Author Topic: Tunnel canceled - sad day for Hackensack  (Read 5285 times)

Offline just watching

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Tunnel canceled - sad day for Hackensack
« on: October 08, 2010, 11:36:25 PM »

Governor Chris Christie's headline move to cancel the proposed $8 billion rail tunnel is truly a sad day for Hackensack. 

Wasn't that the plan that called for one-stop trains from Hackensack to Manhattan, by making a loop-d-loop at the Secaucus transfer.  That would have brought in a tremendous influx of money and investment around our train stations.  Both of our train stations are in the city's oldest areas. 

I wonder if this will impact the County's plans to build a transit village at the old County Police station on Kinderkamack Road and Zabriskie Street.



Offline Chief Oratam

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Re: Tunnel canceled - sad day for Hackensack
« Reply #1 on: October 10, 2010, 10:35:13 AM »
I say, Thank You Mr. Christie for making the hard decisions, I'm one of those N.J. Citizens that dosn't wan't to have to pay more in taxes to fund cost over run's on the project...the tunnel will be of more benefit to N.Y.C than Hackensack...just like the Governor say's let Mayor Bloomberg send a check if he want's the tunnel......
After all He's something like the 10th or 17th
richest man in the world...
« Last Edit: October 10, 2010, 10:41:30 AM by Chief Oratam »

Offline just watching

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Re: Tunnel canceled - sad day for Hackensack
« Reply #2 on: October 10, 2010, 10:03:19 PM »
My point is that it would have massively increased the property values of all lots within approximately an 800 - 1000 foot walk of all three train stations that serve Hackensack. This would have shifted the property tax burden away from the single-family house residential taxpayer (unless you happen to live in that radius). Plus the resulting development of upscale units would have further shifted the tax base.  This tax burden shift would take place slowly, over the course of decades.  ANd the redevelopment of the city's oldest neighborhoods would have been a god-send to the quality of life, the crime rates, and every other statistical measure known to man.

Whether or not the tunnel would have gone over budget is an unknown.  And whether or not the over-budget costs would have been assumed by the Federal Government or the State is also unknown.  In all liklihood, it would have gone over budget to some degree.  That's the nature of these projects, and the fact that it happened in Boston was ALREADY FACTORED into this tunnel budget projection. 

Governor Christie, in his bid to convince the public that he is the budget savior of NJ, has the incentive to inflate the projected over-run.  That is the politically expedient thing to do given his public policy decision.  I take everything these politicians do with a grain of salt.


Christie has a lot of balls, supposedly.  But if he REALLY had balls, he'd go after the Police Unions with the same intensity as the Teacher's Unions.   

 

anything