Mobbed Up Dockworkers

The New York Shipping Association is trying to regain control of port labor in a move critics claim would open workers to the same kind of mob exploitation that inspired the film “On the Waterfront.”

NY Waterfront Tales Hearken to Bad Old Days

A detective for the New York Waterfront Commission was indicted on allegations he lied about cheating on a police entrance exam – by getting a copy of it from a former New Jersey Waterfront Commissioner. A 2-year state investigation culminated in a scathing 60-page report that found the two-state commission “plagued by abuse and corruption.” The commission was created in the 1950s to root out mob influence on the waterfront.

Corruption Found at Waterfront Watchdog

The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, created in the 1950s to break the mob’s grip on the docks, became its own bastion of lawlessness, employing some of the same corrupt, self-serving methods as the gangsters it was supposed to pursue, investigators said Tuesday in a scathing report.

DOCKWORKERS PAC NY’S BIGGE$T WALLOP

Dockworkers, public-school teachers and Rochester billionaire Tom Golisano lead an army of special interests, with nearly $70 million in their campaign coffers, according to an analysis of PAC money.

New Study Urges City To Protect Its Maritime Industry

Every day, men and women work the docks of the ports of New York and New Jersey. But a new study finds while the maritime industry is growing, it may soon face obstacles.

Lease Ends Uncertainty for Red Hook Cargo Docks

The long-running battle over the future of the cargo docks in Red Hook, Brooklyn, is over.

Red Hook port deal shipshape

Looks like the longshoremen will be flexing their muscles on the Red Hook piers for at least 10 more years.

Shipyards Fight Shortage of Workers

Dirk VanEnkevort wanted to take advantage of a shipbuilding boom when his family’s company leased one of the largest dry docks in the Great Lakes region in 2005. But now he is so short-handed he has turned to robots to help keep up.

Port operator on the Hook: City backs down from plan to evict longshoremen

City officials are on the brink of rolling out a new development plan for the Red Hook waterfront

Mob Case Against Dockworkers Stalls

Two years ago, federal prosecutors boldly proclaimed a civil racketeering lawsuit against the mighty International Longshoremen’s Union that would ”once and for all” shatter suspected mob control on the nation’s docks.

Brooklyn-based opera company uses retired oil tanker as venue

A Brooklyn-based opera company has chosen a uniquely gritty venue for its next production – atop a retired oil tanker moored at a working dock in Red Hook.