But that plan began to collapse last year, after the anchor tenant, WeWork Cos., left the project, taking with it $59 million in state subsidies tied to it being a tenant. Kushner Cos. maintains it made the decision not to pursue a partnership with WeWork.

Kushner Cos. also dealt the proposal a self-inflicted wound last spring. Top company officials flew to China to raise money using the controversial EB-5 investment-for-visa program and their pitch featured a photo of Donald Trump, which many viewed as a conflict of interest.

Landscape Shifted
Kushner Cos. said it had been unaware the event promoter made references to Jared Kushner and Trump in the promotional material and said it would no longer seek EB-5 money for the project. (Jared Kushner has sold his interest in the company to family members.)

By the time Kushner Cos. and their partner in the deal, the KABR Group, came back with a revised plan last fall, the political landscape had shifted. Jersey City activists organized protests outside the site and blasted city officials for offering subsides that might enrich the family of the president’s son-in-law.

Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat who faced an election challenge last year, eventually dropped his support for the project. Charles Kushner said this week Fulop once acknowledged that the city was discriminating against Kushner Cos., but Fulop’s spokeswoman said she could not confirm that conversation ever took place.

The spokeswoman, Hannah Peterson, said the mayor’s decision was based on the merits of the redesigned project, which has struggled to obtain financing. She didn’t respond to questions on the rivalry between the brothers.

Earlier this month, Fulop said he hopes another developer comes in to replace Kushner Cos. The mayor also tweeted that Charles Kushner, his longtime supporter, was out of line.

"There is a sense of entitlement that the developer has towards a subsidy,” he wrote. “We as a city just don’t see it the same way.”

‘Trump Connection’
Others in city government are more sympathetic to Charles Kushner’s complaints.

Michael Yun, a Jersey City councilman who has overseen studies of the city’s subsidies to developers, said, "It’s a good project, and if it weren’t for the Trump connection, I don’t think you’d be seeing people oppose it this way."