Officials in Bayonne plan to reconsider their contract to sell part of a former military base to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and will consider higher offers from other bidders.
The Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority voted unanimously to rescind a previous vote to sell the site. The reason was that the earlier vote was taken without adequate public notice under New Jersey open-meetings law.
The port authority contends it has a legally binding contract to buy the property for US$50.5 million and that the redevelopment agency cannot make a new deal with another bidder.
The sale of the land at the former Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne has been entangled in local politics. The redevelopment authority received the property in 1999 when the military declared it surplus.
Part of the property, a peninsula that juts into New York harbor, has been sold for housing and retail development. Those deals included covenants prohibiting the rest of the site from being developed into a container terminal.
At the redevelopment authority's insistence, the port authority agreed not to put a container terminal on the 150 acres it agreed to buy. That parcel includes 92 acres that are usable for maritime activity.
Bayonne, however, is an attractive site for container handling. The former military terminal faces a channel that is scheduled to be dredged to 50 ft, and ships can reach it without having to squeeze under the Bayonne Bridge.
International Longshoremen's Association Local 1588 prefers a container terminal on the site because it would produce more jobs. Meanwhile, some residents of cash-strapped Bayonne have complained that the land is worth more than the port authority agreed to pay.
The redevelopment authority voted to consider other offers from three private bidders, with the stipulation that the land not be used as a container terminal.
The bidders are Worldwide Group, led by New York port businessman Christopher Ragucci, and the Shaw Group; terminal operator Ports America, and Fortis Property Group.
The redevelopment agency set no schedule for its review of the offers. Hartwyk said the port authority has 45 days to decide whether to sue.
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