New Jersey Speaker Coughlin and New York Speaker Heastie on Creation of Gateway Development Commission

(TRENTON) – New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie issued the following statements on the passage of legislation in New Jersey and New York that creates the Gateway Development Commission, a two-state agency to precipitate the completion of the Gateway Program transportation projects:

            “While the federal government continues to stall funding for the Gateway Project, New Jersey and New York are taking action to invest in infrastructure, keep commuters safe and build our national economy,” said New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin. “We will no longer sit idly by waiting for the Trump administration to support a project that affects the lives of thousands of residents along the East coast. This commission will help to jumpstart the process of bringing our infrastructure into the 21^st century, the creation of jobs and supports the residents of our community. Commuters and residents from both states deserve to see improvements in the rail line, which are long overdue.”

            “Leaders in New York and New Jersey know that safe and reliable transportation between our states and within the Northeast Corridor is vitally important to our economies and critical to the quality of life of our residents,” said New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. “Although the administration in Washington refuses to make the necessary investments the people of New York and New Jersey need to keep our states and a sizeable portion of our country’s economy moving, we are committed to working collaboratively to get the job done. We look forward to working with our partners in New Jersey to deliver the long overdue infrastructure our residents need and deserve.”

The measure now heads to both the New Jersey and New York Governor’s desks.