U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) joined the President and CEO of Amtrak, Joseph Boardman, and Amtrak board member Anthony Coscia to announce that Amtrak is proposing to spend $50 million to begin preliminary engineering and design on a new two-track rail tunnel from New Jersey to New York City called the “Gateway Project.”

The total cost is estimated at $13.5 billion.  This is considerably more than the ARC (Access to the Region’s Core) tunnel was pegged at: $8.7 billion before Governor pulled the plug on it late last year.

But the new plans call for an intergration with Penn Station instead of stopping short at Macy’s basement under 34^th Street, a major drawback to the ARC tunnel.

The new tunnels would increase commuter train capacity by allowing NJTransit to add an additional 13 trains per peak hour into New York City and it would increase the number of Amtrak trains into New York City by eight per hour.

“New Jersey is facing a transportation crisis.  Our commuters are fed up with train delays that make them late to work and endless traffic that traps them on our highways when they want to be home with their families,” Sen. Lautenberg said.

“New Jersey always rises above challenges – and today’s announcement continues us along that track. While some choose to do nothing and accept delays, the people of New Jersey cannot, will not, and must not wait. We are moving full steam ahead with this strong investment in New Jersey and the region. We are on a path to create good-paying jobs and move people and goods more quickly,” Sen. Menendez said.

“Building our mass transit infrastructure is vital to the long-term economic competitiveness and growth of our metropolitan region. The fact that even Amtrak is working to make this happen shows how important it is to the region’s job growth and economic future. This proposal is a positive step in the effort to cover a gaping hole in our cross Hudson transportation system,” said U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY).

“The Gateway Project is essential to the future growth and economic development of the entire northeast region and will provide for greater capacity, connectivity and convenience for Amtrak and commuter passengers in the heart of Manhattan. It is a critical first step that we can take now to bring 220 mph Amtrak high-speed service to the Northeast Corridor,” said Mr. Boardman.

“Intercity and commuter rail passengers in New York and New Jersey are in need of increased rail capacity. The two new trans-Hudson tunnels envisioned under this plan will provide long- sought-peak-period operational capacity and is an investment that will improve transportation flexibility and reliability for decades to come,” said Tony Coscia, Amtrak Board of Directors.

Increased traffic and congestion into midtown Manhattan threatens the economy of northern New Jersey and New York City.  The existing 100-year old rail tunnels into midtown Manhattan are already operating at capacity during rush hour, and ridership is expected to double in the next two decades.

To address these immediate concerns following the cancellation of the ARC Tunnel project and with the encouragement of Senator Lautenberg, Amtrak expedited its plans to build new rail tunnels.  They are now moving forward with the Gateway Project to increase the number of trains into and out of New York.  The project will also expand intercity and high-speed rail access, providing world-class, high-speed rail service on the Northeast Corridor.

The Gateway Project is expected to increase NJ Transit commuter rail capacity into New York by 65 percent (increase from 20 to 33 trains per hour during peak hours).   The new tunnels will connect to the new Moynihan station as well as to a new Penn Station South that is connected to the existing New York Penn station, which has reached its capacity.

Amtrak’s plan also includes a total replacement and expansion of the 100 year-old Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River between Kearny and Secaucus. There would also be significant infrastructure improvements in New Jersey including expanding track capacity from what is essentially a two-track railroad to an operationally superior four track configuration between Newark and New York Penn Stations.

Amtrak projects that the entire Gateway Tunnel project could be completed in 2020.  Amtrak will take a lead in finding ways to pay the cost and will look for contributions from local, regional and state governments including New Jersey, New York State, New York City, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), as well as private investors.

By Christina Rossi

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS – The Borough Council voted 4-2 along party lines on Tuesday, Feb. 1 to appoint a new Administrator/Borough Clerk. Filling the position has been a point of contention between the Republican majority and Democrats, including Mayor Joseph C. Parisi, Jr.

Democrats Ilan Plawker and Melanie Simon abstained from the vote. Well over 100 residents attended the session, borough officials said.

Susan Spohn, a former mayor, councilwoman and administrator from Palisades Park, was named to the position. She is also a licensed Registered Municipal Clerk. Council President Robert A. Agresta, a Republican, said Ms. Spohn’s salary is $65,000 for combined administrator and clerk duties, and $1,000 for serving as the Board of Health secretary. He said it was a $50,000 annual savings over the prior split of the administrator/deputy clerk positions.

