Good on Gov. Kathy Hochul for nixing New Jersey’s bid to kill the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.

Hochul’s counsel, Elizabeth Fine, last week wrote Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy warning that the two-state pact that created the commission can’t be dissolved by one state walking away, as Jersey’s legislature tried to do with a 2018 law.

Good: For over six decades, the bistate commission used its authority over the ports in Newark, Elizabeth, Bayonne, Staten Island and Brooklyn to police the docks, keeping out organized crime and guarding against discriminatory hiring.

Hochul’s strong stance is a blow to the International Longshoremen’s Association, which is eager to kill the commission. The union claims the watchdog makes it harder for shippers to hire new workers and downplays the threat of organized crime. But the FBI and federal Labor Department say the commission has been vital in combatting corruption.

“As the federal law-enforcement community has noted, the commission provides invaluable resources and expertise at the intersection of organized crime and port operations,” Fine observed.

Murphy pretends the State Police can patrol the ports. Pathetic.

Credit Hochul with insisting on keeping the mob out of the ports.

This article was originally posted here