TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY MAKES $298 MILLION STIMULUS FUNDS OFFICIAL
“It’s official.” With those words, U.S. Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood signed a large mockup of a check for $298,703,208 in federal stimulus dollars for New Jersey. The money is earmarked for mass transit projects --- $130 million reserved for the new rail tunnel under the Hudson River already under construction.

The media event was staged at the Metropark train station in Edison, one of the major transit facilities in New Jersey. In attendance were Governor Jon Corzine, U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, other political figures and transit workers in hard hats. They estimated that the money represented by the check would create 2,000 jobs.

STATE TO GET $6.7 MILLION FOR TRANSIT, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND SAFETY
New Jersey will receive $6.7 million in federal stimulus funding for mass transit, highway and energy efficiency projects, it was announced by U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg.

The U.S. General Services Administration will receive $3.45 million for the Peter Rodino Federal Building in Newark to reduce energy consumption and improve indoor air quality. It will be a down payment on $146 million in economic recovery money to convert the Rodino building into a high-performing green energy facility --- the fourth largest such grant in the nation.

NJ Transit will receive more than $3 million for construction of a new train station in Garfield and rehabilitation of the Morristown train station. This includes $2.8 million for a new Plauderville train station along the Bergen line in Garfield, with 450-foot high-level platforms. Another $443,000 will be used to renovate the Morristown station, including the interior and exterior of the main building.

New Jersey also will get $574,000 from the grant to improve its traffic safety highway alert information system.

FEDERAL BANK AWARDS $6.5 MILLION FOR NEW JERSEY AFFORDABLE HOUSING
The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York awarded more than $6.5 million in subsidies for development of 650 affordable homes in 16 municipalities. They include Newark, Jersey City, Red Bank, the Basking Ridge section of Bernards and the Hopewell section of Bordentown.

Among 17 individual New Jersey projects to receive subsidies, the largest is nearly $1.5 million for Living Springs Senior Residence in Delanco. Other large projects include Lower Township’s 90-unit Cape May Senior House, $570,000, and Pleasantville’s The Village at St. Peter’s 73 affordable homes, $876,000.

NJ TRANSIT SELLS AND LEASES PROPERTY TO PATERSON
The NJ Transit Board of Directors approved the sale and long-term lease of properties near the Paterson train station to the City of Paterson for future residential and commercial development. The sale was of 2.3 acres of vacant land on Railroad Avenue and a 50-year lease was for an adjoining acre next to the train station.

The properties together make up four city blocks in a redevelopment area along the railroad Main Line between Ward and 20th Streets. The City envisions residential development on the purchased property and commercial on the leased site. The sale will generate $1.3 million in revenue for NJ Transit.

PORT AUTHORITY APPROVES STUDY OF LOW-CLEARANCE PROBLEMS OF BAYONNE BRIDGE
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey authorized up to $10 million for planning and engineering services to develop options to address navigational issues posed by the low clearance of the Bayonne Bridge. Much larger container ships are expected after the Panama Canal is expanded in 2014 and may not be able to reach the port’s container terminals west of the bridge.

The evaluation will establish conceptual cost estimates and schedules for each option and a regional cost-benefit analysis of the alternatives. The planning and engineering work will take approximately one to 1½ years and will supplement studies by the Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Coast Guard. At a meeting of the Alliance for Action’s Essex County Alliance on July 31, Frank McDonough, President of the New York Shipping Association, called for a speedy solution to the impediment created by the 151-foot clearance of the 80-year-old Bayonne Bridge.

$400 MILLION BOND ISSUE FOR OPEN SPACE GOES TO THE VOTERS
New Jersey voters will decide at the November 3 general election whether to approve or reject a $400 million bond issue for open space preservation. The referendum bill was passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Corzine.

If passed, the ballot question would set aside $218 million for open space, $146 million for farmland preservation, $24 million for flood plain and watershed management and $12 million for historic preservation.

PSE&G SEEKS STIMULUS FUNDS TO MODERNIZE ELECTRIC GRID
Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) filed for federal stimulus funds toward a $512 million shovel-ready grid modernization project. It would improve the reliability of the electric grid and protect it against cyber attacks.

A grant by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Smart Grid Investment Grant Program could contribute up to $76 million to the project. A decision on the PSE&G application is expected this year. A main component of the project would be upgrading 40 substations. If approved, the project would take three years and employ as many as 551 workers.

PSE&G WILL CLEAN UP POLLUTED OLD GAS LIGHT SITES
Nearly $1.2 billion will be spent by Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) to clean up toxic pollution left over from when communities illuminated their streets by gaslights. PSE&G inherited many small manufactured gas facilities, which left deposits of tar byproducts.

Under an agreement with the state, the company will clean up 38 sites throughout New Jersey, including Newark, Bloomfield, Edison and Morristown.

BERGEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO EXPAND STUDENT CENTER
Bergen Community College is moving ahead on renovation and expansion of the campus Student Center. The design will include a new entrance and an addition offering expanded seating capacity as well as varied dining and study areas.

The need for the project is based on growth in the number of students, faculty and staff who utilize the center. The expansion is approximately 5,000 square feet and the renovated space is some 15,500 square feet. The new Center will include energy and water efficiency features.

MEETING TO ADDRESS FUTURE OF ATLANTIC CITY AND SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY
The future of Atlantic City and Southern New Jersey will head the agenda at a meeting of the Atlantic County Alliance for Action on Friday, September 11. Business, labor and government leaders are expected to attend at the Ram’s Head Inn, Absecon, with registration at 8:15 a.m. and the program at 9 a.m.

Presentations will be by:
-Thomas Carver, Executive Director, of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, on “A Dynamic Approach to the Future of Atlantic City and Southern New Jersey.”
-Jack Letteire, former State Transportation Commissioner, who is now President of Jack Lettiere Consulting.
-Michelle M. MacKinnon, Principal Engineer of AECOM (consulting engineers).

The Atlantic Alliance is one of 13 county affiliates of the New Jersey Alliance for Action. Co-Chairs of the Atlantic Alliance are County Executive Dennis Levinson and Robert J. “Skip” Boyce, Assistant Executive Secretary/Treasurer of the New Jersey Regional Council of Carpenters. Click here to register http://www.allianceforaction.com/sep1109reg.htm.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
-Barry H. Evenchick was named by Governor Corzine as New Jersey’s representative on the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor. He is a former assistant prosecutor in Essex County and former Deputy Attorney General who later served on the State Commission of Investigation.
-Jose Colon, Business Manager of the Southern New Jersey Laborers District Council and Carl Styles, President of Laborers Local 222 have been appointed to the Electoral College.
-Timothy M. Pulte, has been named Chief Operation Officer of the Delaware River Port Authority.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR
9/11/09 – Atlantic County Alliance for Action. To register Go Here.

9/23/09 – Somerset County Alliance for Action. To register Go Here. .

9/28/09 – Meet the Players with Senator Raymond Lesniak. To register Go Here. .

10/14/09 – 35th Annual Eagle Awards Dinner. To register Go Here. or for advertisement information Go Here. .

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