A North Jersey Congressman, three state legislators and a group of municipal officials are the latest to ask the Port Authority to end 'secret' negotiations for an Amazon air hub and address community concerns.
The letter sent Tuesday comes on the heels of letters sent earlier in the year by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, asking the Port Authority to meet with city officials and community groups to address concerns about traffic, air pollution and jet noise from the proposed air freight center.
“Residents and workers should have a say in how corporations are allowed to come into our communities – to make sure they don’t pollute our air or cause excessive noise or traffic or make global warming worse,” it was stated in the letter. “We should have a say, so that we ensure local workers are hired, have a voice on the job and are paid living wages with good benefits.”
The proposal quickly came under fire for being fast tracked because it was a last minute add on to the board’s August agenda and didn’t give opponents advance opportunity to voice concerns. When asked by officials, a Port Authority lawyer said the action didn’t violate the open public meetings act. Opponents, including community organizations, said they never got an opportunity to ask questions about how additional air pollution from trucks and planes will be mitigated and how the effects of increased traffic will be handled. Unions also raised concerns that union jobs at the existing facilities on the site to be leased to Amazon will be replaced with non-union jobs offering lower pay and benefits.
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