As the feds await NJ Transit to repay the $271 million in federal assistance funds sunk into the now-cancelled Trans-Hudson ARC Tunnel project, NJ Governor Chris Christie explained who convinced him to kill the huge infrastructure plan: His wife. Christie said, "The lobbying to me on this one was from [the first lady]... She's, like, 'So this thing's going 10 stories under Macy's, [and] then I gotta go back up and I gotta walk over to Penn Station. I get on a subway...' She said, 'This is crazy. This doesn't make any sense.'" But was Mary Pat Christie wrong? more ›

Last month, NJ Governor Chris Christie has slashed funding for schools by $820 million, dismaying many. And when a Bergen County representative of the New Jersey Education Association sent a memo basically hoping for the new governor's death, Christie wasted no time in slamming the memo, “I’m sure there are teachers all across New Jersey who … are going to be ashamed. I wonder what the children of New Jersey will think when the leadership of the teachers union is praying for the governor to die?” more ›

NJ residents—and the White House—are anxiously wondering who the next governor of NJ will be. Incumbent Jon Corzine (D) was facing not just Republican challenger Chris Christie but also independent Chris Daggett. Currently, NBC projects that Chris Christie is the winner. more ›

In the close, nasty NJ governor's race, Republican challenger Chris Christie said on Don Imus's radio show yesterday that NJ Governor Jon Cozrine should “man up and say I’m fat.” He was referring to Corzine's suggestive ads; Christie also told Imus, "I'm pretty fat," and predicted he would be a "a big fat winner" next Tuesday. The NY Times looks at the candidates today—"the two rivals made no apologies for the ugly tone of the campaign." more ›

After the media noticed that NJ Governor Corzine's anti-Chris Christie add seemed to relish in showing how his challenger was fat, Corzine's had to do some explaining. Yesterday, he admitted saying Christie "threw his weight around" might not have been the best choice of words, but pointed out, "How many people can abuse their power, abuse their office by flashing their credentials, throw their weight around, however you want to say it?" A new poll showed Corzine leading Christie by 9 points. more ›

The NY Times endorsed incumbent NJ governor Jon Corzine for re-election, but not before going through his flaws: "Most New Jersey voters find him astonishingly inarticulate, and his credentials as a former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs do not seem as impressive as they did before the financial meltdown in 2008. He has poured lots of his personal wealth into this race, far too much of it for biting — and sometimes juvenile — attacks on Mr. Christie. In his second term, we would like to see him back away from the state’s unions." more ›

Wow: NJ's largest newspaper has endorsed the independent candidate for governor, Chris Daggett. The Star-Ledger explains, "The newspaper’s decision is less a rejection of Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Chris Christie than a repudiation of the parties they represent, both of which have forfeited any claim to the trust and confidence of the people of New Jersey. They share responsibility for the state’s current plight." more ›

Now that the NY Times has wondered if NJ Governor Jon Corzine's re-election campaign is making a big (HA!) deal about Republican challenger Chris Christie's weight, the belt buckle has been loosened for Christie to use it against Corzine. The former U.S. Attorney said during a speech, "As my running mate very well said [during a debate], the cat is out of the bag on that one. I've been in the public eye now for eight years, at various sizes. Up 30 or 40, down 30 or 40, it's kind of been the way it's gone. And I don't think all of you are blind." more ›

The NJ's governor's race is being fiercely fought, with incumbent NJ Governor Jon Corzine (D) trying to hold onto the seat while challenger Chris Christie (R), a former U.S. Attorney, attempts to capitalize on the poor economy and possible Obama-discontent. Christie has been leading in polls, though Corzine has been catching up, so it's no wonder that the campaign ads are getting very nasty. So nasty that Corzine's campaign might be drawing excessive attention to Christie's physical appearance. more ›

Born-again seat belt enthusiast NJ Governor Jon Corzine used his fortune and credentials from his days at Goldman Sachs during his Senate and gubernatorial races. But now the NY Times reports, "New Jersey’s economy is reeling, Goldman Sachs’s luster has dulled and Mr. Corzine’s greatest asset has become a political liability as he struggles to keep his job in November’s election." Challenger Chris Christie, even compared Corzine to Wall Street's Gordon Gekko in an Internet ad! Corzine's campaign is trying to focus on how Goldman is all in the past and his work on things like school funding and universal health care for children. more ›

