Port Authority Chief to Testify on Fort Lee Lane Closures

The Port Authority’s top executive is set to appear before the state Assembly’s transportation committee Monday morning after being subpoenaed to testify about the agency’s closure of access lanes from Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge.

Patrick Foye, the Port Authority executive director, ordered the controversial lane closures reversed in an angry email obtained by the Wall Street Journal. Borough officials were not given a heads up about the closures, which snarled local traffic in September.

Foye, an appointee of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has said he stands by his email.

Some have speculated the closures were political payback aimed at Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat, for not endorsing Gov. Chris Christie’s reelection bid.

Christie’s top appointee at the Port Authority, Bill Baroni, has testified that the closures were part of a traffic study and confirmed that David Wildstein, an agency official with close ties to the governor called for the closures.

Wildstein said Friday he would resign as the director of interstate capital projects amid questions about the Fort Lee lane traffic changes, NorthJersey.com reported.