Senator Anthony M. Bucco issued the following statement in response to the lack of transparency displayed by the Murphy Administration and NJ Transit over their recent deal with Onyx/Gateway to lease a costly new headquarters in Newark.
Sen. Anthony M. Bucco issued a statement in response to the lack of transparency displayed by the Murphy Administration and NJ Transit over their recent deal with Onyx/Gateway to lease a costly new headquarters in Newark. (SenateNJ.com)
“Many journalists have raised legitimate concerns about the secrecy of this deal and the apparent personal connections this transaction has to Governor Murphy,” said Bucco (R-25). “We know that less expensive options were on the table and bypassed by the New Jersey Transit Board. We also know that NJ Transit is facing a budget shortfall that will make financing their lease problematic for taxpayers and riders who will end up subsidizing this egregiously expensive project. Despite this, the public has received no explanation from the Murphy administration about the details of this deal.”
It is projected that the 25-year lease signed by NJ Transit will cost nearly $400 million, although the official undisclosed cost could be even higher. Senator Bucco believes that these costs will be passed on to taxpayers and riders through fare hikes and increased taxes to cover NJT’s funding issues.
“The problems identified with NJ Transit’s deal with Onyx/Gateway are abundantly clear. Unfortunately, the lack of transparency surrounding this deal is standard operating procedure for the Murphy administration,” Bucco continued. “We’ve seen the history of Governor Murphy’s lack of transparency during his time in office. We saw it while tens of thousands of New Jerseyans were dying in nursing homes during the pandemic, we’ve seen it as recently as this week when the BPU tried to sneak through extreme environmental policy changes, and the last-minute additions of unexplained pork to the budget. This is the result of one-party rule in Trenton – more secrecy, less accountability, and wasted taxpayer dollars. New Jersey taxpayers and NJ Transit customers deserve better.”
Senator Bucco is also concerned about the lack of publicly available information regarding the lease itself, which is clearly a public record.
“If the Murphy administration will not provide transparency the legislature must demand it. I call on my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to convene a bi-partisan hearing of the Senate Transportation committee so we can shed some light on this extremely costly transaction. We cannot allow Governor Murphy to govern through an opaque lens,” Bucco added. “The costs of this project will be another burden for New Jersey taxpayers and the public deserves answers. If Governor Murphy and Trenton Democrats are unwilling to provide those answers then the public will respond at the ballot box.”