State Senators of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee listened to the changes commuters would like to see made to the Port Authority's $32 billion capital plan.
BERGENFIELD - A "disgrace."
That's how New Jersey residents described their commuting experiences Monday night to lawmakers as they gave a laundry list of what they felt needed to be included in the Port Authority's multi-billion-dollar capital plan.
"They say there's a schedule for rush hour. There's no schedule," said Mitchell Gluck of Teaneck.
"It's going to scare off a lot of young couples," said Rob Denicola, of Paramus, who moved to New Jersey with his wife.
"The access that is available isn't everywhere and getting that access isn't easy," said Eugene Clements of Englewood.
Residents told lawmakers about their commutes in Bergenfield. State Senators Robert Gordon (D-Bergen), Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and, later in the evening, Tom Kean Jr. (R-Union), of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee listened to the changes commuters would like to see made to the Port Authority's $32 billion capital plan.
The Port Authority Board of Commissioners is expected to vote on the updated capital plan in mid-February. Included in the plan is designing and constructing a Port Authority Bus Terminal and building a $1.7 billion extension of the PATH rail system to Newark Airport.
It was the bus terminal at the top of the minds of most of the commuters who spoke.
Gordon started the meeting by saying there is "widespread concern" about whether there is enough money to build the bus terminal on-time. The project will receive a preliminary $3.5 billion in the 10-year capital plan.
Port Authority officials were pressed to give a timeline (potentially finished by 2030) at the committee's first hearing. But lawmakers repeatedly expressed concern about whether the timeline was possible.
George Rath of Tenafly seemed to agree. He asked if the project would be "completed in my lifetime."
"This is the issue that brings us here," Gordon replied, saying Authority officials estimated that the project could cost $7.5 billion to $10 billion.
"We need to know there's enough money in the capital plan before we build that bus terminal," Weinberg said.
Town that derailed light rail reflects
Tiffanie Fisher, a councilwoman from Hoboken, said expanding service was necessary, but that any pause in coverage would greatly affect her town.
"We have a growing population that already fills capacity on all of our existing routes. Not being able to expand will change the environment of Hoboken," Fisher said.
Gordon also said he was working on a bill that mirrored that of New York State Senator Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) who reportedly said he would introduce a bill to limit Port Authority expenditures that would carry out President Trump's executive order on refugees.
Gordon said Trump's action was "unconstitutional, illegal and immoral" and said he'd work with New York lawmakers to limit the agency's spending.
Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.