terrible precedent and negatively impacted our community’s future.”
The U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey is already looking into the matter, but the lawmakers called for New York state officials to launch their own inquiry.
“The Port Authority’s unusual status as an interstate agency means this is not just a New Jersey matter,” Rosa said in the release. “It is time for the New York legislature to take a closer look at the structural breakdown that allowed the most traversed bridge in the world, and the most iconic entryway to our city, to be misused in this ostentatious flex of political muscle.”
