NJ Transit’s MLK Day Meeting Is Disgraceful: Hoboken Mayor

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. But according to a New Jersey mayor, that dream doesn’t include one of the largest transportation agencies in the nation rescheduling a vital public meeting to take place on a federal holiday.

When Hoboken Mayor Ravinder Bhalla learned that NJ Transit rescheduled a much-anticipated board meeting from Friday to Monday – Martin Luther King Jr. Day – he had one word for the decision: “disgraceful.”

“Just learned NJ Transit rescheduled their board meeting for MLK Day - a federal holiday when we should be honoring Dr. King’s legacy, not rushing an 11th hour secret deal,” Bhalla wrote Thursday.

A NJ Transit spokesperson confirmed that the board office scheduled the meeting for Monday, but didn’t provide a reason why that date had been chosen. Patch has reached out to the board office for comment and will include any reply in this article.

NJ Transit board members were expected to vote on a controversial plan to purchase the Union Dry Dock property in Hoboken and lease it back to NY Waterway – a privately held company - for use as a ferry maintenance and refueling facility.

• See related article: NJ Transit Vote On Union Dry Dock In Hoboken Postponed

Several Hoboken public officials and community activist groups have blasted the plan, alleging that the property will better serve the city as open space, and that the transaction is taking place “with zero public input by an agency deeply in debt and plagued by safety, fiscal and management problems.”

State Senator Ronald Rice also criticized NJ Transit's choice to reschedule the meeting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, calling it "highly suspicious."

"It is appalling that NJ Transit has scheduled a meeting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day of national significance and when all of government will be closed, to vote to acquire a site from New York Waterway only to lease it back to the same entity," Rice said. "There are serious questions regarding this deal, not the least of which is, ‘What is the rush?’"

Rice continued:

“The board has not presented a detailed plan or alternatives for this proposal, and it is highly suspicious that it has scheduled a non-emergent vote on a holiday, which happens to be the day before a new governor takes office. It would be unconscionable for NJ Transit and a slap in the face to New Jersey residents to move forward with its Monday meeting on this non-emergent matter. The only thing that makes this an ‘emergency’ is the desire to ram it through without transparency, appropriate public input and before Governor-elect Murphy takes office.”

• See related article: Should Hoboken Authorize Eminent Domain For Union Dry Dock? (Zimmer Thinks So)

The Dry Dock purchase plan is part of the board’s rescheduled meeting agenda for 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 15 at the NJ Transit Headquarters Building, One Penn Plaza East, Newark. (See the full agenda here)

EMINENT DOMAIN: BATTLE FOR THE DOCK

In November, the Hoboken City Council greenlighted an ordinance to authorize the use of eminent domain for the acquisition of the Union Dry Dock site at 901 Sinatra Drive to use as "open space."

The ability to wield eminent domain – which allows government entities to force the sale of land at a "fair price" for the public good – may prove important in the city's struggle with NJ Transit and its current owner, NY Waterway, over the Dry Dock property.

• See related article: Hoboken Council Greenlights Eminent Domain For Dry Dock

State-owned property is immune to seizure by a municipality, so NJ Transit's purchase of the property from NY Waterway would trump the city's effort, NJ.com reported.

NY Waterway executives have blasted the city's attempts to block the transaction, charging that there is a vital public interest in the plan to use the property as a ferry maintenance and refueling facility.

"We carry more than 30,000 passengers a day across the Hudson River on a fleet of 33 ferryboats," NY Waterway Chairman of the Board Armand Pohan said following the city council's authorization of eminent domain.

"Approximately 2,000 of those passengers are Hoboken residents who use our terminal facilities at the Hoboken train station and at 14th Street," Pohan said. "And when the public systems fail, we are the go-to option, cross-honoring PATH and NJ Transit tickets when requested under agreements with those agencies."

• See related article: Should Taxpayers Subsidize Ferry Rides Across The Hudson River?

Here’s how NJ Transit describes the plan:

“The acquisition of an existing marine maintenance facility and two floating dry docks on the Hoboken waterfront (commonly known as the Union Dry Dock facility (“UDD Site”)) and lease of the UDD Site to New York Waterway (“NYWW”), the principal ferry operator at the Hoboken Ferry Terminal, for use as a ferry repair and maintenance facility, is critical to the viability of trans-Hudson ferry service. NYWW is required to vacate its existing ferry maintenance facility in Weehawken, and the UDD Site is the last waterfront property available in Hoboken that is currently used as a marine maintenance facility, is proximate to the ferry operations, and is capable of supporting current and future ferry maintenance needs. The UDD Site, with nearly a 130-year history of continuous operation as a dry dock and vessel repair facility, offers sufficient upland and pier-deck capacity, vessel-berthing capacity, waterside accessibility, and minimal impact to ferry operating expense and ridership costs.

“As ferry service on the Hudson River expands and becomes a more integral component of the trans-Hudson transportation system, acquisition of this property will protect, preserve and ensure the continued use of this vital location in the New York Harbor for the marine maintenance and storage required for operation of a regular commuter passenger ferry service on the Hudson River. It also will facilitate the operation of safe, reliable and efficient commuter passenger ferry service on the Hudson River that benefits New Jersey residents and is vital to our region’s mobility and economic well-being.

“Authorization is requested to take any and all actions to acquire the former Union Dry Dock property, known as Block 259, Lot 1, in the City of Hoboken, County of Hudson, State of New Jersey (the “UDD Site”) in an amount as discussed in Executive Session from Port Imperial Marine Facilities LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Port Imperial Ferry Corp. (d/b/a New York Waterway) (“NYWW”), and to lease the UDD Site to NYWW for the operation of a ferry maintenance and repair facility.”

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

File Photo: Eric Kiefer

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Hoboken Facebook page here.