Five years ago yesterday, NJ Governor James McGreevey resigned, saying he was "a gay American" and admitting an affair with male aide (though many believe he stepped down due to a corruption scandal that ensnared his top contributors). Yesterday, the Star-Ledger published an interview with McGreevey—he said, "I'm grateful for my brokenness. I'm grateful for my humility." He is now a student at the General Theological Seminary, on track to get his Masters of Divinity next year (though he's not sure if he'll become a priest) and also volunteers at a Harlem storefront, helping with a prisoner re-entry program. McGreevey lives in NJ with his partner Mark O'Donnell and said they hadn't entered a civil union, "Civil union is less than marriage. Marriage is a sacred and valued institution and ought to be afforded equal protection. We've committed to each other and I believe our relationship is blessed and for now that works." And when asked what the opening line of his obituary should be, he said, "'Jim McGreevey, a joyful flawed Christian, died yesterday.' That would be the most accurate. And maybe the most meaningful." more ›

Incumbent NJ Governor Jon Corzine will face off with former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, who won the Republican primary yesterday, in this year's gubernatorial election. Christie defeated Steve Lonegan, who staked out a more conservative position, and will be set on blaming Corzine for NJ's terrible financial state; he said, "For the past four years Jon Corzine has made bad choices - choices that have plunged New Jersey deeper into debt, increased the tax burden on working families, and driven business across our borders to Pennsylvania, Delaware and even New York.” Corzine was on the attack last night, "There were a lot of statements in the Republican primary that I know are contrary to where New Jerseyans feel on a woman's right to choose, on gun control, on a whole host of issues, in addition to whose taxes get cut, how many people get laid off." Politico reports that with Corzine's poor ratings, the GOP hopes to use a NJ gubernatorial victory as a "springboard to a national comeback in the 2010 midterm elections." Related: Primary participation was around 10%, lower than previous primaries. more ›

Goldman Sachs chairman. While billionaires Donald Trump and Wilbur Ross think Corzine would be great, the governor said, "I'm not going to say never to anything. I want to be very clear: I like what I'm doing. I have not had any conversations with anybody about this job. People can speculate--it's nice, my mother will like it. The reality is there are a lot of good people." His pick would be 82-year-old Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman who many credit with ending 1970s stagflation. more ›

The Star-Ledger reports that Dina Matos has dropped her claim that her former husband--and former NJ Governor--James McGreevey committed fraud because he did not tell her he was gay when they got married. McGreevey famously resigned office in 2004, and recently their history was fodder for a public divorce trial with claims of poverty and reports of threesomes. McGreevey's lawyer said the fraud charge was a failed "attempt to secure more money from JIm." Matos, who did not receive any alimony (just child support), said her ex was disclosing too much information to the press in violation of judge's orders. more ›

Former NJ Governor James McGreevey confirmed that he, his now ex-wife and a former aide had threesomes together. McGreevey sent an e-mail to the Associated Press, "This happened, this happened in the past, and now we need to move on with our lives." more ›

http://gothamist.com/2008/02/05/get_out_your_pr.php more ›

A week and a half ago, former NJ Governor James McGreevey and his ex-wife Dina Matos McGreevey were fighting over a birthday party McGreevey and his partner were planning for 6-year-old daughter Jacqueline, another public spat in their contentious divorce. In spite of a judge's repeated requests for the McGreeveys to settle their differences for the sake of their daughter, we know a lot about their squabbling. The Post runs down the greatest hits. Matos... more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery at 1 Broadway in Manhattan, a person under a train at the Queensboro Plaza station in Queens, and a child struck by a city bus on Parkside Ave. in Brooklyn.
• Thieves are targeting open houses across the Upper West Side--stealing personal possessions after gaining access to homes. Oddly, one of the two woman thieves is suspected to actually be a man in drag.
• Chants of "No justice, no noodles!" were heard outside of Ollies on West 84th St. this week as workers protested substandard wages.
• NJ Governor Jon Corzine said that he'd risk his job to ensure the state's fiscal stability. Essentially, he's willing to raise state tolls even if it costs him the next election.
• A chart shows the relative sizes of different social networking sites (Yahoo! Mail is HUGE!).
• Who orders bacon with their veggie burgers?
• A survey conducted by the Government Accountability Office testing airport security at 19 facilities across the country showed that bomb-like materials could be smuggled through checkpoints at every airport.
• These pictures make us want to lobby for U.S. currency with NYC buildings on them.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a triple shooting on East 21st St. and Caton Ave. in Brooklyn, a missing child on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, and a mass casualty incident at Castle Hill Ave. and the Cross Bronx Expressway.
• Many New Yorkers donned black this Thursday in solidarity with the Jena 6.
• Cops are looking for a man who applied for a job at the Duane Reade on 34th St. and 5th Ave., only to return to the store a few minutes later brandishing a silver-colored gun and demanding money.
• The Parks Dept. has officially ended the bid for a company to build a 26-acre water-park on Randall's Island.
• A 45-year-old bachelor is striving for independence from the bedroom in his parents' home, where he's organizing a campign for an independent Long Island Nation. He wants Brooklyn, Queens, and the rest of the island to break off not just from NYC, but to secede from the United States.
• A kayak and canoe ramp opened in the Idlewild Park Preserve on Jamaica Bay in Queens, but not all residents seemed that enthusiastic.
• Former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey was ordered by a judge to pay his ex-wife $2,500 a month in alimony.
• New York City and State have agreed on a set of safety protocols that will be enacted at the Deutsche Bank building in the next two to three weeks.

