Frozen Gateway Tunnel funds will be released next week, Trump administration tells New York, New Jersey
The legal battle continues over the release of federal funds for the Gateway Tunnel Project in New York and New Jersey.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said officials expected the Trump administration to release more than $200 million in frozen funds on Friday, after the deadline for an appeals court to allow President Trump to continue holding up construction on the critical infrastructure project passed yesterday.
But after an emergency conference with a judge, the federal government estimated funds for the new Hudson River tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey would not be released entirely until Tuesday because of the Presidents' Day federal holiday Monday.
"At 4:00, the federal government said it was lifting its hold on Gateway funding and the first $30 million arrived at Gateway headquarters this evening," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. "Had it gone under, there would have been chaos, an economic recession or even depression in the whole New York area."
Trump required to unfreeze Gateway Tunnel funding
The Trump administration was required to release the money after a federal court order blocking funding for the project expired. An appeals court then scheduled a hearing on the government's motion to continue freezing the funds for Feb. 23.
"It's way past time that the president releases the Gateway Tunnel funds. He's illegally stopped them, the courts have spoken, and now it's time for people to get back to work," Sherrill said at a news conference in Secaucus.
Sherrill slammed the political back-and-forth, pointing out all the money spent on legal fees for a project Congress already approved.
"We can get people back to work. It should happen very quickly," she said.
Hundreds of workers off the job
About 1,000 construction workers have been off the job since last Friday, when the Trump administration froze federal dollars.
"I got the rug pulled out from underneath me," said Adam Pezanowski, with Liuna Local 472. "This is not fair to me or to my family, or anyone else that lost their jobs on the multiple projects from Newark, New Jersey, to Penn Station in Manhattan."
"You're rolling the dice if something happens to that other tunnel," said Joe Barbuto, with Teamster Local 560. "It's transportation that everybody takes and the tunnel they use now is in dire need already."
They hope Mr. Trump hears their pleas.
CBS News New York reached out to the White House for comment multiple times, but we have not heard back.