More than 75 residents had attended a “Take Back Englewood Cliffs” rally on Friday, Jan. 14, in support of prior Acting Borough Administrator/Clerk Ilene Cohen and Assistant Administrator/Deputy Clerk Lisette Duffy, who were not reappointed by the Republican Borough Council majority at the reorganization Jan. 2.

At the Feb. 1 meeting, Mayor Parisi requested the reappointment of Ms. Cohen. Councilwoman Simon introduced a motion to appoint former Borough Clerk Joseph Favaro to the position at a salary of $15,000 annually without health benefits. Both measures were voted down by the Republicans, the mayor said.

Residents presented a petition with about 350 to 375 signatures in favor of Ms. Cohen and Ms. Duffy.

“Only two members of the Mayor and Council interviewed the new Clerk/ Administrator. Five members did not.    The Republican majority voted for [Ms. Spohn] although two of them know nothing about her. This is in direct violation of our Employee Manual (the position was not advertised). Also they failed to listen to an option of hiring a highly qualified person at a savings of $85,000,” Mayor Parisi said.

Douglas F. Doyle was appointed Borough Attorney and Labor Attorney. Mr. Agresta said he has extensive municipal attorney experience and is a partner at a “leading municipal law firm,” DeCottis, FitzPatrick & Cole, LLP in Teaneck.

The council president said Mr. Doyle will receive $100 dollars per hour. He added that prior Labor Attorney Fred Knapp was paid $120 hourly and prior Borough Attorney Fred Semrau, $82.50 hourly. “This is an average of the two,” Mr. Agresta said.

Mayor Parisi said at a special meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 16, there would be a public hearing on an ordinance to abolish the Deputy Clerk position.

At a regular meeting scheduled at press time, the council was to hear in closed session a police arbitration hearing update by the council’s Police Committee. There is an arbitration hearing Tuesday, Feb. 15 with Mr. Doyle and the committee and the PBA and their attorney, the mayor said.

New Jersey voters approve 52 – 40 percent of the job Governor Christie is doing and say 54 – 35 percent that his first year in office is a success, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, Feb. 9.

This compares to a split 46 – 44 percent job approval in a December 21 survey by the independent Quinnipiac University.

In this latest survey, Republicans approve of Gov. Christie 82 – 11 percent and say 85 – 10 that his first year is a success. Independent voters also approve 55 – 36 percent and give him a  59 – 30 percent thumbs up for his first year.  Democrats disapprove 66 – 27 percent and say      59 – 27 percent the governor’s first year has been a failure.

Given four choices for their attitudes about Christie:

• 41 percent like him as a person and like most of his policies;
• 17 percent like him as a person but dislike his policies;
• 9 percent dislike him as a person, but like his policies;
• 27 percent dislike him and his policies.

“New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie is a real New Jersey guy and he stirs a lot of real New Jersey emotions,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

“A lot of people like him and his policies and others who don’t like his policies like him anyway.   And then there are people who don’t like him or his policies.  Go figure.  Or if you’re a New Jersey guy, or a Jersey girl, and don’t like to be told what to do – don’t figure.

“Christie’s job approval jumps up and his first year is rated a success, but Democrats still don’t much like him.

President Obama’s job approval rating is growing in the Garden State and now stands at 55 – 41 percent, up from 50 – 45 percent in a December 21 Quinnipiac University poll and a negative 50 – 46 percent November 9.

Democrats approve 90 – 8 percent and independent voters give him a narrow 49 – 45 percent thumbs up, but disapproval is 83 – 15 percent among Republicans.  There is a gender split as men approve 50 – 46 percent while women approve 59 – 37 percent.  White voters disapprove 50 – 45 percent while black voters approve 91 – 7 percent.

“A bit of an up-tick for Obama.  Black voters approve enthusiastically and he gets a slight negative among white voters,” Carroll said.  “New Jersey women like the president a lot more than men.”

New Jersey voters are feeling better about their two U.S. Senators, as well:

• Sen. Frank Lautenberg gets a 45 – 40 percent score, up from a 42 – 43 percent split December 21;
• Sen. Robert Menendez gets a 44 – 36 percent score, his highest approval ever and up from a negative 38 – 42 percent December 21.

Democratic legislative leaders in Trenton still trail Christie:

• State Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney gets a split 25 – 26 percent approval rating, with 48 percent undecided;
• State Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver has a 22 – 19 percent approval, with 59 percent undecided.

