Now here’s a lane closure that is getting Gov. Cuomo’s attention.
Cuomo on Tuesday called for an investigation into the closing of a Lincoln Tunnel lane, allegedly at the behest of a donor to Mayor de Blasio.
The donor, Brooklyn businessman Jeremy Reichberg, was accused of using “his connections in local law enforcement agencies” to get the lane closed and provide a police escort for a businessman visiting the U.S., according to a federal complaint related to a bribery probe involving the NYPD.
“If this is true, it is deeply troubling,” Cuomo wrote to top officials at the Port Authority.
The Lincoln Tunnel lane closure was detailed in a complaint from U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara against Reichberg, NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Harrington and Deputy Inspector James Grant.
The alleged police perk at the Lincoln Tunnel had echoes of the “Bridgegate” scandal, where aides to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his hacks at the Port Authority exacted political revenge with a gridlock-inducing lane closure near the George Washington Bridge in September 2013.
Cuomo has steered clear of the scandal across the Hudson River and at the agency he partly controls.
However, he quickly directed the state and Port Authority inspectors general to look into a lane closure that is part of a case against a big-time donor to his political foil, de Blasio.
He instructed the Port Authority leaders to coordinate with Bharara’s office and the FBI before taking any action.
“We will simply not allow Port Authority facilities to be chips in some nefarious pattern of deceit,” Cuomo wrote.
An attorney for Grant denied any involvement in the lane closure, while lawyers for Reichberg and Harrington did not return requests for comment. Reps for Port Authority and the NYPD did not immediately return requests for comment.
