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| [NIMBY] Tenafly, NJ mayor vows resistance to Hudson-Bergen Light Rail extenstion plan (1134597) | |||
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[NIMBY] Tenafly, NJ mayor vows resistance to Hudson-Bergen Light Rail extenstion plan |
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Posted by Gold_12TH on Tue Jan 24 17:06:31 2012  Flanked by more than two dozen citizens, half of them holding "STOP the LIGHT RAIL in TENAFLY" signs, Mayor Peter Rustin said any attempts by NJ Transit to restore light rail service in the borough "will be met by the stiffest resistance possible."Rustin held a press conference downtown an hour and a half before the first of four public hearings will be held on the proposed Northern Branch Corridor project - a plan that would extend NJ Transit's existing Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service into Bergen County. There are three options: do nothing, extend the system to Englewood, or extend it further to Tenafly. Rustin described NJ Transit as a powerful state agency that has overlooked and ignored concerns by Tenafly that the project would tear $8 million in commercial property - which generates $200,000 in revenue - out of the town in order to make room for the rail system, parking and two stations. It would also bifurcate the downtown business district and bring noise pollution, Rustin said. "The project has been designed with total disregard for the concerns of the residences and businesses in Tenafly," said Rustin, standing outside the community's historic rail station, which was transformed to Cafe Angelique six years ago. Rustin said he has spoke with State Sen. Loretta Weinberg and Congressman Rothman about his concerns, and that they have "assured me they would only support this project as far as Route 4," he said. Council members Marth Kerge and Nadia LaMastra were among the roughly 40 people at the press conference. Reading jointly from a prepared statement, they said a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, released by the Federal Transit Adminstration and NJ Transit, last month, was based on old data. The DEIS is a document that spells out all impacts the project could have on the environment, including how noise, air quality, wetlands, land and parking would be affected. Durso declined to speak directly to the allegations, but said NJ Transit has consistently met with local officials in Tenafly and surrounding communities to listen to their concerns and incorporate their concerns as part of that process." Charles Ingoglia, an NJ Transit representative on the project, said the option to extend the light rail into Tenafly would provide two stations in the community. One, the Tenafly North station, would need about 40 spaces, all of which would be supplied by street parking, the second station, close to the Cresskill border, would have about 560 spaces, he said. People in the north would drive to that station and park, while at the downtown station, riders are expected to walk to the station. Rustin said he doesn't believe people would walk to the station. --- http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/bergen_news/012412_Tenafly_mayor_vows_resistance_to_light_rail_plan.html |
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