| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | Good Monday morning! I’m back to writing New Jersey Playbook after a two-week hiatus. And just in time, Randy Mastro is in the headlines. Sorry, beleaguered New Jersey workers who somehow scrounge enough change between the couch cushions to pay the $14 to $16 toll to drive into the city and then around $600 a month to park: Mastro — who represents New Jersey in its lawsuit against congestion pricing — didn't save you. Despite Mastro’s claim earlier last week that New York City would have to delay implementation of congestion pricing, federal judge Leo Gordon refused Friday to halt it. I’m not particularly well-versed in congestion pricing, so I’ll leave it to others to go into how it will fund New York City transit and what that means for commuters, and what the environmental effects will be. I’m sure it’s not popular in New Jersey, because why would residents be enthused to pay more for anything? But I am very skeptical of the argument that paying an extra $9 to drive into the city during peak time — $6 for those entering through the two tunnels — is going to hurt a lot of lower-income people. The most convincing cases I hear against it regard people who work in jobs like construction and health care that have to show up to work at odd hours, making public transit an inconvenient option, as well as for truck drivers making deliveries into the congestion zone. But the lower-income drivers, if entering the congestion zone on a weekday between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., would only pay a $2.25 congestion pricing charge, and there is a low-income driver discount after the first 10 trips. And I haven’t seen many statistics on just how many of these people there are. According to Streetsblog, the median income of New Jerseyans who drive into the congestion zone for work is $141,000. And if affordability of driving into New York is such an important issue, where’s the pressure on the Port Authority to lower their much higher tolls? Congestion pricing is here, but the fight is not over. It begins weeks before a new federal administration that’s hostile to it takes office, while New Jersey’s lawsuit — and Mastro’s legal bills, albeit at a discounted rate — will continue. And yes, I have requested those bills. TIPS? FEEDBACK Email me at mfriedman@politico.com QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This was my first time being in the city [of New York] on New Year's Eve. Didn't expect it to be in a hospital, though.” — state Sen. Parker Space, whose finger was bitten by a rattlesnake at his zoo HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Vince Mazzeo, Anthony Verrelli WHERE’S MURPHY? In Elizabeth at 6 p.m. for the county reorganization meeting. Media: CBS 3 Philadelphia at 7:30 a.m. and KYW at 8 a.m. to discuss winter weather in South Jersey |  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | | |
FOR WHOM THE TOLLS BILL — Kathy Hochul’s Manhattan toll plan faces perilous path under Trump, by POLITICO’s Nick Reisman and Ry Rivard: Gov. Kathy Hochul gave the green light to a controversial Manhattan toll plan, but her political foes and allies — President-elect Donald Trump and the powerful New York City teachers union among them — have separately vowed to stop it. Hochul’s administration and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority rushed to have the program known as congestion pricing in place before Trump is sworn in — a move that came months after she temporarily blocked its implementation over political concerns. Now the MTA and governor are fending off multiple legal challenges aimed at squelching the tolls — attacks that are scrambling the region’s hard-charging politics … Last-ditch efforts by New Jersey in federal court to halt the tolls faltered in the days leading up to the program going into effect. Republicans want Trump to rescind federal approval of the program — a move he signaled he would make over the summer. And House GOP lawmakers are pressing for a law to block the tolls — a bill that’s garnered Democratic support from moderates like Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a candidate for New Jersey governor.
