January 25, 2004 - Last week a standing room only
crowd attended the New Jersey Transit Public Hearing at the Kearny Town Hall.
Various speakers including
Mayor
Alberto Santos and Glen Ridge
Mayor Karl Bergmanson
voiced their opposition to the closure of train service to their respective
towns. New Jersey Transit
ceased train service on Lower Boonton Line when it opened the
Montclair Connection. New Jersey failed to hold public hearings on the
closure and was sued by Jim Wilson of the New York & Greenwood Lake Railway.
The Town of Kearny later joined the suit seeking to stop the closure of the
Arlington Station. Mayor Santos almost missed a golden opportunity. The Mayor
was asleep at the switch, having assumed that New Jersey Transit had held
public hearings, when in fact there were no public hearings. But for Jim Wilson
of the New York & Greenwood Lake Railway there would have been no public
hearing last Wednesday. Mayor Alberto Santos said before the New York &
Greenwood Lake Railway v. New Jersey Transit Lawsuit was filed that there was
nothing he could do to stop New Jersey Transit from closing down the Arlington
Station. Mayor Santos soon learned that he was wrong, there
was a lot he could have done to stop New Jersey Transit before
they ceased train service and started removing the train tracks. After Jim
Wilson filed his lawsuit, the Town
Attorney hurried to join the lawsuit. Mayor Santos was not the only one asleep
at the switch. Our local freeholder,
Albert Cifelli,
also assumed that there was nothing he could do. Nobody exercised their
political power (assuming they have some) to force New Jersey Transit to
maintain train service through Kearny. Nor did they rally the troops and fire
up their lawyers to sue New Jersey Transit to keep the rail line operational.
The commuters of Kearny may have been saved by a businessman and railroad
enthusiast, Jim Wilson. Mr. Wilson has spent a reported $120,000 in suing New
Jersey Transit.
Will New Jersey Transit actually listen and reverse
its decision to cease train service? We hope they do but one can only wonder
if a Public Hearing after the train service was terminated and the rail lines
removed means anything to New Jersey Transit? If there was no Public Hearing,
then why didn’t the judge just order New Jersey Transit to resume service
until such time as the proper Public Hearing was held and the proper procedure
followed? One hopes that the Public Hearing held last week in Kearny was not
just for show. New Jersey Transit spokeswoman Penny Bassett Hackett said she
was "pleased to get the comments and will take them all into consideration."
We hope it's not as much consideration as New Jersey Transit gave the
residents of Kearny by ceasing service without proper public hearings last go
around. We hope it's not as much consideration as New Jersey Transit buses
give the residents of Kearny when they block up traffic by not pulling over to
designated oversize bus stops make especially to accommodate their accordion
buses.
We cannot rely upon the good will of New Jersey
Transit to resume train service. We need our local politicans to unite and
visit New Jersey
Transit Board Chairman and State Transportation Commissioner James P.
Fox along with seeking the help of our
Governor to return train service to Kearny. The history of the Arlington line,
the need for more mass transit not less, the vitality of Kearny, the daily
toll it takes on the residents who are forced to extend their commutes, and
the property values in our community are at stake. To our local
politicans,"Let’s get working on this issue, NOW, before it’s really too late.
You missed the train once let’s not miss the train again."
What do you think? Voice your opinion, submit a
Letter to the Editor to
webmaster
