(erielack) (rshsdepot) Ramsey, NJ (fwd)

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- ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2001 06:22:15 -0500
From: Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_home.com>
Reply-To: rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net
To: RSHS Depot <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
Subject: (rshsdepot) Ramsey, NJ

Rail station foes score small victory
Thursday, December 13, 2001

By PAT R. GILBERT
Staff Writer

Ramsey residents who arrived by the busload to NJ Transit's Newark
headquarters got what they came for Wednesday: a small reprieve from the
prospect of a $25 million train station in their borough.

However, it's unclear whether they've derailed the state's plan.

NJ Transit's board of directors agreed to hold off for 90 days on approving
construction of a station and park-and-ride lot on a 2.7-acre site on Route
17 in Ramsey.

During that time, the agency will reconsider Ramsey's proposal to build the
transit hub on an alternative site across Route 17 in Mahwah. NJ Transit
also urged Ramsey to meet with leaders in Mahwah to come to an agreement
acceptable to everyone.

But based on comments by NJ Transit and Mahwah officials, Ramsey residents
still face an uphill battle.

Nevertheless, it was a big shift for NJ Transit, which just last month dug
in its heels over the controversial rail station in Ramsey when a top
official vowed to take the property by eminent domain and build the station.

Transportation Commissioner James Weinstein, however, wasn't entirely
optimistic after emerging from a brief closed-door meeting to consider
Ramsey's request.

"This is not a site we haven't looked at," he said. "The site [in Mahwah]
has wetlands, and wetlands are not something you just blow by. It's not a
good solution to say, 'Don't put it in my back yard; put it in my
neighbor's.' "

The Ramsey residents celebrated as they left the NJ Transit offices, but
their victory may prove to be fleeting.

"They don't have a chance," said Mahwah Mayor Richard Martel. "We will never
agree to it. There's nothing wrong with listening, but I am sure that the
council's answer after listening -- and mine -- is going to be that we are
not interested in entertaining a train station in the town of Mahwah."

Ramsey Councilman Christopher C. Botta was undeterred.

"We believe there are positives for both communities in the plan [for a
Mahwah site] and we hope to have an honest and open dialogue with Mahwah,"
Botta said. "With regard to anything else, that's what I have to say. I'm
glad he's [Martel] going to listen."

NJ Transit had been steadfastly behind the plan to build the train station
in Ramsey. The station, scheduled to open in 2003, would serve more than
1,000 riders by the end of its first year. The transit agency has said the
station is needed because it expects new riders on the Main, Bergen, Pascack
Valley, and Port Jervis lines when the Secaucus Transfer station opens in
late 2002.

Ramsey officials said the Mahwah site, known as Constantine Drive, is
superior because it would allow for future expansion by NJ Transit for as
many as 2,625 parking spots in a five-level deck, would include 150,000 feet
of retail or commercial space, and is not located near homes.

For more than an hour Wednesday, NJ Transit's board heard residents say that
the Ramsey site is too close to their homes, a playground, and a school.

"I'm the mother of a little girl on Ivy Road, and we're close to the
[proposed] train station," said Chantel Metz. "She goes to play in the park.
It's very upsetting to know we're going to have a giant increase in traffic
to accommodate a station."

Some people were even more blunt.

"Someone will get killed or injured, and it's on your head," one resident
said.

Mary Gwon of High Street presented the board with a petition of 3,149
signatures. She had asked the board to reconsider the Ramsey site "for the
safety of our children."

After the board agreed to postpone the vote, Gwon and her husband, James,
were all smiles.

"I'm very pleased that we got the extension, and I hope Mahwah and Ramsey
can work things out to the benefit of the community," Mary Gwon said. "I
thought that after all of us presented our views, it was in their best
interest to give us the 90 days."

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