With the tragic news out of Hoboken was another glimpse into the on-again, off-again relationship between Governor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who have closely collaborated over the years when it comes to emergency responses. Zack Fink filed the following report.
They are separated by the Hudson River but connected by the bridges and tunnels that cross it. But that's not all that draws these two governors of opposite parties together. It's a close personal relationship that shines through, even in a tragedy.
"I do not remember a time in the history of the state, when I have been observing it, when you have had a better or more tested relationship between the governor of New York and the governor of New Jersey," said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
According to Christie, the first call he received Thursday morning was from Governor Andrew Cuomo after the train crash in Hoboken.
Cuomo had been planning to travel to Israel to attend the funeral of former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.
"It is my duty to go as a representative of New York but it is also my pleasure and my honor," Cuomo said Wednesday.
But Cuomo abruptly cancelled that trip to appear alongside Christie.
This is hardly their only collaboration. In the fall of 2014, the two governors held three national security events toegether. That raised eyebrows among Republican party leaders, since Cuomo was up for re-election, and Christie was the head of the National Republican Governors association.
"I want to commend Governor Cuomo and Governor Christie. They have established the kind of partnership that we don't see enough of in government," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the time.
Recently, the two men have spent some time apart, both being strong surrogates for their respective presidential candidates - Cuomo for Democrat Hillary Clinton, and Christie for Republican Donald Trump.
But the governors reunited this past week at a presidential debate on Long Island. And just a few days later, they were once again sharing the stage, among other things.
"We are sharing personnel. We are sharing equipment and resources in a way we have never done before," Cuomo said. "This regional collaboration is only getting stronger."
Also bonding the two governors together is scandal. Christie's name keeps surfacing in a trial stemming from the traffic jam scandal known as Bridgegate, and Cuomo is facing arguably the worst crisis of his governorship after nine people tied to his administration were arrested in a corruption sweep last week.