New York-New Jersey port employers are challenging a plan by the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor for monitors to oversee companies that don’t qualify for commission operating licenses.
The New York Shipping Association has asked a U.S. District Court in Newark to block the commission’s plan for private sector independent inspectors general. IPSIGs have been used in other industries, such as New York construction, to help companies avoid or eliminate corruption.
Commission Executive Director Walter Arsenault said he’s confident the court will uphold the commission’s authority to establish IPSIGs. “Our enabling legislation is very broad. Over the years the courts have consistently upheld the commission’s authority to do what’s right for the port,” he said.
Arsenault and Ronald Goldstock, the agency’s New York commissioner, see IPSIGs as a key part of the commission’s effort to rid the port of Mafia influence. Goldstock pioneered the use of independent private sector inspectors general when he headed the New York State Organized Crime Task Force in the early 1990s.
Arsenault said the Waterfront Commission plans to use IPSIGs only for companies that don’t pass commission licensing checks and request to operate under a monitor so they can keep operating until they qualify for a license. He said the alternative would be to force the company to close, which might disrupt commerce.
The commission is conducting licensing investigations for the approximately 50 companies under its jurisdiction. For years the commission’s previous leadership allowed companies to operate under six-month temporary licenses that didn’t require stringent background checks for mob connections.
Arsenault said the commission has granted permanent licenses to several companies and expects to complete its checks on the entire list within six months. He wouldn’t estimate how many companies might fail to qualify but said it’s likely to be “few, if any.”
NYSA President Joseph Curto said employers believe the commission lacks legal authority to authorize IPSIGs. “If the commission wants to implement an IPSIG program they must first go to the New York and New Jersey legislatures and obtain authority to do so,” he said.
The New York Shipping Association has asked a U.S. District Court in Newark to block the commission’s plan for private sector independent inspectors general. IPSIGs have been used in other industries, such as New York construction, to help companies avoid or eliminate corruption.
Commission Executive Director Walter Arsenault said he’s confident the court will uphold the commission’s authority to establish IPSIGs. “Our enabling legislation is very broad. Over the years the courts have consistently upheld the commission’s authority to do what’s right for the port,” he said.
Arsenault and Ronald Goldstock, the agency’s New York commissioner, see IPSIGs as a key part of the commission’s effort to rid the port of Mafia influence. Goldstock pioneered the use of independent private sector inspectors general when he headed the New York State Organized Crime Task Force in the early 1990s.
Arsenault said the Waterfront Commission plans to use IPSIGs only for companies that don’t pass commission licensing checks and request to operate under a monitor so they can keep operating until they qualify for a license. He said the alternative would be to force the company to close, which might disrupt commerce.
The commission is conducting licensing investigations for the approximately 50 companies under its jurisdiction. For years the commission’s previous leadership allowed companies to operate under six-month temporary licenses that didn’t require stringent background checks for mob connections.
Arsenault said the commission has granted permanent licenses to several companies and expects to complete its checks on the entire list within six months. He wouldn’t estimate how many companies might fail to qualify but said it’s likely to be “few, if any.”
NYSA President Joseph Curto said employers believe the commission lacks legal authority to authorize IPSIGs. “If the commission wants to implement an IPSIG program they must first go to the New York and New Jersey legislatures and obtain authority to do so,” he said.