Long Branch Ferry Plan Would Benefit Kushner-Owned Pier Village

LONG BRANCH, NJ - Mayor Adam Schneider doesn't see any conflict of interest in using federal help to construct a pier for a ferry service next to the Kushner-owned Pier Village, according to an Associated Press report in nj.com

The ferry service plan would help commuters and would lead right to Pier Village. Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and a senior adviser, stepped down as chief executive of the company when he began working in the White House, but continues to take money from the firm through a series of trusts, according to the report.

“They gave us that grant before Kushner Cos. was involved,” Schneider told the AP. “If the federal government thinks it is a conflict, let them do something about it. I’m just advocating for my city.”

The Federal Transit Administration gave the city $3.34 million in 2008 to revamp the pier, but more funds are needed to finish the project. City officials reportedly said the FTA had “highlighted” the ferry as a way to help commuters last year.

A Kushner Cos spokesperson denied the business had benefited from any federal government connection.

“Of course, we, like other high-class developers, discuss projects that help the communities that we serve,” a Kushner Cos spokesperson said in a statement to the AP. “To suggest that we have done anything unethical is patently false and appears to be drummed up again for political gain.”

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Photo: Patch file photo