Voters disapprove 45 – 32 percent of the way the Assembly is doing its job and disapprove 46 – 34 percent of the State Senate.

“New Jerseyans don’t think much of their State Legislature and they don’t know much about their legislative leaders,” Carroll said.

From February 3 – 7, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,347 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points.  Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research.

A bill package sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Dist. 37), which would modernize and strengthen New Jersey’s Open Public Meetings and Records Acts and increase public transparency and accountability was approved by the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee on Monday, Jan. 31.

“In President Obama’s State of the Union address last week, he identified open government as necessary to restore and rebuild people’s faith in the institution of government,” said Senator Weinberg. “A just and fair government cannot exist in a vacuum of accessible information, and government waste, fraud and abuse are bred in the closed-door meetings and backroom conferences which have constituted business as usual in New Jersey for far too long.  These bills would bring New Jersey’s open government laws into the 21st century, and ensure that we’re on the cutting edge of transparency and technology in the Garden State.”

The first bill in the package, S-1351, would make various changes to the Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act, known as the Sunshine Law, that governs government proceedings in New Jersey.  The bill would modernize the Sunshine Law to account for new modes of communication, prohibiting members of a public body from communicating with each other about official business through mobile device while convening a public hearing, and ensuring that any gathering of the effective majority of a public body, whether in person or via electronic means over conference-call or teleconference, is considered a public meeting.

The bill would also extend notification requirements for public meetings from the current 48 hours to three business days, and would require that public notice, as well as the organization’s agenda and minutes from past hearings be posted on the Internet, a modern convenience which had not even been named until 1974, a full year after the original Open Public Meetings Act was approved.  Under the bill, public agencies or organizations would be prohibited from denying any member of the public from videotaping, photographing or broadcasting any public meeting.

Finally the bill would ensure that independent authorities, redevelopment entities, improvement authorities and quasi-governmental organizations like the New Jersey League of Municipalities, Association of Counties and the State Interscholastic Athletic Association, would be subject to the same public meeting standards as any other public agency or organization.

“When the open public meetings law was signed in 1973, it fundamentally changed the relationship between government officials and their constituents, and forced official government hearings into the light of public scrutiny,” said Senator Weinberg.  “However, with the advances in technology over the last forty years, the Sunshine Law has lost a little bit of its luster.  This bill would make sure that the spirit and intent of open government lives on, and that we have open government policies which are responsive to an increasingly technologically-proficient constituency.”

The second bill in the package, S-1352, would rename the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) the “Martin O’Shea Open Public Records Act” after the late journalist and longtime public records access champion Martin O’Shea.

The bill would close down some of the loopholes that public officials have used in the past to deny requests for access to public records.  Under the bill, anyone would be able to request public records under the Open Public Records Act – not just New Jersey residents.  The bill would also allow for public records requests to be submitted in any form, rather than require that public records requests be submitted via the official public records request form.

The bill would ensure that when information is redacted from a public record, that the requestor be provided with a reason why such information was redacted, and would ensure that contact information for the records custodian of a public agency be posted on the organization’s Web site.

The bill would reduce the turnaround time for document requests, and would clarify when the seven-day period for response to a records request actually begins.  Under the bill, records custodians would be able to fulfill their transparency responsibilities by directing a member of the public to the Web location of information, if it’s already been posted on the World Wide Web.  Finally, the bill would allow records custodians to e-mail requested records to constituents, rather than printing and mailing them, at no cost to the requestor.

“The Open Public Records Act is a vital tool for New Jersey residents to track how their tax dollars are being spent, but the existing OPRA law relies too heavily on bureaucracy and red tape to deny taxpayers access to the records they paid for,” said Senator Weinberg.  “We want to make sure that anyone can request records and that we narrowly limit the exceptions to public access.  When in doubt, our public records custodians should lean in the direction of openness rather than obfuscation.

“Access to the product and process of government is essential to make sure that government is acting in the best interests of the public, as opposed to the best interests of the political elite,” said Senator Weinberg.  “These bills would go a long ways to modernize and strengthen our State’s open government laws, and ensure that the promise of open, transparent and accountable government is realized in the Garden State.”

Both bills were approved by a vote of 4-0 with one abstention, and now head to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, before going to the full Senate for review.

