The fight over Union Dry Dock between Hoboken and New York Waterway grows even more contentious.
New York Waterway purchased the site so it could refuel and repair its ferries. However, that is where Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla says he wanted to complete his riverfront promenade. And then the fight began.
Hoboken tried to use eminent domain, but NJ Transit, which is state-owned, sided with New York Waterway, which blocked that from happening.
The mayor hired Boswell Engineering to look at five different sites from the George Washington Bridge to Staten Island.
They found the Hoboken South terminal site would be the best since it’s already in use.
Union Dry Dock came in fourth place on the study.
“We're saying yes we do want it in our backyard,” says Mayor Bhalla. “Just don't want it in a residential area of Hoboken. We want it in an area of Hoboken that's appropriate."
The mayor says lobbyists with deep pockets are trying to sway Gov. Phil Murphy to side with New York Waterway.
Though he says he has a good relationship with the Gov. Murphy, Bhalla says he and his attorneys are discussing ways Hoboken and the county could overcome a state decision should it get down to that.