Committee Meeting of SENATE LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE “The Committee will receive testimony from invited State and local government officials, transportation providers, and policy experts, and from the general public regarding the draft 2017-2026 Capital Plan, including the new Port Authority Bus Terminal, the Gateway Rail Tunnel, the PATH extension to Newark Airport, the redevelopment of Newark Terminal A, and other options to increase trans-Hudson capacity” LOCATION: Bergenfield Municipal Building DATE: January 30, 2017 Bergenfield, New Jersey 3:00 p.m. MEMBERS OF COMMITTEE PRESENT: Senator Robert M. Gordon, Chair Senator Loretta Weinberg, Vice Chair Senator Thomas H. Kean Jr. ALSO PRESENT: Patrick Brennan Sarah A. Fletcher Mark J. Magyar Erin Darreff Office of Legislative Services Senate Majority Senate Republican Committee Aide s Committee Aide Committee Aide Hearing Recorded and Transcribed by The Office of Legislative Services, Public Information Office, Hearing Unit, State House Annex, PO 068, Trenton, New Jersey TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Paul Wyckoff Chief of Staff, and Chief Government and External Affairs New Jersey Transit 6 Richard Roberts Chief Trans-Hudson Projects New Jersey Transit 8 Michael P. Kilcoyne Vice President, and General Manager Bus Operations New Jersey Transit 9 Peter S. Palmer Chair North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, and Chair Raritan Valley Rail Coalition, and Freeholder Director Somerset County 29 Carol R. Katz Representing Bus Owners of New Jersey 35 Tiffanie Fisher Councilwoman 2nd Ward City Council City of Hoboken 35 Leonard Resto President New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers, and Councilman Chatham Borough 52 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Page David Peter Alan, Esq. Chair Lackawanna Coalition 52 Allen W. Kratz Private Citizen 68 Bill Brennan Private Citizen 70 Michael Phelan Director New Jersey Commuters Action Network 79 Mary J. Amoroso Freeholder Bergen County 85 George Rath Private Citizen 90 Deborah Bouchard Private Citizen 94 Miriam Taub Private Citizen 102 Anne Marie Romano Private Citizen 103 James Veach Private Citizen 105 Laura Vogel Representing Better Bus Alliance 105 Alec Melman Private Citizen 115 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Page Pasquale “Pat” Fusco Councilman Borough of Leonia 115 Karl J. Olszewski Private Citizen 120 Mitchell H. Gluck Private Citizen 125 Assemblyman Tim Eustace District 38 128 Robert Denicola, Esq. Private Citizen 129 Eugene R. Clements Representing Better Bus Alliance 134 Katharine Glynn Private Citizen 140 APPENDIX: Testimony submitted by Paul Wyckoff, Michael Kilcoyne, and Richard Roberts 1x Testimony submitted by Carol R. Katz 7x Testimony, plus attachments submitted by David Peter Alan, Esq. 10x Testimony submitted by Leonard Resto 18x TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) APPENDIX (continued) Page Testimony submitted by Karl J. Olszewski 21x E-mail, addressed to Senate Legislative Committee submitted by Valerie Klein on behalf of Anthony Borelli Vice President Planning and Development Edison Properties, LLC 24x pnf:1-144 SENATOR ROBERT M. GORDON (Chair): This meeting of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee will come to order. Good afternoon, everyone. If you would all please rise and join me in the flag salute. (all recite pledge) Let me welcome you all to this second meeting of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee on the Port Authority’s draft 10-year capital plan. Before we get into that, I would like to, first, thank you all for being here. If anyone would like to testify and who has not signed in, we would appreciate it if you would fill out a slip, which I think will be made available to you. I also want to just thank the Borough of Bergenfield -- particularly Mayor Norman Schmelz and the Borough Administrator, Corey Gallo -- for their hospitality and for facilitating this meeting. Before we actually begin today’s hearing, Senator Weinberg and I would like to announce that we are going to be working with Senator Michael Gianaris of the state of New York in drafting legislation that will bar the expenditure of any Port Authority funds for purposes that, in any way, restrict Muslim refugees, green card holders, or citizens from any country from entering the United States. We consider President Trump’s Executive Order to be unconstitutional, illegal, immoral, and antithetical to the principles upon which our nation was founded. The Statue of Liberty, with Emma Lazarus’ famous invitation to refugees yearning to breathe free, literally stands at the very center of the 1 Port Authority District. And we believe it would be unconscionable for the Port Authority to, in any way, participate in a heinous policy that arbitrarily discriminates against persons on the basis of their religion or their nation of origin. We will be meeting with, and working closely with, Senator