HEARINGS ANNOUNCED ON ACCESS TO THE REGION’S CORE (ARC) PROJECT
Two opportunities are scheduled to reaffirm support for the critically needed transportation project --- Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) and its new rail tunnel.

NJ TRANSIT has scheduled two public hearings to receive oral and written comments on ARC’s Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS). The hearings will be in open house format, including informational displays and a presentation to provide an opportunity to learn about the findings and to ask questions. For those who wish to submit written comments, copies of the SDEIS are available at www.accesstotheregionscore.com.

The hearing dates and locations are:
-MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008, at the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, One Newark Center, 17th Floor, Raymond Boulevard, Newark, NJ. The times will be 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
-TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2008, at the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, 199 Water Street, 22nd Floor, New York, NY at 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Comments may be submitted to Tom Schulze, NJ TRANSIT ARC Project Director, One Penn Plaza East, 8th Floor, Newark, NJ or email sdeis@accesstotheregionscore.com. The comment period runs from March 14 to April 28, 2008.

ALLIANCE SUPPORTS PORTAL BRIDGE CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT PROJECT
The Alliance for Action has expressed strong support for the project to enhance the capacity of the Portal Bridge as of “vital importance to Newark and the region.” Alliance President Philip K. Beachem wrote to John Wilkins, Project Manager for NJ TRANSIT that the current bridge is nearly 100 years old and is near the end of its operational life expectancy, requiring costly ongoing maintenance.

As a swing bridge, Portal has to pivot open to allow marine traffic through, creating backups and delays on the heavily traveled Northeast rail corridor. The proposed design enhancements would reduce the number of times the bridge needs to swing open and reduce the time of the open/close sequence.

ALLIANCE FOR ACTION’S 32ND ANNUAL GOLF CLASSIC TO BE HELD ON APRIL 21, 2008
The Alliance for Action’s Annual Golf Classic will be held on Monday, April 21, 2008 at Deal Country Club, Roseld Avenue & Golf Road, Deal, NJ. Lunch will begin being served at 11:30 a.m. followed by a Shotgun Start at 12:30 p.m., and Cocktails and Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Space is limited. To register, Go Here.

BURLINGTON ALLIANCE TO HEAR REPORTS ON TRANSPORTATION AND CONSTRUCTION
Transportation, construction and light rail will be the chief topics at a meeting of the Burlington County Alliance for Action this Friday, March 28, at the Double Tree Guest Suites Hotel, in Mt. Laurel.

Business, labor and government leaders are expected to attend the meeting, with registration at 8:15 a.m. and the program at 9 a.m.

The Burlington Alliance is one of 13 county affiliates of the New Jersey Alliance for Action, a statewide non-profit, non-partisan coalition which advocates investment in infrastructure for the economy, environment and quality of life of the state.

Co-Chairs of the Burlington Alliance are Freeholder Aubrey A. Fenton and Richard A. Alaimo, President of Alaimo Group Engineers. For a detailed program and to register, click here http://www.allianceforaction.com/mar1403reg.htm.

DEP COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF TASK FORCE
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson has issues an administrative order that establishes a 19-member task force to conduct a comprehensive review of the DEP’s permitting program and, within 120 days, prepare a report on its findings and make recommendations for improvements.

Chairing the task force is Christopher Daggett, who served as DEP Commissioner from September 1988 to December 1989.

NEW BRUNSWICK ANNOUNCES $275 MILLION NEW ARTS CENTER PROGRAM
New Brunswick announced a $275 million plan to redevelop and expand the city’s downtown cultural center. The announcement was made by Mayor Jim Cahill, New Brunswick Cultural Center Board Chairman John J. Heldrich and New Brunswick Development Corporation President Chris Paladino.

The new complex --- targeted for completion by 2012 --- will be shared by the Cultural Center partners, the State’s George Street and Crossroads Theatres, the American Repertory Ballet and Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts.

The project would feature a 34-story building that would include the arts on the lower floors as well as ten floors of new office space, 200-units of new residential condos and 9,000 square-feet of retail use. There would be two state-of-the-art new theatres with modern lighting, sound and staging capabilities, a black-box theatre and additional rehearsal space.

The existing George Street Playhouse, a converted YMCA, and the Crossroads building would both be demolished. Underground parking would be built. The State Theatre and the two new theatres would share a grand entrance lobby that would open into a new pocket park.

MONMOUTH-NEW YORK FERRY SERVICE TO CONTINUE
Ferry service will continue between Monmouth County’s Bayshore and New York City thanks to the agreement to purchase the line and its four high-speed catamarans by a subsidiary of a New England ferry company.

The owner, Seastreak, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2006, putting the future of the ferry service in jeopardy. Seastreak ferries carry more than 600,000 passengers annually to and from Midtown Manhattan. The new owner, New England Fast Ferries, provided service from Rhode Island and Massachusetts to Martha’s Vineyard.

WOODBRIDGE STUDIES SEVEN AREAS FOR FUTURE REDEVELOPMENT
Woodbridge Township is considering seven areas for redevelopment, ranging from commercial properties along the upper end of Route 1 to industrial sites in Keasbey. Mayor John McCormac said economic redevelopment is a priority through site-specific revitalization.

The sections being considered are Keasbey, New Brunswick Avenue in Fords and Hopelawn, Pennval Road in Woodbridge proper, Hart Street in Avenel, Route 27 in Colonia, the General Dynamics site in Avenel and the northern stretch of Route 1.

GROUND BROKEN FOR MORRISTOWN TRANSIT VILLAGE APARTMENTS BUILDING
Ground was broken for a luxury rental building, The Highlands of Morristown Station, on a former NJ TRANSIT commuter parking lot at the Morristown train station. The project is a joint venture, under the name Rosewood, between Roseland Property Co. of Short Hills and Woodmont Properties of Parsippany.

The five-story building will comprise 217 apartments, more than 8,000 square-feet of retail and 6,000 square-feet of amenity space.

DISTRIBUTION CENTER PLANNED FOR JERSEY CITY
Plans were announced by AMB Property Corp. to build a distribution center on 50 acres of a former landfill site along Routes 1 and 9 in Jersey City. AMB of San Francisco, which has a New Jersey office in East Rutherford, said the AMB Pulaski Distribution Center will provide 880,000 square-feet of space.

AMB said the center is expected to generate up to 500 jobs and up to $1 million in tax ratables.

NJTPA SAYS 40 TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS ARE ON HOLD
The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority announced that 40 transportation projects are on hold as part of the Tier 2 unfunded list.

The Authority cited two major reasons --- the state’s current fiscal crisis and the need to find additional cash to repair the aging Pulaski Skyway which is considered structurally obsolete,

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
-Elizabeth (Bette) Spinelli, Executive Director of the Hudson County Economic Development Corporation, will receive a 2008 Crossing Borders Community Impact Award at the 5th annual Crossing Borders Charity Awards luncheon on April 24, 2008, at The Palace at Somerset Park.

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