Months after construction executive Joseph M. Sanzari unexpectedly stepped down from the bi-state agency that oversees the region’s ports and marine terminals — a post he held for less than a year — Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration has named a veteran former prosecutor to become New Jersey’s representative on the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.
The move to nominate Jennifer Davenport, who served as the state’s first assistant attorney general, came after the Daily News reported that the long unfilled vacancy had prevented the commission from suspending a dockworker charged with assault.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday shortly before announcing the nomination, Murphy once again declared that the agency “has outlived its usefulness” and was no longer necessary. The governor is seeking to withdraw New Jersey from the commission entirely and have the New Jersey State Police take over its enforcement role in the port areas on this side of the river.
“We still have hundreds of jobs unfilled because of them,” Murphy said.
Officials at the commission declined comment on the matter, but documents released under a public records request show the absence of a New Jersey commissioner has had an impact on hiring, not only at one of the big container terminals, but at the Bayonne Cruise Terminal from where passenger cruise ships regularly set sail.
“Our hands are tied without a NJ commissioner,” the commission wrote to the New York Shipping Association, which represents the terminal operators, ocean carriers, and stevedores, in explaining the issue.
John Nardi, president of the association, said the commission has historically “put up barriers and changed hiring procedures,” which he complained has resulted in hiring delays.
“There are many open positions at the port as volumes have grown over 35% since 2019. Some are due to the commission, and some are due to the overall labor market and other conditions in the port,” he said.
As for the situation in Bayonne, he said it was “a very good example of why the structure of the commission is obsolete and needs to be reformed.”
According to Nardi, the industry had sought to shift 30 already approved positions to be filled in Newark and Elizabeth, and move those jobs to Bayonne to help with the returning cruise business.
“Keep in mind these were already approved. The commission refused because they claim that to make such a decision, the commissioners of each state need to both agree,” he said.
Since there was no New Jersey commissioner in place, he said the commission would not okay the shift.
The Waterfront Commission — which includes one member from each state appointed by its governor — has wide jurisdiction over the region’s piers and terminals, including the ports in Newark, Elizabeth, Bayonne, Staten Island and Brooklyn. It certifies that those hired on the waterfront are not tied to organized crime and are otherwise fit to work in the shipping trade.
Sanzari had been the state’s commissioner only since December, but suddenly quit in May, telling Politico he wanted to build things instead of being locked in “bureaucratic fights” between the two states.
His appointment came despite his well-known friendship with Harrold Daggett, international president of the International Longshoremen’s Association — and an ardent foe of the Waterfront Commission. Sanzari had been a keynote speaker at a recent union convention in Hollywood, Fla., where he noted that he had been given an honorary membership card for ILA Local 1804 that he carried in his wallet.
Davenport’s career has been in law enforcement. Currently the Senior Director of Compliance for Public Service Enterprise Group, she helped lead the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office for four and a half years, after stints at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration. She also served as Acting Union County Prosecutor.
“I am confident that her extensive experience in law enforcement and her steadfast commitment to public service will serve her well representing our state on the Waterfront Commission, while our administration continues the legal battle at the U.S. Supreme Court to withdraw from the entity,” said Murphy in announcing her nomination.
New Jersey has been fighting since 2018 to withdraw from the commission, arguing that in an age of containerized cargo, most of the region’s marine terminals are no longer in New York. That fight came amid continuing political pressure from the New York Shipping Association and the International Longshoremen’s Association.
After a long-running court battle that ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court, New Jersey announced it was unilaterally walking away from its nearly 70-year-old agreement with New York to jointly regulate the ports and would hand the job over to the State Police.
But the court, ordering a temporary halt in March to the state’s announced departure after New York State intervened, has since determined that it will consider arguments over whether Trenton lawmakers could legally able break the 1953 bi-state compact with New York creating the agency. Both New York and New Jersey are expected to file legal briefs on the matter this fall.
Murphy on Wednesday said the two states should peacefully go their own ways.
“The U.S. Supreme Court is going to review this, which we welcome. We’ll live with the consequences one way or the other,” the governor said.
NOTE: An earlier version of this post reported that there were only 35 open positions. That number referred to checkers, not overall unfilled positions at the port.
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Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01.
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