Gianaris of Queens in developing legislation which will be introduced in both states. They will be identical pieces of legislation. As you know, identical bills need to be advanced in both states for something to become law and affect the Port Authority. (applause) Thank you. We’d also like to comment on related actions taken by the Governor of New York. As many in this room know, we don’t always see eye-to-eye with Governor Cuomo on Port Authority issues and priorities. But we would like to applaud his efforts to stand up for our fundamental American values. Senator Weinberg, would you like to add any comments about this project of ours? SENATOR LORETTA WEINBERG (Vice Chair): No. I think this is our second or third attempt to do a piece of legislation in conjunction with the New York Legislature. And let’s hope this one is a little bit more successful; and that we will get two Governors to sign this legislation, and we get it through our respective houses. So we are looking forward to working with our New York counterpart, and we will be announcing something together as soon as the bill is actually drafted. Thank you. 2 SENATOR GORDON: Thank you. And just one other housekeeping comment: We will, in all likelihood, not be joined by other Senators this afternoon. It’s certainly not because of any lack of interest in the subject matter. We felt it important to get this hearing scheduled before the Port Authority takes action -- if, in fact, they do -- on February 16. And there were not many days available to us to do that. And unfortunately, today -- which worked for this Committee -- unfortunately does conflict with a number of other hearings that are being held in Trenton simultaneously -- the Budget Committee hearings, Commerce Committee hearings dealing with important bills. And so our colleagues were not -- had made commitments to those committees, and will not be able to join us this afternoon. Although I believe Senator Kean and, possibly, some other Senators will be joining us at 6:30 for the second phase of this hearing, which will be focused on comments by commuters. This afternoon’s hearing, however, offers an opportunity for New Jersey Transit officials, and transportation experts, and advocates to offer their perspectives on the Port Authority’s 10-year capital plan. As I said, this evening we will have a separate hearing to listen to the Port Authority’s customers, the commuters. The draft plan includes a new Bus Terminal on Manhattan’s West Side. As many of you are aware, this new terminal will replace the existing Port Authority Bus Terminal, which is nearing both maximum capacity and the end of its useful life. The proposed capital plan earmarks $3.5 billion for the construction of the new terminal. Of the $3.5 billion 3 earmarked for the project, $500 million is anticipated Federal funding, which may or may not materialize. There is widespread concern among elected officials, commuters, transportation advocates, and Port Authority officials alike that $3 billion will be inadequate to ensure that the construction of the new terminal is complete, or nearly complete, by the end of the 10-year period. Any delay in construction will have long-lasting negative repercussions for a corridor state like New Jersey, whose economy depends on the ability to move people and goods in a safe and efficient manner. While the Port Authority’s capital plan includes such other transportation projects as the Gateway rail tunnel and rail connections to Newark Liberty and LaGuardia airports, funding must remain secure for bus commuters. According to the Port Authority’s own study, bus ridership is expected to increase 50 percent by 2040. It is also expected that Manhattan will add 300,000 jobs over the next decade, the vast majority of which will need to be filled by commuters. In order to keep New Jersey attractive and competitive, we must build and expand reliable transit connections in a timely manner. To effect that goal, we must assure that adequate financial resources are available. We are also inviting testimony today on the adequacy of funding for the Gateway rail tunnel and other major priorities in the Port Authority capital plan. One is the PATH extension to Newark Airport, and its potential to spur economic development in Newark and to increase trans-Hudson commuter capacity through a park and ride facility. 4 Another key question is whether the capital plan should be amended to add PATH capacity by expanding from 8-car to 10-car platforms. These and other issues, I’m sure, will be addressed today. Senator Weinberg, any comments to add at this point? SENATOR WEINBERG: No, thank you. I see our representatives of the Port Authority (sic) poised and ready to go, so-- SENATOR GORDON: Well, the New Jersey Transit-- SENATOR WEINBERG: New Jersey Transit; sorry. (laughter) MR. MAGYAR (Committee Aide): They’re the good guys. (laughter) SENATOR WEINBERG: Well, I am not going to engage on that. SENATOR GORDON: I should-- Just to provide a little-- MR.