[ Dist. 37 covers: Bogota, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Hackensack, Leonia, palisades Park, Ridgefield Park, Teaneck, Tenafly. ]

By Tenafly Mayor Peter S. Rustin

On Election Day 2010, the voters of Tenafly did a very politically incorrect thing: they told NJ Transit that our town did not want the proposed extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) system to terminate in Tenafly.

Only those who live in Tenafly could truly understand why our town would reject a mass transit plan that would reduce the amount of cars currently using our region’s overcrowded roads. And therein lies the first reason for our borough’s displeasure. While the HBLR extension might lower the overall number of vehicles traveling on our region’s streets, if NJ Transit’s figures are in any way accurate – something which is currently in dispute – the project as proposed would add hundreds of cars traveling into Tenafly with no plans to accommodate them. A proposed downtown station located adjacent to perhaps the most congested and complex intersection in Tenafly, would have no parking facilities, nor are their adequate plans to move the traffic in and out of the station. Significant improvements to the town’s infrastructure costing hundreds of thousands of dollars would have to be financed by our community since no other alternatives have been presented to us.  Tenafly, like other towns, is in the process of cutting expenses, not creating new costs.

Then there are other issues like safety, as the tracks are adjacent to schools, playgrounds and homes. There are six crossings, four of which are within a half mile of each other and during rush hour and school drop off and pick up times, these crossings are already backed up.  There is also the concern that the current limited diesel freight traffic would now be shifted to the early morning hours and the required horns and engine noise would impact a large percentage of our homeowners. Despite our best efforts to have these concerns addressed, NJ Transit has continually failed to respond not only to resident’s questions, but even to our Police Chief.

Tenafly would welcome a mass transit plan that makes sense. A one-seat ride into Manhattan would be immediately accepted. Today the many bus lines that serve Tenafly pick up and drop off more out of towners than residents, which has led to a shortage of parking spaces for commuters. It is easy to forget, that rail service on the Northern Branch was discontinued in the 1960’s, 30 years after the George Washington Bridge was built.  People chose bus service and automobiles over a two-seat rail ride into Manhattan.  If we wish to convince commuters to give up their cars, we need to give them an acceptable alternative. People that believe the proposed plan is an acceptable alternative don’t know their history and are in favor of an expensive project that will never be self-sufficient or even put a dent in the traffic congestion found in Eastern Bergen County.

If we are going to spend a billion dollars on a mass transit project let’s build one that makes sense.

By Darryl R. Isherwood

Recent reports out of the Election Law Enforcement Commission show that over the past four years, Democratic fundraising totals have plummeted more than 50 percent, while the GOP has seen a remarkable uptick.

A number of factors have contributed to the Democratic slide, including new pay to play rules, a surge in GOP popularity and the recession, which curtailed political giving at all levels.

But in New Jersey, there is an X factor that has played a role in the drop in Democratic fundraising – the disappearance of Jon Corzine.

For the last decade, the former New Jersey governor was perhaps the largest individual benefactor of the Democratic cause beginning with his days as chairman of Goldman Sachs and continuing during his single term in the U.S. Senate, and, sadly for Democrats, coming to an abrupt halt with his loss to Gov. Chris Christie in 2009.

In the 11 years leading up to the 2009 election, Corzine donated more than $5 million to state candidates and state and county parties including a staggering $4 million to the state’s 21 Democratic county parties.  Ex-wife Joanne Corzine added another $358,000 to the county coffers.

More than any other single donor, Corzine’s money had an impact.

Consider that in 2006, the former governor’s $493,000 in donations to county Democrats accounted for 5.5 percent of the total amount donated to all Democratic county parties across the state. In 2008, it was 4.2 percent and in 2005 more than 3.5 percent.

Another telling indicator: In 2006, Corzine’s second heaviest year for donations, the overall take for the county parties was $9 million.  In 2010, without Corzine’s help, it dropped to $4.5 million.

And sources within the state’s Democratic County parties say the ex-governor’s largesse did not stop with his own donations. Corzine was a master at directing funds to his friends at the county level as well.

“He was a big help with that,” said one county chairman.  “I had some of my best fundraising years under Corzine and it was due as much to the money he helped us raise as it was to the money he donated.”

Another chairman said that Corzine’s donations as well as money directed to the party by the former governor amounted to more than 10 percent of his total haul in one year.

But since Election Day in November of 2009, the Corzine money train has ceased running.  The man who was once the godfather of Democrats throughout New Jersey has not donated one cent in the state since he walked away from that race a loser.

