Going Coastal

The board of the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority voted in the past week to void a deal with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to purchase waterfront property for a “roll-on/roll-off” car port.
It will reconsider the Port Authority’s bid, along with three others, and could make a decision by a Nov. 15 meeting or sooner, said an attorney for the BLRA, Joe Baumann.

The Port Authority is threatening a lawsuit.

In September, the Port Authority announced a $50.5 million deal to acquire a 153-acre parcel for a future auto marine terminal and other maritime-related uses.

But the BLRA didn’t place enough ads to legally advertise the September meeting when the Port Authority deal was approved, Baumann said.

The BLRA on Thursday voted to table the sale and also received bids from three companies. One of those bidders, Iselin-based Ports America, which is owned by AIG Global Investment Group, offered $75 million, and has now upped its bid to $90 million.

Port Authority officials don’t agree with the BLRA’s vote, saying they have a signed and approved agreement.

“In the end, if they go ahead with trying to void this, we’ll have to take all appropriate legal means that are necessary,” said Steve Sigmund, chief of government and public affairs.

The U.S. Army previously operated the 437-acre Military Ocean Terminal as a dry-dock and supply base. In 1995, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission designated the military facility for closure, and it was later transferred to Bayonne for redevelopment.

Associated Press