TWO STADIUMS- OVER $1 BILLION IN CONSTRUCTION
Last week, the New York Giants and the Jets reached final agreement on the plans and design for a new 80,000 seat, $800 million stadium, replacing the 30 year old Giant’s stadium.

Within a week on the heels of that announcement, ground-breaking ceremonies took place for Newark’s 18,000 seat arena with a price tag of $310 million. The arena will serve as the permanent home of the New Jersey Devils hockey team.

Attendees at the Essex County Alliance for Action county chapter meeting eight weeks ago heard Newark’s Business Administrator Richard Monteilh optimistically proclaim “the Arena will be built.”

The two stadiums combined represent $1.1 billion of new construction not including all the ancillary work such as access roads, parking garages and lots, demolition, lighting, landscaping, etc.

STATE FUNDS TO COMPLETE ROSELLE FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT
A decade-old project to keep a flood-prone Roselle stream from overflowing its banks will receive $5 million from the state to finance completion. The West Brook flows along Roselle’s west side through backyards and beneath streets to the Linden border and frequently has flash floods after heavy rains.

Roselle began shoring up the banks with concrete in 1994 but funds ran out in 1998 and the walls stopped at Raritan Road. With the state dollars, the plan calls for reinforcement all the way to the Linden border, lining the banks with large bundles of rock wrapped with wire. The overall cost is estimated at $7 million, with the county and borough paying the other $2 million.

SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE PLANS MAJOR EXPANSION
Six Flags Great Adventure has announced a major expansion in Jackson, featuring 10 more acres of rides and attractions in two new themed sections of the park. The project also will include a new wooden roller coaster. The expansion, planned for completion by spring 2006 is part of a transformation from a regional theme park to a family destination.

Great Adventure also has plans to break ground for a 500-room hotel, with the opening planned for the spring of 2007.

BIOTECH FIRM EXPANDING IN NEW JERSEY
The latest drug development company to pick New Jersey as an expansion site is Dendreon, a Seattle biotech firm. Dendreon has leased a 158,000 square-foot warehouse in East Hanover and plans to set up a center for clinical development and manufacturing in the fourth quarter of this year.

PORT CAR IMPORTS ARE DROPPING
The number of automobiles imported through the Port of New York and New Jersey fell 12 percent during the first half of 2005. The reduction was, in part, blamed on a shortage of space to store foreign-made vehicles. Richard Larrabee, director of port commerce, said the decline is causing concern and will be monitored carefully. Car imports rose 16 percent to nearly 729,000 for all of 2004.

NJIT TO HONOR FORMER ALLIANCE VICE CHAIRMAN SAUL FENSTER
Dr. Saul K. Fenster, who was president of New Jersey Institute of Technology during an important period of growth from 1978 to 2002, will be honored by the dedication of Fenster Hall on the NJIT campus on October 21. Dr. Fenster was vice chairman of the New Jersey Alliance for Action and was active in a number of the Alliance’s initiatives for infrastructure development.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
A.J. Sabath was nominated by Acting Governor Richard Codey and confirmed by the State Senate as the new commissioner of the State Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Sabath had been serving since last November as deputy commissioner after working for Codey in his State Senate office. He succeeds Tom Carver, who was appointed by Codey to head the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.

Robert Alan Briant, Jr., of Manasquan, was nominated by Codey and confirmed as a member of the New Jersey Transportation Trust Authority. He is executive director of the New Jersey Utility and Transportation Contractors Association.

Joseph L. Fiordaliso of Livingston, who was deputy chief of staff for Acting Governor Codey, was nominated by the Governor and confirmed as a member of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

Jack Murphy has been promoted to Chief Operations Officer of Conti Environment & Infrastructure, Inc. He was also just installed as the Utility and Transportation Contractors Association’s President at their annual convention in Atlantic City.

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