The election of a new mayor in Bayonne may bode well for establishment of a container port with direct rail freight links at the soon-to-be-closed Military Ocean Terminal (MOTBY) peninsula. Joseph Doria, who was elected in May and also serves as Minority Leader in the New Jersey State Assembly, said in a statement that the "property has tremendous potential to become an internationally recognized center of shipping," and called for collaboration with the Port Authority on developing a portion of MOTBY as an intermodal freight facility. The peninsula is strategically located on NY Harbor and features channels which can be dredged to 50 feet without hitting bedrock, making it a logical location for deep water port development. Efforts to blast out deeper channels to Ports Newark and Elizabeth would be considerably more costly.

A commission set up last year to determine a preliminary plan for the redevelopment of MOTBY almost left maritime options out entirely, but eventually set aside 125 acres for port development. Questions have since been raised as to whether that amount would be sufficient for a worthwhile container operation. A staff member from Mayor Doria's office called the 125 acres "negotiable" and said that the city was willing to entertain increasing it as long as public access for Bayonne's citizens was ensured. In August, Mayor Doria and the Bayonne City Council will appoint members to a local redevelopment authority, which will develop a final plan for the December 1999 base closure.