Mayor Cory Booker unveiled new technology to help fight crime in Newark. The plan is called "Community Eye," and it will "marry audio gunshot-detection technology with a series of remote-control public surveillance cameras into a network," according to the Star-Ledger. Booker hopes to put 100 cameras and audio gunshot-detection machines to work, as the Newark Community Foundation has promised to raise $3.2 million for the effort. Booker said, "When all the cameras and gunshot detectors are up, we will have about 8 square miles of the city covered." more ›

Nineteen-year-old Natasha Aerial, who was the only survivor from Saturday night's shootings in a Newark schoolyard, managed to speak to police yesterday. While her brother and two friends died from being shot in the head, execution-style, Aerial survived a gunshot to the head. She is heavily sedated and under police guard. Still, Newark Police Director (and former NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Operations) Garry McCarthy said, "We're getting the story piecemeal from her. Based upon witness testimony, we believe it was a robbery." more ›

It's the future, now! The Daily Intelligencer posted this Skidmore, Owings & Merrill/SWIM rendering of Freedom Tower's lobby, and finds out from SOM's TJ Gottesdiener that the lobby will shed "light into the memorial pool." Notice how the way light falls in Freedom Tower's lobby mimics how light would fall in the World Trade Center's lobby. It's wild to think there's a lobby rendering - remember when Freedom Tower was just redesign upon redesign? more ›

NJ Governor Jon Corzine told reporters that he will not use his e-mail anymore as NJ Republicans have filed a lawsuit demanding that Corzine's e-mails with ex-girlfriend and NJ union leader Carla Katz be made public. Corzine said, "We’ll go back to the 1920s, and have direct conversations with people." We'll guess his staff is also getting him books on Morse Code, smoke signals, and sending messages in bottles. more ›

Former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (and former NJ Governor) Christie Todd Whitman testified in front of Congress yesterday about the EPA's September 11 response. With critics like Representatives Jerrold Nadler and Anthony Weiner of New York and Representative Bill Pascrell of NJ questioning her, Whitman called statements made about her leadership "misinformation, innuendo and downright falsehoods." more ›

Former NJ Governor and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Christie Todd Whitman is alleging that in the days after the 9/11 attacks, she urged the city to get rescue workers and first responders to wear respirators, but was rebuffed by then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. If true, the allegations would seem to severely damage Giuliani's Presidential aspirations, as he is running on the perceived strength of his leadership in the days following 9/11/01. Whitman also wanted Ground Zero workers wearing haz-mat suits and claims to have warned city officials on a daily basis of the risks that workers were facing. more ›

Carla Katz is a smart lady. After, well, years of speculation about her relationship with NJ Governor Jon Corzine and the recent revelation that Corzine gave her a settlement worth $6 million after they broke up, Katz, an influential union leader, decided to talk. And she spoke to none other than the Post's Cindy Adams. more ›

Plans for a World Trade Center memorial continue to crawl along, and WNBC has a story today about the personal donations that are funding the effort and the memorial itself. $300 million has been raised to build a set of reflecting pools and a museum at Ground Zero, much of that money coming from a fundraising drive over the last six months. The story includes a list of top donors, and we found it interesting that most of the individuals listed are New York-area politicians. Mayor Bloomberg donated $15 million. NJ Governor Jon Corzine donated $2 million. Governor Spitzer and his family chipped in $2 million as well. Donors in the under $100,000 category include former NY Governor Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. more ›

The past few weeks, we've learned a lot about NJ Governor Jon Corzine. He doesn't wear a seatbelt, he wears track suits, and he paid his ex-girlfriend, who happened to be NJ's top union chief, a $6 million settlement after they broke up. Oh, yes: The NY Times has an extensive article about Corzine's relationship with Carla Katz, a union president. more ›

"I am extremely proud of the EPA's work in response to the terrorist attacks on our nation on Sept. 11, 2001. The men and women of the EPA were -- and are -- dedicated to protecting the health of the American public and I will be pleased to answer any questions the subcommittee might have about their efforts during my tenure as director of the agency," Whitman wrote Nadler. more ›