REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The Federal Transit Administration has been helping a Jersey Shore town begin ferry service and redevelop a pier next to a resort co-owned by Jared Kushner. If developed, the ferry, which would connect New York City and Long Branch, could raise the value of 269 beachfront condos in a complex co-owned by Kushner by as much as 50 percent, according to former Long Branch business administrator Howard Woolley. The condos are currently selling for as much as $1.9 million each. The FTA gave Long Branch $3.34 million in 2008 to redevelop the pier—but the funds weren’t enough to finish the project. City officials talked to their federal counterparts about how to procure more funding and get guidance on “how to manage its current grant.” At one point, the FTA brought up the ferry idea as a way to relieve traffic in the area. Woolley said he would often keep the Kushner business in the loop about the pier development progress, and had in-person visits with Charles Kushner, Jared’s father. This comes as Jared Kushner’s real-estate projects are suspected to have influenced his foreign-policy advising, and after his security clearance was downgraded.