POU POSITION — “Screening committee makes no pick in race for Pou Senate seat,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Passaic County Democrats made no recommendation in the race for Nellie Pou’s 35th district State Senate seat after Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter (D-Paterson) and Assemblyman Benji Wimberly (D-Paterson) appeared before a screening committee today. County committee members in the Passaic and Bergen municipalities in the 35th must hold a special election convention before February 7 to pick an interim replacement for Pou … Four candidates for a second special election convention for the open Assembly seat of either Sumter or Wimberly also appeared before the Passaic screening committee: Paterson City Councilman Al Abdelaziz, the city’s Democratic municipal chairman; Paterson School Board Vice President Kenneth Simmons; Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah; and former Paterson Deputy Mayor Derya Taskin....” AN EXTRA WEEK OF MADNESS — New Jersey’s primary elections are pushed back a week to June 10. Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law setting it a week later than scheduled due to the Jewish holiday Shavuot, when observant Jews refrain from writing, driving, traveling and using electronics. Sen. Robert Singer, a bill sponsor who represents a large Jewish population in Ocean County, said “this change ensures that voters are not forced to choose between exercising their right to vote and their deeply held religious traditions.” — Dustin Racioppi — “Here are some of the new laws coming to New Jersey in 2025” — “Jablonski is the only appellate judge out of 29 to avoid tryout before permanent assignment. Courts won’t say why” — “Bramnick makes the reorganization rounds” — Aronsohn: “Candidates for NJ governor, please make people with disabilities a priority” CARTOON BREAK — “New Jersey‘s minimum wage just went up,” by Drew Sheneman | | BIDEN TIME | |
OFF TO THE MENENITENTIARY — Menendez lawyers seek two-year sentence following bribery scheme conviction, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: Lawyers for former Sen. Bob Menendez are seeking a drastically more lenient sentence for his 16-count corruption conviction than federal guidelines call for, citing his “destroyed” reputation and a life now “in shambles.” “Unsurprisingly, Senator Menendez’s conviction has rendered him a national punchline and stripped him of every conceivable personal, professional, and financial benefit,” reads the legal filing by Menendez attorney Avi Weitzman, which includes letters from about 120 of the senator’s former constituents, family, staffers and others urging leniency. Menendez’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 29 … Federal guidelines call for a sentence of at least 24 years, which Weitzman called “preposterous,” though the Probation Department has only recommended 12 years. Weitzman is seeking 21 to 27 months … “If his conviction is upheld, he will lose his federal pension. … His law license has been suspended and will be revoked if his conviction stands. His state pension and government provided insurance are at risk, too. And illustrative of the countless minor indignities he now faces, his name has been stripped from an elementary school in New Jersey,” Weitzman wrote.
MENENDEZ CASE TURNS FROM GOLD BARS TO BLACK BARS — “The exhibits that could torpedo Bob Menendez’s bribery conviction,” by New Jersey Monitor’s Dana DiFilippo: “Jurors who convicted former Sen. Bob Menendez of selling his political power for gold bars and other riches last year saw a puzzling patchwork of black bars on evidence presented to them in court, hiding details the judge deemed prejudicial or otherwise objectionable. But when they began deliberating, the black bars disappeared on at least a dozen exhibits prosecutors loaded onto a laptop jurors could consult, exposing material that federal Judge Sidney H. Stein had ordered redacted. So what did they see, and why does it matter? Most of the exhibits in question contained details that defense attorneys successfully argued jurors shouldn’t see because they pertained to legislative actions Menendez took — and members of Congress cannot be arrested, sued, or otherwise held liable for their official actions under the U.S. Constitution’s speech or debate clause.” I AM SKEPTICAL THAT KIM’S KID IS ACTUALLY A MARINE BIOLOGIST. I HAVE FOIA’D HIS CREDENTIALS — “Watch N.J. Senator’s kids surprise V.P. Harris at swearing-in ceremony,” by NJ Advance Media’s Matthew Enuco: “Vice President Kamala Harris was given a special homemade gift from U.S. Sen. Andy Kim’s kids at his swearing-in ceremony: a pair of business cards, so Harris can keep in touch with them. After the recently elected senator from New Jersey was sworn in by the outgoing vice president, his two boys offered Harris their business cards complete with contact information … In a post on X, Kim said his boys made business cards to hand out at the U.S. Capitol and told Harris to ‘stay in touch.’ C-SPAN caught the cute moment on television, when Harris read aloud the boys' occupations: ‘a marine biologist and science guy expert.’” — “New Jersey’s three new House members on their goals for 2025” | | LOCAL | |
NEWARK — “N.J. cop was drunk, speeding when he fatally struck traffic control officer, authorities say,” by NJ Advance Media’s Anthony G. Attrino: “A Newark police sergeant was driving drunk and at more than twice the speed limit in an area crowded with pedestrians when he fatally struck a fellow police officer directing traffic last month, according to police. Victor M. Ortiz, III, of Hillside, is charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree vehicular homicide and several traffic summonses, including one for DWI, in the death of Newark Traffic Control Officer Jairo Rodriguez … Rodriguez, 53, was on foot directing traffic on Broad Street near Lafayette in full uniform and in ‘high visibility clothing’ when he was struck about 12:40 a.m. on Dec. 12, according to the affidavit … According to the affidavit, tests showed Ortiz had a blood-alcohol content level of 0.114%. New Jersey’s legal limit for drivers over age 21 is 0.08%. An investigation revealed that immediately prior to the crash Ortiz had been at a local bar.”
