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(rshsdepot) Hoboken Terminal (Hoboken, NJ)

Links:
http://www.mrce.com/pages/projects/93-3.shtml  (information & photos)
http://www.jhpokorny.com/pastjobs/erielack.html  (information & photos)
http://www.hbrownstone.com/images/rr_station.jpg  (historic photo)
http://www.hobokenmuseum.org/activities_&_events/walking%20tour/95071.jpg
(historic photo)
http://www.watermusicrecorders.com/images/ferry.JPG
http://www.vintagepostcards.com/catalog/i/i4803.jpg  (historic French
postcard)

Hoboken Terminal to rehab ferry slips


05/17/02

By Jason Fink
Jersey Journal staff writer

P.A. kicking in $8M to upgrade transit ties


Commuter upgrades for Hoboken Terminal




HOBOKEN - The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and NJ Transit
agreed Wednesday to restore six ferry slips at the hulking Erie-Lackawanna
terminal, a move that will likely double the volume of marine traffic and be
another step in the ongoing rehabilitation of the century-old building.

The Port Authority, the bi- state agency that runs the PATH system out of
the terminal building, committed to pay an initial $8 million of the $65
million it is expected to cost to fully renovate the old slips and construct
new tickets booths.

It has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse the costs
of the project because it is primarily a response to the September attacks
on the World Trade Center, which knocked out PATH service to Lower
Manhattan.

"Since Sept. 11 . . . other forms of transportation have been destroyed,"
Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said. "We're paying for it and hoping
to get reimbursed."

The first $8 million will pay for design of the new slips, with the rest
going toward construction.

NJ Transit owns the terminal and operates commuter trains out of the
station.

When the work is complete, NY Waterway, the Weehawken-based company that
operates most commuter ferries in the region, will provide service,
according to company spokesman Pat Smith.

"Restoration of the ferry slips at Hoboken Terminal is one of the long-range
strategic plans to increase trans-Hudson capacity and enhance New Jersey's
travel options while supporting the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan," Gov.
James E. McGreevey said in a written statement.

NY Waterway, which has added 20 boats to its fleet and carries twice as many
passengers daily as it did before Sept. 11, now runs two routes from
temporary slips near the terminal.

The company said it could carry double the roughly 13,000 passengers it now
takes during the morning peak period between Hoboken and Manhattan.

"The key is how many people who come in on bus and rail want to get on the
ferry," Smith said.

Just last week, it was reported that the city also is in discussions with a
major cruise line about using the terminal as its home base.

Under the plan announced Wednesday, a portion of the terminal would have to
be reconstructed to accommodate ticket offices and the building of exterior
walls. NJ Transit officials also list restoring the roof and Tiffany
skylights and copper on the building's facade as part of the plan, but it is
unclear whether those changes would merely be cosmetic.

The ground-floor waiting area of the 96-year old terminal has been restored
and officials are hoping the spacious second-floor, which is plagued by
peeling paint, crumbling interiors and decades of general neglect, is next
on the list for improvements.

One plan, advocated by Hoboken Mayor David Roberts, envisions retail shops
and restaurants in and around the building. In that scenario, businesses
would pay for large parts of the restoration.


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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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