Supporters of the former governor say Corzine felt betrayed after the 2009 race when several prominent Democrats reportedly “sat on their hands” and allowed Christie to walk away with the most powerful governorship in the nation.

“I think it’s fair to say that the former governor felt that major Democratic power brokers… took a dive in November,” said one prominent Democrat with ties to the Corzine administration.  “I don’t think that necessarily had an enormous influence on this lack of monetary contributions since his defeat, but that suspicion of treachery certainly did not help.”

But Josh Zeitz, a spokesman for Corzine said the explanation for his disappearance has nothing to do with betrayal and everything to do with securities regulations.  MF Global is governed by several regulatory agencies that limit political donations from employees of securities firms.

Either way, there is no question Corzine’s disappearance has hurt the Democratic Party. And the effect goes far beyond just the value of his donations, politicos say.

“On the one hand, having those resources were great, but on the other hand it allowed people not to develop other sources as aggressively as they could have,” said Message and Media Partner Brad Lawrence, whose firm did work for Corzine in all three elections. Lawrence called Corzine a “once in a generation” candidate – a self funder who had the resources and was willing to spend them on himself and others.

Former Mercer County Democratic Chairman Rich McClellan agreed, saying that parties began to rely too heavily on the former governor.

“This is a guy who worked his butt off to provide an unprecedented level of financial support to build local and county Democratic organizations,” McClellan said. “ Some county chairs probably took that as a cue to slack off their own independent fundraising efforts with the result that they simply weren’t there organizationally when they were needed in the 2009 election. That same organizational weakness, when combined with the much needed pay to play restrictions, has tended to cripple the base of some counties’ fundraising.”

Another Democratic operative put it more succinctly.

“There was no party building and there was no loyalty, it was just money and it became expected after a while,” the operative said.

Party chairmen and others say it is imperative that Democrats move on from the Corzine machine and spend the coming year developing new sources for fundraising particularly in light of the all important mid-term elections taking place in November.

Light coffers would put the party at a disadvantage at a time when redistricting promises to throw the legislature into turmoil.

“It’s now or never,” one operative said. “Our fundraising numbers have dropped, not just because of Corzine but for other reasons as well and we need to make that up so we can help candidates at both the state and local levels. Governor Corzine is gone and he’s not coming back, so we need to move on.”

From 1999 until 2008 former Gov. Jon Corzine donated more than $4 million to county Democratic Parties, which included $358,000 for Bergen County races.

By Nancy Morehouse

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Dist.5) is insisting that the Republican’s promise last year to cut $100 billion from spending not be neglected.

Mr. Garrett, chairman of the Budget and Spending Task Force for the Republican Study Committee (RSC), released a letter on Jan. 24 to Speaker of the House John Boehner stating, “These $100 billion in cuts to non-defense discretionary spending not only ensure that we keep our word to the American people; they represent a credible down payment on the fiscally responsible measures that will be needed to get the nation’s finances back on track.”

The current continuing resolution ends on March 4, but despite already being four months into the fiscal year, Mr. Garrett appealed to the public interest, saying, “On November 2…the American people summarily rejected the out-of-control borrowing and spending of President Obama and the Pelosi-Reid Congress… and they decided to give our party one more chance in the majority to get things right.”

In a statement on his website, Garrett also quoted Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who is also chairman of the RSC.  “Every dollar we do not spend today reduces the debt our children will have to repay tomorrow,” said Mr. Jordan. “The future of American prosperity rests on whether Washington confronts the growing debt crisis with necessary spending cuts.”

The letter does not specify where in the budget cuts for FY2011 should be made. However, Garrett worked on a bill passed this month called the Spending Reduction Act of 2011, calling to reduce federal spending by $2.5 trillion dollars over the next 10 years. The bill refers to this fiscal year, reiterating the need to cut spending to fiscal year 2008 levels, and further reduce non-discretionary spending over the rest of the 10-year window back to fiscal year 2006 levels.

This bill includes cuts on a number of programs including Energy Star, Beach Replenishment, Amtrack, Save America’s Treasure Program, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

In his letter Mr. Garrett states that his committee stands “ready to work [with Boehner] on finding the savings needed to reverse the fiscally irresponsible policies of President Obama and the Pelosi-Reid Congress.”

For more information and read the letter, visit garrett.house.gov.