SERGI-DOH! — “Arrested twice for assault, Dover councilman faces new charge after alleged threat,” by The Daily Record’s William Westhoven: “After two separate arrests for assault following confrontations on downtown streets, Dover Councilman Sergio Rodriguez is facing a new charge. The first-term councilman was charged Thursday with criminal coercion after he allegedly threatened a liquor store owner in town, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said. According to a statement Friday from Prosecutor Robert Carroll, Rodriguez is alleged to have ‘identified himself as a public official in order to intimidate a liquor store owner and employee into ceasing the sales of alcohol to specific individuals.’ The 29-year-old Democrat was charged in two encounters last year in which he was accused of roughing up homeless men who Rodriguez said were drinking alcohol in downtown Dover. In the latest case, prosecutors say Rodriguez entered a Dover business on Oct. 25 and told an employee that the store’s liquor license would not be renewed ‘if they continued to sell alcohol to individuals seen drinking in a nearby courtyard.’” SPILLER OF THE BEANS — “Montclair faces new claims after firing affirmative action officer,” by Montclair Local’s Matt Kadosh: “Montclair’s former affirmative action officer has filed new claims against the township after being fired amid his lawsuit claiming retaliation, his attorney said on Thursday. Bruce Morgan, of Newark, first sued the township in June when he claimed high ranking officials stripped him of his affirmative action duties and launched a ‘campaign of retaliation’ against him because he found the town engaged in discrimination. ‘The affirmative action scheme that they had set up was just a farce. It wasn’t real,’ Morgan’s attorney, Mark Mulick, said in an interview. ‘As soon as they found that they were liable for discrimination, they fired the person who found them responsible.’ Mulick said the township also outsourced its affirmative action investigations to a law firm, ‘with the understanding that the law firm would not find them responsible.’ … In an initial complaint, Morgan claimed the township retaliated against him after he filed a report in March 2022, stating a fire department promotional test was stacked against Black firefighters.” — “City of Passaic addresses rising rental costs. See what stabilization ordinance would do” — “This 19-year-old NYU student is one of Bergen's youngest school board members” — “Meet Mark Schwartz, Teaneck's new mayor, new deputy mayors” | | EVERYTHING ELSE | |
R.I.P. — “Subway victim’s brutal end stuns friends from her happy past,” by The New York Times’ Andy Newman and Shayla Colon: “Before she was Debrina, she was Debbie. In her town of Little Falls, N.J., Debbie Kawam was a girl people wanted to be around: the cheerleader with the inner glow, dispensing high-fives in the hallways of Passaic Valley Regional High School, cruising with friends, striking a pose against a backdrop of Led Zeppelin posters, welcoming diners at Perkins Pancake House in her hostess uniform. Into her 20s, Ms. Kawam was the life of the party, flying off with girlfriends to Las Vegas and the Caribbean and living in the moment. Later would come years of darkness, then decades. And on Dec. 22, Ms. Kawam was set afire on a subway train in Brooklyn in an apparently random attack captured on harrowing video. For nine days, the woman was anonymous in death. After her body was identified on Tuesday, the grieving could begin.”
BODY COUNT BODYCAM — “Bodycam on YouTube shows an upset Ice-T get tickets during NJ traffic stop,” by The Record’s Lucas Frau: “Bodycam footage from the Hudson County Sheriff's Office shows Ice-T visibly upset with a police officer during a traffic stop in Hudson County which ended in the rapper and actor receiving four tickets, including one for allegedly driving with an expired license and driving without a front license plate. The YouTube page Unspoken Crime Murders, a video blog that typically releases police bodycam videos, posted the footage of an officer from the Hudson County Sheriff's Office approaching Ice-T, Tracy Marrow, in his car in the parking lot of a shopping center by Bergenline Avenue in Hudson County … ‘You don't got to be that serious about this,’ said the actor, who has starred in the NBC police drama 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' since 2000.” VAN DREW: THEY'RE PROBABLY DRONES – “Have you seen one? Rare sightings of snowy owls at Jersey Shore stoke excitement,” by NBC10’s Ted Greenberg: “Some rare Arctic birds are creating a surge of fascination for many along the Jersey Shore. Snowy owls have been showing up on sand dunes and rooftops in recent weeks along the coast and it's creating a flurry of excitement. ‘I’ve never seen one before,’ Little Egg Harbor Township resident Ashley Scerbo said while out for a walk. ‘I know that they're around, and they're beautiful.’ … These owls are far away from their breeding grounds in the Arctic Tundra and are most likely in search of food. ‘This is what we would call an eruption year, which happens often three to five every three to five years. There'll be a movement of snowy owls further south than they normally occur,’ Brett Ewald, of the Cape May Bird Observatory, told NBC10.” — Rasmussen: “Welcome to Jersey. Come visit us again when you have less time” — “These were N.J.'s safest hospitals in 2024. See where your hospital ranks” — “Video shows drama between 'Real Housewives' star and Jersey Mike's employee”
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