Decision Delayed On QuickChek, Gas Station, Hotel On Meadowlands Parkway

SECAUCUS, NJ — A senior vice president for Hartz Mountain Industries said his company is not opposed to a hotel opening on Meadowlands Parkway, but not a QuickChek and gas station the developer would also like to open there.

"We are just concerned about traffic at that intersection," said James Rhatican, vice president of land use and development for Hartz Mountain, and who is also their assistant general counsel. "We are very concerned with the proposal to modify that traffic light and intersection. It's a heavily burdened intersection and our feeling is (a gas station) will only aggravate traffic in that area."

Rhatican said all this Tuesday morning, after at a hearing the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority held on a proposal from the Opper Group to build a proposed QuickChek, gas station and 122-room ExtendedStay hotel at 35 Meadowlands Parkway.

However, the Opper Group asked the NJSEA for an extension. They asked the NJSEA to review their application at a later date. The Opper Group did not give a reason why. Nobody from the Opper Group was present at Tuesday morning's hearing.

The NJSEA agreed. A date for the new meeting was not set yet.

The Opper Group would like to modify that intersection from the Rt. 3 off-ramp onto Meadowlands Parkway, and add a center lane into the QuickChek gas station. At the Jan. 27 meeting on this topic, the NJSEA had many questions about Opper's proposal and raised many concerns about how traffic on Meadowlands Parkway would be impacted.

"We are confident traffic would be impacted in a negative way," said Rhatican.

Hartz is a major Secaucus landowner and owns much of the land along Meadowlands Parkway, including all of Harmon Cove and Ferguson/the beer distributor (the former Panasonic building). They do not own Opper's land at 35 Meadowlands Parkway.

The NJSEA has decision-making power over 88 percent of the land in Secaucus, Mayor Mike Gonnelli said Tuesday afternoon. He reiterated that the town is not opposed to a QuickChek gas station and hotel opening there.

A few years ago, Gonnelli pulled the $4 million+ in taxes the town of Secaucus paid to the NJSEA (he calls it the Meadowlands Commission). This was an attempt by Gonnelli to have more home rule over Secaucus. He and the NJSEA have not been on great terms ever since.