Hudson officials and commuters slam proposed halt to PATH overnight service
Public officials and straphangers alike have spoken out against a bi-state panel’s recommendation that PATH service be suspended between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
According to the report, ending overnight PATH service on weeknights would generate an estimated $10 million in “operational and capital expense savings” every year. The system’s operating expenses in the 2014 Port Authority budget totaled $330 million.
Due to a drop in ridership, the report said, the average cost per PATH rider during overnight service is $1.15, compared to $0.01 or $0.02 during peak weekday hours. Service frequency also drops overnight, with trains arriving every 35 minutes.
The PATH is one of just six urban rapid transit systems in the United States that does not close overnight.
“I will vigorously oppose any efforts to cut PATH service,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer in a statement released last Sunday. “This irresponsible proposal is a classic example of being penny wise and dollar foolish. Shutting down overnight PATH service will cost the State of New Jersey many times the supposed savings in lost economic activity, sales tax and business tax revenues…It is incomprehensible that any New Jersey official would be willing to even consider this proposal that would only hurt the state’s economy.”
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop criticized the recommendation in similarly forceful terms.
In a written statement, Hoboken’s state assemblyman Carmelo Garcia called ending overnight service a “bad idea that could have a devastating impact on thousands of commuters.”
“Many of the 244,000 riders who use the PATH every week are hardworking residents from my district in Hudson County,” said Garcia, who sits on the Assembly Transportation Committee. “Cutting this rail service would cut their livelihood because many of these working class citizens with limited resources would have no affordable alternative to get to and from work in the middle of the night.”
The PATH Riders’ Council also released a statement condemning the proposed PATH service cuts, calling the move “unconscionable.”
The statement noted that Hoboken has the highest rate of public transit ridership in the nation.
Hoboken Councilman Ravi Bhalla warned that changes to PATH overnight service could alter the economic feasibility of a plan for 2.3 million square feet of new development oriented around Hoboken’s PATH station, which the City Council approved in December.
“I am concerned about whether and how these unanticipated circumstances can ultimately result in demands for increased height and density from the developer, or the elimination of givebacks to the residents of the city of Hoboken,” wrote Bhalla. “These issues need to be openly explored and discussed before taking any further steps towards implementation of the redevelopment plan.”
Bhalla is sponsoring a resolution on the agenda of the Jan. 7 City Council meeting condemning any move to limit overnight PATH service.
According to a report by the New York Citizens Budget Commission, the PATH system ran a deficit of $383 million in 2013, and is projected to see an annual deficit of $487 million by 2018 if it does not raise fares again.
However, it is also the only U.S. public transit system that receives no tax subsidies, besides a small yearly tranche for security operations.
The vetoed Port Authority reform package had been sought in the wake of the scandal over lane closures at the George Washington Bridge ordered by Christie’s Port Authority appointees as political retribution ahead of Christie’s 2013 reelection.
E-commerce startup Jet.com leases space in Hoboken office tower
Jet.com will make its home in Hoboken. The e-commerce start-up has signed a lease for 40,000 square feet of office space in Waterfront Corporate Center III, the newly-completed business tower on Hoboken’s south waterfront, according to a press release from the building’s developer SJP Properties.
In a Dec. 19 post on his blog, Jet.com founder Marc Lore praised Hoboken’s easy transit access and “emerging tech scene.”
“We’re currently at about 100 employees and looking to double our team by the end of 2015,” wrote Lore. “I’m eager to partner with the local community to help make Hoboken into a standout hub for tech talent.”
“To welcome such a dynamic, ambitious technology-based company to Waterfront Corporate Center III is truly exciting,” said Steven Pozycki, CEO of SJP Properties. “It is a testament to the world-class environment that we have created in one of America’s great job centers, where companies can access the highest quality workspace within steps of transportation, entertainment and blossoming culture.”
Slated to launch in 2015, Jet.com will be an online marketplace, though the products it will sell have yet to be announced. Lore wrote on his blog that Jet.com will be “a new kind of e-commerce experience, uniquely grounded in transparency and customer empowerment.”
Jet.com has raised $80 million so far in its initial round of venture capital investment. In addition, anyone can currently sign up to be a Jet Insider on the website, and the company will split 190,000 stock options among the ten Insiders who refer the most people to the website.
Lore has a long history in New Jersey. His previous venture Quidsi, the parent company for Diapers.com, Wag.com and other targeted shopping sites, was based in Montclair before moving to Jersey City. In 2011, Quidsi was purchased by Amazon.com, where Lore worked until last year.
In Waterfront Corporate Center III, Jet.com will join anchor tenant Pearson Education, which has already begun to occupy its five floors of office space. 240,000 square feet in the building remain on the market.
New Year’s Day fire hits Willow Avenue apartment building
A three-alarm fire on the 900 block of Willow Avenue displaced the residents of six apartments on Thursday night, according to Fire Chief Richard Blohm. The entire Hoboken Fire Department was deployed in response to the blaze, along with mutual aid from the Jersey City Fire Department.
Firefighters initially responded to a call from 918 Willow Ave. at 4:52 p.m. According to Blohm, the fire is believed to have begun in the bathroom of an apartment on the second floor before expanding. The cause is under investigation.
The blaze was successfully contained by 8 p.m., but the occupants of six apartments and a café remained displaced as of Friday morning. According to Blohm, the fire suppression system, gas and water lines need to be fixed before the building can be reoccupied, but a meeting was scheduled to turn the building back over to its owner on Friday morning.
Two firefighters were treated at Hoboken University Medical Center for mild injuries incurred fighting the Willow Street fire. One received an injury to one hand which required stitches, while another received a blow to the head resulting in a cut. Both have been released from the hospital.
Read more: Michael Russo Hoboken
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