Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

News

Chris Christie, "24/7" Governor, Pays NJ For Personal Helicopter Rides

By

Jen Chung

Published Jun 4, 2011

Modified Jun 4, 2011

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

Photograph of Christie and his soccer game transportation from Patch.com

 

By

Jen Chung

Published Jun 4, 2011

Modified Jun 4, 2011

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

NJ Governor Chris Christie, anxious to put Choppergate to bed, announced he and his wife Mary Pat (aka the lady who helped kill ARC), had written a check to reimburse the state for using the state helicopter for personal and political reasons. Christie, who pointed out he's governor 24/7 and he's also a dad, claimed that he thought using the state chopper for non-state use was cool, since the State Police told him the helicopters are up in the air for training, but the whole thing became distracting so he decided to pay up, "I want to make sure the public understands that I’m doing this because of the duty I feel to them to have my attention and everybody’s attention focused 100 percent on the real problems of the state and not the political theater or media theater that people enjoy at times." Check out the press conference here:

Notice how he also used his predecessor, Jon Corzine, as an example: Corzine was badly injured (he broke a leg, twelve ribs, his collarbone, and breastbone, plus lost half of his blood) when the State Police SUV crashed while traveling over 90 MPH. Corzine was not wearing a seat belt... and then it turned out he was rushing to meet with Don Imus and the Rutgers women's basketball team.

Christie is paying for two personal helicopter rides, while the NJ GOP will pay for the time he was flown to meet with Iowa business executives. The NY Times ran an editorial yesterday, titled, "Taking New Jersey For A Ride," blasting Chrisitie's helicopter use, "According to the State Police, Mr. Christie made more than 30 other helicopter trips since taking office in January 2010. Those should be reviewed as well. What makes the governor’s helicopter excursions especially galling is that he has spent the last year and a half demanding sacrifices from everybody else in his state."

The Star-Ledger and Wall Street Journal (and probably many other news organizations) have requested records of Christie's helicopter use, but they haven't received them yet—so let's focus on how Christie called a NJ Democrat who criticized his chopper use "a jerk"—"She should really be embarrassed at what a jerk she is."

Tagged

Chris Christie

governor christie

nj

reimbursement

state helicopter

Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

MORE news

Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park

People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.

By

Charles Lane

Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET

Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says

It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.

By

Liam Quigley

News

Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says

It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.

By

Liam Quigley

New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ

By

Arya Sundaram

A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.

By

Samantha Max

Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910

By

Michael Sol Warren

Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .