Does NJ need another rail tunnel to NY?

[JerseyDevil]

Or should it be worded, "does NY need another rail tunnel?" My view is that the rail tunnel has very little to do with NJ, and mostly deals with moving people and money out of New Jersey and into NY.

This thread came about because of an editorial in the Star Ledger today and has been something that I have been wanting to post about for a while. As the Star Ledger says, this has been in talks for years, but only now does NJ have a governor who is strongly in favor of it.

A new tunnel is a necessity
The benefits of a second rail tunnel under the Hudson River have been obvious for years. But the project has had only so-so support from the governor’s office in Trenton. No more.

Gov. Jon Corzine has not only committed to a new rail tunnel, but he’s vowing to break ground on the massive, $6 billion job in 2009. That’s an ambitious plan and a critical one for both commuters and the economy of the region.

The existing, century-old train tunnel connecting New Jersey with New York’s Penn Station is a growing bottleneck. The tunnel can now accommodate 23 or so trains per hour, enough to carry the 45,000-plus passengers who ride through during weekday peak commuting hours.

But the number of rush-hour commuters is expected to double in 15 to 25 years as population continues to grow west of the Hudson, and Manhattan remains the primary regional hub for finance and other high-paying jobs.

The jobs and population will go elsewhere if workers can’t get in and out of the city, bleeding the economy in both New York and New Jersey. Trains are the only practical way to move so many people back and forth, and a new tunnel is the only way to significantly increase the number of trains.

Corzine made his money on Wall Street and he understands the economic stakes. He knows commuting, too. The daily shuttle between Summit and New York before he entered politics saw to that. And key New York politicians, including Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, generally support a new rail tunnel.

The biggest challenge will be cobbling together the money for the project. Gone are the days when the federal government provided 90 percent of the financing for important transportation jobs.

A 50 percent federal share is more realistic now, leaving $3 billion to be covered by the states. A major portion of that should come from the Port Authority. The authority has the financial resources, and large, regionally beneficial transportation projects are its reason for being.

Preliminary environmental studies for a new tunnel were launched some time ago and should be completed by midsummer. If construction begins in 2009, the tunnel could be open for trains in 2015 or 2016.

None of this is new. In fact, the need for a second tunnel under the Hudson was predicted almost 50 years ago. But New Jersey and New York always had too many more immediate transportation needs. Now the need for a new tunnel can no longer be ignored.

A second rail tunnel is a project on a scale with the George Washington Bridge or the Lincoln or Holland tunnels, and it is just as crucial to the future quality of New Jersey life and to the economic health of the region.

I have e-mailed a letter to the Star Ledger in response and hoping they will print it.

I read the editorial "A Second Tunnel is a Necessity" in your May 15th edition. In all actuality, a tunnel would NOT be necessary if our government encouraged businesses to move back to OUR cities and into New Jersey. Everyone complains about the state budget deficit, but do you know that by being more and more of a "commuter state" we are losing all that money to New York. Our politicians and citizens need to start worrying about spending money in New Jersey, where it contributes to OUR economy.

When people work in New York, New York gets the business taxes, we do not. When those employees go out for lunch, New York restaurants get the business, not New Jersey. When an employee stops by a store during their lunch hour, that money goes into the New York economy, not New Jersey's.

New Jersey needs to start developing it's own economy, instead of always sending our money over the river and contributing to the coffers of New York. Whenever a New Jerseyan spends money outside the state, that money leaves the New Jersey economy and must be made up by a visitor bringing it back to New Jersey. New Jersey is losing out in this one sided relationship with New York, and our politicians do nothing about it. Enough is enough already. I ask - who do our politicians represent - New York or New Jersey? It's about time New Jersey came first!

Robert Rosetta

[NewarkDevil5]

The entire Hudson-Bergen Light Rail project, all three lines of it, cost just over $2 billion. This one tunnel to New York costs $6 billion. Imagine if you instead took some of that money (maybe $750 million or so if you wanted to make a good chunk of the Ironbound portion underground subway) to extend the Hudson-Bergen line into Newark and connected it down Ferry Street to the Newark Subway at Penn Station. Imagine if you took a little more of it (lets say $3 billion) and built additional subway lines in Newark lets say along Springfield Avenue and South Orange Avenue. Lets say you took the rest of the money ($2.25 billion) and extended the Newark-Elizabeth Light Rail thats being built into downtown Elizabeth from there into the Union County suburbs. The third part of the Newark-Elizabeth Light Rail that goes from Elizabeth into the Union County suburbs is at an estimated $410 million and is unfunded. You could build that as well as three other lines into midtown Elizabeth from its surrounding suburbs with the money I just took from that tunnel. I'm just throwing around numbers here, but the point is that $6 billion is a huge chunk of New Jersey's change to be spending on something that doesn't benefit our infrastructure.

[NewarkDevil5]

Or even the West Trenton to Newark line that'd cost under $200 million and is currently "unfunded." http://www.njtransit.com/an_cp_project016.shtml

[MITHRANDIR]

Or should it be worded, "does NY need another rail tunnel?" My view is that the rail tunnel has very little to do with NJ, and mostly deals with moving people and money out of New Jersey and into NY.

This thread came about because of an editorial in the Star Ledger today and has been something that I have been wanting to post about for a while. As the Star Ledger says, this has been in talks for years, but only now does NJ have a governor who is strongly in favor of it.


I have e-mailed a letter to the Star Ledger in response and hoping they will print it.

IMO, You have a well worded response for being against a new tunnel. (from a New Jersey point of view.)

I am not completely sure if it benefits NY more than it benefits NJ by the wide margin that you portray, but I do think you bring up things to consider. I do not think that there is the same volume of commuters leaving NYC as there exist going into NYC.

Would businesses be more inclined to build/reside in NJ if a new tunnel is not built or will they decide to leave the region all together?

If the businesses do have an interest to build/reside in NJ, will there be communities in NJ will to accept them in their communities without any unnecessary hassles? (ie making it more difficult for a business to stay in NJ.)

One position in favor for another tunnel (that is not based on economics) would be for ease of maintenance. If you have two (or more) tunnels connecting NJ to NY you can close one tunnel for needed repairs without drastically affecting service between both sides of the hudson.

[NewarkDevil5]

If New York City wants better access to New Jersey's workers then New York City can foot the bill for the new tunnel. New Jersey should not spend its tax money on outsourcing jobs.

[JerseyDevil]

IMO, You have a well worded response for being against a new tunnel. (from a New Jersey point of view.)

I am not completely sure if it benefits NY more than it benefits NJ by the wide margin that you portray, but I do think you bring up things to consider. I do not think that there is the same volume of commuters leaving NYC as there exist going into NYC.

I'll have more to say about, but I wanted to make a quick point. There is a reason why NJ transit only charges peak rates going north bound in the morning and southbound in the evening and believe me, people aren't getting off at Newark.

Would businesses be more inclined to build/reside in NJ if a new tunnel is not built or will they decide to leave the region all together?

Not because the tunnel isn't built, of course not. it takes a business friendly environment and the state to encourage businesses to move here. There has to be a reason for them to move here. There is one thing that people forget when they scream - tax the rich, tax the businesses - which basically means they wish to tax these entities more than the average person - and that is that they can move anywhere they wish. Once they move, you have lost any tax money they would have been generating. In the case of businesses, you have lost jobs. Without a tunnel, basically companies would merely choose another location of the US to locate if they are unable to get the employees to work. However, we have a lot of space in newark, a lot of space in camden, a lot of space in Trenton, etc. It's time fo rNew Jersey politicians to stop worrying about how to get New Jerseyans into Manhattan to work and start worrying about how to get businesses into our cities so New Jerseyans can work IN New JERSEY.

If the businesses do have an interest to build/reside in NJ, will there be communities in NJ will to accept them in their communities without any unnecessary hassles? (ie making it more difficult for a business to stay in NJ.)

I'm not talking about busineses moving to the surburbs and building their little office park things. I'm talking about new Jersey FINALLY revitalizing it's cities. Finally making Newark a place to be proud of. A place where people wish to go. Newark has a lot going for it, but it is completely under utilized. There is absolutely NO reason why businesses should be building up along the RT 1 corridor, when there are so much potential in our cities. But you do have to make it attractive for them. Years of mismanagement by politicans need to be undone.

One position in favor for another tunnel (that is not based on economics) would be for ease of maintenance. If you have two (or more) tunnels connecting NJ to NY you can close one tunnel for needed repairs without drastically affecting service between both sides of the hudson.

I don't think that's a good enough reason for a second tunnel. That's like building a second house for when you need to redo the bathroom.

[JerseyDevil]

If New York City wants better access to New Jersey's workers then New York City can foot the bill for the new tunnel. New Jersey should not spend its tax money on outsourcing jobs.

My opinion exactly.

[beatman10]

in such dire straits, they had to borrow billions just to keep it afloat after July
1st 2006? Now we got all this money to benefit New Yorkers? Maybe that's why so many campaign contributions to our politicans come from NY. Cause they know a NJ politican is nothing more than a prostitute!! Seriously, they can do a lot better with that money developing our rail systems here. Why is if you want to take a train from Newark to Atlantic City you have to cross into Philadelphia first? How about strenghthening rail ties between NJ cities before spending money on NY? Obviously, our politicans have very little vision for New Jersey!!

[JerseyDevil]

Why is if you want to take a train from Newark to Atlantic City you have to cross into Philadelphia first? How about strenghthening rail ties between NJ cities before spending money on NY?

Because NY and Philadelphia have our politicians in their back pocket. It's the same reaosn why we now have three professional sports teams who don't acknowledge NJ as their home, but instead wear NY on their uniforms. Our politicans are for sale to the highest bidder.

[NewarkDevil5]

GRIP

Get RID of Incumbent Politicians

All that I'm saying is give GRIP a chance!

[JerseyDevil]

GRIP

Get RID of Incumbent Politicians

All that I'm saying is give GRIP a chance!

I seriously wish New Jerseyans would, but they seem to elect the same people over and over again and then complain afterward. Look at Florio, McGreevey and now Crozine. I wasn't here during Whitman - I do know that she did take on NY on multiple occations though. I seriously have no idea what Corzine did for NJ while in the senate, yet New Jerseyans voted for him.

The question is - will New Jerseyans vote for politicians who honestly care about NJ, or will they vote merely for the person that is able to give them what they want to hear on the campaign trail?

[NewarkDevil5]

The reason it happens like that is that New Jersey politicians don't have to pander to New Jersey interests because for the most part its the New York and Philadelphia media that people get their information from. If more people listened to 101.5 or read the Ledger then things might be different, but what happens is that the people who pander the best to New York and Philadelphia interests get the best press and media coverage and therefore have the best chance of retaining their seats.

[JerseyDevil]

Well in today's Star Ledger, the Sunday edition no less, my letter appeared...

Losing out to New York

Contrary to your May 15 editorial ‘‘A new tunnel is a necessity,’’ another Hudson tunnel wouldn’t be needed if state government encouraged businesses to move back to our cities and into New Jersey. Everyone complains about the state deficit, but by being more and more of a commuter state, we lose money to New York. Our politicians and residents must start worrying about spending money in New Jersey, where it contributes to our economy. When people work in New York, New York gets the business taxes. When those employees go out for lunch, New York restaurants get the business. When an employee shops during his lunch hour, that money goes into New York’s economy. New Jersey must develop its own economy instead of sending its money over the river. Whenever a New Jerseyan spends money outside the state, that money leaves New Jersey’s economy and must be made up by a visitor bringing it back here. New Jersey is losing in this one-sided relationship with New York, and our politicians do nothing. It’s about time New Jersey came first.

— Robert Rosetta, Trenton

Although it's edited, it stil kept the feel of what I wrote. I wish they did keep in the line about "who do our politicians represent - New Jersey or New York?", but overall I'm satisfied with the editing.

[JerseyDevil]

I'm posting this here, even though I did post this on the Anti-Taxc Rally thread.

I talked to Tom Kean Jr at the anti-tac rally today in Seaside Heights and asked him his thoughts on the NY Hudson rail tunnel. He says he supports - I still do NOT. He claims that it will bring people over to NJ - that the tunnel wiorks both ways. I say that is bunch of bull! Our politicians do next to zero to bring business and employees into our cities. We are losing more businesses in NJ than are being created by this anti-business environment the politicians have. He claims that things will be fixed up and corrected within the 12 years it will take to build the tunnell. Again I say that is a bunch of bull! If NY wants to get employees from NJ - then I say they FUND the project, NO NEW JERSEY tax money should be used to support the businesses of NY. Our politicians are making NJ into a NY subrub - and even by Tom Kean''s statement to me - he is also one of them. As of right now - I support neither menedez nor kean. After today, Kean has some SERIOUS proving to do to me!

One comment Kean made that really bothered me was that we would get a lot of support jobs. Why he hell should NJ settle for merely the corporate support jobs? Why can't NJ politicans open their eyes and actually promote NJ as a great destination for the main offices of corporations? OUr politicians REPEATEDLY settle for SECOND best and therefore that is what NJ is treated as!

[beatman10]

The politicans cater to those who will give them the most votes, and right now the NY and Philly "wannabes" are the majority. I don't hear any major outrage over the 6 billion dollar tunnel proposal. I would love to see us get our own tv and more radio networks, but I'm sure most people in this state would continue watching the NY/Philly channels. Back in the 80s, the cable company (not Comcast) had 2 NBC affiliates in southern Jersey. Channel 40 in AC and channel 3 in Philly. The company proceeded to remove the Philly channel from its menu and keep ch 40. Logical move for AC, right? Wrong!!
There were massive protests in Atlantic and Cape May counties for removing the Philly channel. The cable company was forced to bring back ch 3 for fear the people would riot outside their office. Go to Wawa or Quick Check and see what newspapers are selling the best. Chances are they are a New York or Philly paper. I know I'm jumping around from subject to subject, but these are all symptoms of the same disease in NJ, APATHY!! I wish I knew how to cure it. I'm always telling people how NY and Pennsylvania try to run our lives and keep us down, how they try to divide us and even we as taxpayers have to pay for all their meddling. How NY and Philly pit one section of the state against another. How they influence hatred of our own cities. And people just look at me like I have 2 heads. How do we unbrainwash over 7 million people??

[JerseyDevil]

The thing is beatman =- I agree with you 110%. I see the same things. I was on the northn spur of the Turnpike and it's sickening all these people going OUT of state to go to work. That is OUR money basically leaving this state. NJ iis and continues to become more and more of just a bedroom community for Ny and Philadelphia. There is very little self pride in this state. My cousin's own friend calls New Jersey - "Dirty Jersey". I ask him why the hell he calls it then when it's not and he lives here! He sayus - well actually it isn't really dirty, but then why the HELL say it? Oh - yeah - because it's the nickname that Pennsylvanians have for New Jersey - even though they have no problem what so ever of swimming at our beaches.


I thought of this today while I was driving - I would like to see New Jerseyans actually take a stand and boycott New York for just one week (not go see any broadway shows, since New Jerseyans make up 2/3 of the audience, not go into work, since we make up the majority of New York's workforce, not go into New York to see their museums, etc) - and let's see how well their economy does then! Maybe after that show of force they'd actually give us some respect! Personally - I'd also like to rip up the turnpike, or at least barracade it at the NY entrance and charge a $50 fee to use any of the tunnels or bridges. But instead what our politicians do is say - "Oh, NY, you want to build a massive office tower, while our cities are suffering, and you need a tunnel to get the employees from NJ to NY and you want us to pick up the tab? Well that sounds about right, okay. But, while we're giving you all this, can you also bend over so we can kiss you on the ass too?" Nevermind that if we stoped shipping our citizens over to NY and encouraged business growth in our cities - they wouldn't need to commute out of state for their jobs.

This is also off topic, but ticks me off also. CNN.com had an article about the NJ National Guard. Throughout - all locations within NJ are defined by their distance from either Philadelphia or New York. The one even said "40 miles west of NY City". If you look at Money Magazine's top places to live, all of the NJ towns "closest" city - is either NY or Phialdelphia - even when Newark or Jersey City or Camden is closer to the town in question.

At Pennsauken High School, near Philadelphia, guidance counselor Denise Wrzeszczynski ...

Tom Vara, athletic director at Hopatcong High School, about 40 miles west of Manhattan...

You need to ask yourself - does NJ have any identity of it's own, and do we own this identity - or do others dictate it for us?

NJ gets no respect and our politicans deserve no respect from the citizens of NJ. They do nothing for this state but sell us out. BTW - I also went past NJ Giants Stadium today and a huge mural for the Red Bulls is there. It is so nice to Red Bulls New YORK on a piece of New JERSEY property! Again - NJ politicans - sell out to NY!

[JerseyDevil]

BTW - again a side note - I've thought of this as response to polititicans who say that the tunnel brings workers from NY into NJ also. If that's the case - then why is peak time in the morning only NORTH INTO New York and int eh evening - only SOUTH OUT of NY. If it was equally beneficial, then peak time should be the same regardless of which direction you are traveling in! But then again - politicians generally think the electorate are stupid. Oh yeah - they may be right - look at who just got elected as governor!

[JerseyDevil]

well let's see - today the Port Authority is authorizing $1 billion to be used for the development of this rail tunnel that will further make NJ into a commuter state. Contrary to our politicians - at least NJN News actually states that it will mostly benefit NY - although they may not have expressed it in those terms. Instead they stated that the tunnel is needed to bring in New Jerseyans to work in NY - especially since it is expected that in the coming years NY's workforce will be expanding by 350,000 workers and it's required in order to bring New Jerseyans in to fulfll these jobs. let me see - I wonder - why aren't our politicians working at expanding job opportunities in NJ? Our politicians as I have said are happy to merely have people live here, while they go across the river to work, instead of actually attracting businesses in NJ. Let NJ build up it's workforce, it's businesses.

Here is the article as it appears in the Star ledger - you will notice that the title says "TO Manhattan".

$1 billion is earmarked for rail tunnel to Manhattan
BY RON MARSICO STAR-LEDGER STAFF

A decades-old dream of digging a second rail tunnel under the Hudson River to Midtown Manhattan will gather momentum today when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is expected to approve a $1 billion authorization for the megaproject.

Agency officials say the huge outlay is just a beginning Ð by year's end they hope to designate another $1 billion to the tunnel as part of the agency's upcoming 10-year capital investment plan.

After years of visionary talk and little action, the Port Authority's anticipated $2 billion commitment represents a massive down payment on long-stalled plans to ease frustrations over rush-hour congestion delays by doubling capacity from the roughly 42,000 commuters each workday morning.

Agency officials hope their commitment ultimately will spur the federal government to fund at least half of the second trans-Hudson rail tunnel's estimated $6 billion price tag.

`By making this kind of commit ment now, we're sending a message to Washington that there are enormous local resources behind this project,’’ said Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia.

While long endorsed by mass transit advocates,the second rail tunnel idea has languished because of daunting costs, environmental hurdles and competing pet projects of local and regional officials. But a consensus has jelled in recent years over the critical need to move more people into and out of Midtown, amid growing fears that a failure to do so will damage the region’s future economic prospects.

The Port Authority has a longstanding tradition of financing major transportation and economic development projects through its large bonding capacity. A project such as the rail tunnel could be financed through bonds paid off over decades by general revenue and potential future bridge and tunnel vehicle toll hikes and PATH rail fare increases.

Gov. Jon Corzine, a long-standing supporter of the additional tunnel, wants construction to begin in 2009. Completion of the tunnel, which will run adjacent to the existing one, is not expected until 2016 — at the earliest.

Advocates view the new tunnel as this generation’s George Washington Bridge in terms of adding transportation capacity across the Hudson River — albeit one that will serve trains, not cars, and whose architectural wonders largely will be invisible.

Coscia predicted the new tunnel eventually will be ‘‘the foundation of a mass transportation system that does not rely on the automobile.’’

The existing century-old, twotrack tunnel from New Jersey to New York’s Penn Station is often overwhelmed by NJ Transit and Amtrak trains’ growing needs to enter and leave the city — particularly during the morning and evening workday crunch times. A new double-track tunnel is considered critical to meet ballooning NJ Transit ridership, which is expected to reach 100,000 rush-hour passengers by 2015.

NJ Transit’s riders bear the brunt of routine delays. Amtrak trains have priority because Amtrak owns and maintains the tracks and tunnel into and out of Midtown Manhattan.

‘‘Each wave of economic growth that took place in New York and New Jersey was based on previously installed infrastructure,’’ said James Hughes, dean of Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Policy.

‘‘This is something that benefits the entire Port Authority region, and that’s why the Port Authority was created,’’ continued Hughes. ‘‘Other states, other regions have made massive investments in their transportation infrastructure and they’re challenging us economically. This is a reflection of that new reality that we just can’t sit back and let the economy take care of itself.’’

Building the tunnel also will mean expansion of New York Penn Station under 34 th Street to help accommodate t h e additional trains.

The Port Authority’s announcement follows last week’s decision by the Federal Transit Administration to allow preliminary engineering work to begin on the tunnel. While the FTA’s approval likely means future federal funding, the agency has not yet provided any guarantees of help.

Corzine recently committed $500 million in state financing to the tunnel.

‘‘It’s been 50 years since the Port Authority undertook a major transportation project like the tunnel,’’ said Anthony Coley, the governor’s spokesman. ‘‘With this commitment, we will be positioned for a significant contribution’’ from the federal government.

Members of the Regional Plan Association view the Port Authority’s action as further proof of the bistate agency’s recommitment to building transportation projects.

The tunnel plan ‘‘represents the Port Authority stepping up again after being absent in many ways for a generation,’’ said Tom Wright, the association’s executive vice president, recalling the agency’s role in key projects like the George Washington Bridge and the Holland and Lincoln tunnels. ‘‘People understand the need for another generation of big-scale infrastructure.’’

Ron Marsico covers the Port Authority. He may be reached at rmarsico@starledger.com or (973) 392-7860.

Now don't get me wrong - I'm all for public transportation - but I feel that our politicians, as I have said, should be worrying more about how to get businesses into our struggling cities, instead of sending our citizens and money over to NY and into their coffers.

[sreeja]

In my opinion it benefits New york.No benefits to New jersy.

[JerseyDevil]

Here is my letter speaking out against the second Hudson Rail Tunnel...

This should have been written a long time ago. I would like to know how much our politicians get in campaign contributions from New York and Philadelphia. I see this as the only possible explanation for why New JERSEY politicians are so excited about exporting New Jersey jobs across the rivers.

While our cities struggle to get back on their feet, our politicians are high-fiving each other for getting funding for a tunnel to export our jobs to New York. Instead of building infrastructure to build up OUR cities, such as Camden and Newark, they are wasting our tax dollars that will primarily help the New York economy. Is Newark, the third oldest major city in America, destined to be a mere suburb of New York? Instead of New Jersey Politicians worrying about how to get New Jerseyans around our state and into our cities, we spend all our tax dollars on getting people out of our state – and in that process their money leaves with them. It's no wonder why our state is in fiscal crisis.

The problem isn't just in northern New Jersey, it is also in southern New Jersey, where our politicians are planning to extend the rail link to take people from New Jersey to their jobs in Philadelphia, completely by passing struggling Camden and investing in the revitalization of one of our cities. All this does is cause more suburban sprawl and traffic as our cities continue to fester in crime and corruption. I have to give credit to Mayor Cory Booker of Newark though, with a huge up-hill battle in a city full of corruption, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel there, I just wish more New Jerseyans would explore it.

I just don't get the New Jersey negative attitude, New York was a thousand times worse during the 70's and 80's than Newark is today, yet I still hear people saying how they wouldn't step foot in Newark. Philadelphia has only recently developed a skyline when they invested in the development of Center City and before that it was crime infested and dirty. Why doesn't New Jersey work at improving itself, instead of constantly accepting the crumbs our neighbors give us. I believe, with the RIGHT kind of vision from our politicians, we can see our cities develop into economic powerhouses which rival the current great cities of America, cities that generate money for our state – instead of sucking the New Jersey tax payer dry. A failing New Jersey city is everyone's problem, whether you live there or not, the corruption, crime, low education level, all affect every New Jerseyan. With financially strapped cities, they constantly need state funding, instead of being able to support themselves and actually generate money for the state. Without viable cities, which are the heart of any state, culturally, economically and image-wise, New Jersey will always be struggling. When one thinks of California, LA, San Diego come to mind, with Tennessee, one thinks of Memphis and Nashville, with Florida, Miami and Orlando. We need cities that have positive name recognition and New Jerseyans are proud to visit and which attract outside visitors and their money to the many cultural institutions cities provide.

Has anyone ever wondered why Philadelphia and New York continue to build office towers, while our cities struggle and haven't built one in years? Has anyone looked at the contrast between Camden and Philadelphia and wonder – where did all the skyscrapers come from in Philadelphia, while the Camden skyline basically hasn't changed since the early 1900's? Most of the workers in New York and Philadelphia are supplied from New Jersey, that's how they can support these towers – on the backs of New Jerseyans.

New Jersey Politicians, when questioned about the one-sided relationship with New York, state that this second Hudson rail tunnel will help bring New Yorkers to New Jersey for jobs. My answer to that is – if that was such a pressing problem right now – then wouldn't we have peak hours in BOTH directions right now, instead of just going into New York in the morning and out of New York in the evening. Wouldn't th Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, be jammed with commuters coming to their jobs in New Jersey each morning, instead of New Jerseyans lining up like cattle to get into New York? If we had just as many New Yorkers or more coming to New Jersey for their jobs, then I would be all for the tunnel, but it serves only one purpose and that is to get New Jersey residents to their jobs in New York. That shows me that it's a one sided situation and our politicians just don't get it.

So the question is – what are OUR politicians, New JERSEY politicians, doing to improve New JERSEY? It's time we demand our politicians to put Our state and OUR cities first before investing and funding and wasting any more of our tax dollars on the New York/Philadelphia transportation network. This is your tax dollars at work, do you want them working for New Jersey or New York and Philadelphia?

I am completely against this rail tunnel and all it will do is make New Jersey weaker in the long run and syphon more of our money out of the state and into New York.