Public service, including providing for things like Public Safety, used to matter to Public Servants, that we elect to represent OUR best day-to-day interests.
To some Public Servants, these "quaint ideals" still matter; and to others (in the to: and cc: recipient lines) -- not so much, it would seem:
From: Baroni, Bill
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2013 10:44 AM
To: Regina Egea
Subject: FW: Fort Lee eastbound access to GWB
Importance: High
-------------
From: Foye, Patrick
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2013 7:44 AM
To: Fulton, Cedrick; Durando, Robert
Cc: Baroni, Bill; Dunne, Joseph P.; Kournoutsos, Louis; Zipf, Peter; Samson, David; 'Rechler, Scott'; Buchbinder, Darrell
Subject: Fort Lee eastbound access to GWB
Importance: High
After reading last night's media pendings, I made inquiries and received calls on this matter which is very troubling. Here is what I learned: reversing over 25 years of PA GWB operations, the three lanes in Fort Lee eastbound to the GWB were reduced to one lane on Monday of this week without notifying Fort Lee, the commuting public we serve, the ED or Media. A decision of this magnitude should be made only after careful deliberation and upon sign off by the ED. Reports are that Fort Lee has experienced severe traffic delays engulfing the entire Fort Lee area since Monday. I am appalled by the lack of process, failure to inform our customers and Fort Lee and most of all by the dangers created to the public interest, so I am reversing this decision now effective as soon as TBT and PAPD tell me it is safe to do so today.
[I] am making this decision for the following reasons:
1. This hasty and ill-advised decision has resulted in delays to emergency vehicles. I pray that no life has been lost or trip of a hospital- or hospice-bound patient delayed. I
2. This hasty and ill-advised decision has undoubtedly had an adverse effect on economic activity in both states. That is contrary to the directive we have from our Governors to do everything possible to create jobs in both States.
3. I will not allow this hasty and ill-advised decision to delay the travels of those observing Yom Kippur tonight or the holidays to follow.
4. I believe this hasty and ill-advised decision violates Federal Law and the laws of both States.
To be clear, I will get to the bottom of this abusive decision which violates everything this agency stands for; I intend to learn how PA process was wrongfully subverted and the public interest damaged to say nothing of the credibility of this agency.
Finally, I am open to considering changes to each of our facilities if there is a case to be made that change will benefit the public interest. In the case of the Fort Lee eastbound access lanes, approval of this action will require:
1. Written sign off by TBT, Traffic Engineering and PAPD. That sign off was not sought or obtained here.
2. Prior discussion with the local government and a communication plan and plenty of advance notice to the commuting public. That did not occur here.
3. Consideration of the effects on emergency vehicles and sign off by PAPD. That did not occur here.
4. Consideration of the financial impact on the PA in terms of O/T. That too did not occur here.
[Cedrick] and Bob -- please let this group know when access to three lanes in Fort Lee can be restored as soon as possible today. This is a matter of public safety and time is of the essence.
Pat
Link to that actual email:
document page 915. {Above emphasis was added by poster.}
To get a sense of "public servant" David Samson's
immediate "chronological" (and some would call "
vindictive")
responses to that Letter from Pat Foye, regarding
the issue of Public Safety currently being compromised by the Christie administration unannounced Traffic Experiment,
-- I would direct you to Steve Kornacki's reconstructed timeline of those "in real-time" events, from the currently released "public documents":
Up Against The Clock
UP 02/02/14
link to clip
A timeline of the Fort Lee ‘traffic study’
Steve Kornacki combs through the emails and text messages and other documents that were subpoenaed by the New Jersey Assembly in December to put together a comprehensive timeline of the events behind the scandal.
When
the fallout from days-long Traffic Jams are seen as just "
incidental details" -- of little concern, to the greater ambitions of our unaccountable --
or caught unawares -- and now far from idealistic, stone-walling
public servants political power-brokers -- then something is very wrong,
somewhere.
(... and some would say something is very wrong, in the Christie Administration, as indicated by co-ordinated actions and cover-up responses by the NJ Port Authority -- aka. the Chris Christie appointees operating there.)
Public Safety seemed to be the last thing on their minds. ... as they went into "damage control" mode in response to Pat Foye's call for an immediate fix to the on-going compromised Public Safety -- directly under the Port Authority's control.