Patrick Colligan, the president of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, is joining Hoboken officials in calling on New York Waterway to apologize after one of the attorneys representing them compared Hoboken police to “gestapo” during a court hearing yesterday.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“It should go without saying that the statement made by New York Waterway comparing the fine men and women of the Hoboken Police Department to the vile secret state police of Nazi Germany is well beyond any acceptable societal boundaries,†Colligan said in a statement.
“Frankly, it is hard to fathom how anyone could believe smearing the dedicated community servants of the HPD for simply doing their jobs with a historically despicable reference like this can go unanswered. All across our country, members of the law enforcement community continue to find their very well-being endangered and disgusting characterizations like the one made in court by New York Waterway can only help exacerbate the problem.”
Colligan continued that anything less that a public apology in this matter would be “completely unacceptable.”
Yesterday, NY Waterway had a lawsuit against the City of Hoboken over Union Dry Dock dismissed by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Jablonsky since he felt the organization would not sustain any irreparable harm by following the city’s planning and zoning laws.
During the hearing, Anthony Bocchi, an attorney representing NY Waterway, compared Hoboken police to the gestapo over the way they were enforcing rules and regulations at Union Dry Dock.
“That is in tandem with the electrical permit. That is in tandem with the public statements that have already been made, that is in tandem with the police showing up like the gestapo watching the site, saying you can’t do these things,” he said yesterday.
As a result, Mayor Ravi Bhalla and Hoboken Police Superior Officers Association President Lt. John Petrosino both called for an immediate apology from NY Waterway (with other officials such as Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro (D-33) later joining them).
A spokesman for NY Waterway did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Anthony Boccio is well known attorney and that why Anthony Imperatore New York Waterways pays him so much money for his services. Using inflammatory Nazi terminology was not a mistake, it was a carefully calculated strategy.
I think it is fair to call out both client and attorney for their disgusting behavior
Fair criticism but hardly new in Hoboken. Ravi Bhalla employs a political operative, Nancy, who is infamous for using Nazi imagery in Hoboken (when she’s not attacking a recent stroke victim in the vilest terms):
https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/boorish-blogging-and-a-merited-medal/
Guess what- a stroke victim made the racist photoshop!
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/us-website-photoshops-hoboken-sikh-mayors-image-as-arab-dictator/ar-AABoErg US website photoshops Hoboken Sikh Mayor’s image as Arab dictator
https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2019/05/14/row-over-photoshopped-image-depicting-hoboken-mayor-ravi-bhalla-resembling-sacha-baron-cohens-arab-dictator-437536/
Row over photoshopped image depicting Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla as an Arab dictator
https://www.freepressjournal.in/topic/hoboken-mayor-ravi-bhalla
Photoshopped image shows Sikh Mayor as Arab dictator
https://yespunjab.com/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-ravi-bhalla-as-arab-dictator/
https://darpanmagazine.com/news/international/us-website-photoshops-hoboken-sikh-mayor-ravi-bhallas-image-as-arab-dictator/
US Website Photoshops Hoboken Sikh Mayor Ravi Bhalla’s Image As Arab Dictator
https://www.news18.com/news/world/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator-in-us-2142559.html Photoshopped Image Shows Sikh Mayor as Arab Dictator in US
Sikh activists have denounced the image as racist.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2019/may/16/first-ever-sikh-mayor-in-us-faces-racial-attack-as-photoshopped-image-shows-him-as-arab-dictator-1977692.html
First-ever Sikh Mayor in US faces racial attack as photoshopped image shows him as Arab dictator
The New Jersey-based website, “Hudson Mile Square View”, ran an image of Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla that resembled the Arab dictator role played by British actor Sacha Baron Cohen.
https://www.ibcworldnews.com/photo-shopped-image-shows-first-ever-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator-in-us/ Photo shopped image shows first-ever Sikh Mayor as Arab Dictator in US
https://newsd.in/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator/Photoshopped image shows Sikh Mayor as Arab dictator
https://www.newkerala.com/news/read/142445/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator.html Photoshopped image shows Sikh Mayor as Arab dictator
https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/international/2019/05/15/fes50-us-sikh-photo.html
Photoshopped image shows Sikh Mayor as Arab dictator in US
https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator-in-us-119051501051_1.html
https://www.canindia.com/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator/
https://www.canindia.com/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator/
http://epaper.canindia.com/TE/05-17-2019/mobile/index.html#p=6
Photoshopped image shows Sikh Mayor as Arab dictator
https://www.indiapost.com/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator/
Photoshopped image shows Sikh Mayor as Arab dictator
https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/world/morphed-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator-in-us.html
Morphed image shows Sikh Mayor as Arab dictator in US
https://www.asianage.com/world/americas/160519/photoshopped-image-shows-first-ever-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator-in-us.html
First-ever Sikh Mayor in US faces racial attack as photoshopped image shows him as Arab dictator
The New Jersey-based website, “Hudson Mile Square View”, ran an image of Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla that resembled the Arab dictator role played by British actor Sacha Baron Cohen.
https://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/World/20190515/3542361.html
Photoshopped image shows Sikh Mayor as Arab dictator
https://ourbitcoinnews.com/americas-first-sikh-mayor-racially-ridiculed-by-website/
America’s first Sikh Mayor racially ridiculed by website!!
http://www.easternmirrornagaland.com/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator-in-us/
Photoshopped image shows Sikh Mayor as Arab dictator in US
https://indianewengland.com/2019/05/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator/
Photoshopped image shows Sikh Mayor as Arab dictator
https://www.thequint.com/news/world/doctored-image-shows-hobokens-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator-in-us
Doctored Image Shows Hoboken’s Sikh Mayor as Arab Dictator in US
https://khabar.ndtv.com/news/world/hoboken-mayor-ravi-bhalla-image-photoshop-as-arab-dictator-2038336
इस वेबसाइट ने सिख मेयर को अरब तानाशाह के रूप में दिखाया, बताई ये वजह
https://www.thehansindia.com/news/international/first-ever-sikh-mayor-in-us-faces-racial-attack-as-photoshopped-image-shows-him-as-arab-dictator-529874
First-ever Sikh Mayor in US faces racial attack as photoshopped image shows him as Arab dictator
https://www.siasat.com/news/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-arab-dictator-1497208/
https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/world/morphed-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator-in-us.html
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/america/160519/photoshopped-image-shows-first-ever-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator-in-us.html
http://nripress.com/hoboken-mayor-ravi-bhalla/
https://epaper.kashmirobserver.net/uploads/epaper/2019-05/5cddf9b9db9d4.pdf
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100546568564260&set=a.610918452610&type=3&theater
http://thelinkpaper.ca/?p=73124 Racist Website Photoshops Image Of Sikh-American Mayor To Show Him As Arab Dictator
https://indiantimesdaily.com/news/usa/photoshopped-image-shows-sikh-mayor-as-dictator/42453
http://www.narendramodi.net/photoshopped-image-shows-first-ever-sikh-mayor-as-arab-dictator-in-us/
https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=588083
https://www.orlandoindian.com/desi/newsdetail.asp?id=441312