N.Y.-N.J. port authority, Hudson Tank near agreement

N.Y.-N.J. port authority, Hudson Tank near agreement Spokesmen of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Hudson Tank Terminals confirmed that the parties are in the process of finalizing a new agreement that would allow Hudson Tank Terminals to remain in Port Newark until 2023.
   Alan Marcus of the Marcus Group, a representative of Hudson Tank Terminal, exclaimed that there is “peace in the port.” Though terms of the agreement are confidential, both sides said the end of the process was amicable and resulted in the continuance of a relationship between the two organizations until May 31, 2023.
   The rift between the two factions began in July 1998. According to court documents, the port and Hudson renewed a lease agreement that would last until May 31, 2023. The lease had provisions for rental schedules that increased every five years.
   In February 2004, according to Hudson, the port authority requested to revise the terms of the lease by substantially increasing rent and imposing a termination clause that would enable port authority to terminate the lease on 30 days notice. In addition to those changes, the port authority wanted Hudson, a storage facility and handler of vegetable oil and other oils, to be subject to environmental liability for conditions prior to its tenancy.
   The port authority contends that Hudson refused to execute the supplemental agreement in 1998, and was therefore held as a holdover tenant on a month-to-month basis. When renegotiations for an agreement occurred in 2004, the port authority negotiated “it at market rents,” said Steve Coleman, Port Authority spokesman.
   The matter escalated in 2006 when Hudson filed suit on Nov. 17. In turn, the port authority served a notice of eviction. The parties have been attempting to come to an agreement ever since.
   Due to the new agreement that will be completed and filed shortly, Alan Marcus stated that Hudson and its 50 employees should be located on its 12-acre Newark plot for “a long time.”
   “We believe we have reached a fair and equitable agreement,” Coleman said.
   The port authority is waiting for Hudson to execute and return the new agreement.