Take a ferry from Carteret, NJ to NYC? Yes, coming soon

Ferry boat doing test runs between Carteret and NYC three years ago

Larry Higgs reports for nj.com:

Ferry service between Middlesex County and New York City, talked about since the 1990s, could set sail soon now that federal officials have awarded a $6 million grant to purchase a boat. 

The Federal Transit Administration awarded the grant this week to NJ Transit to purchase a 299-seat ferry for a proposed Carteret to Manhattan route. NJ Transit applied on behalf of Carteret , which will receive the money.
The ferry route from Carteret’s Waterfront Park, along the Arthur Kill to midtown, could transport passengers to the city in 54-minutes.
Ferry service from Middlesex County and Staten island was first studied by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1996, which recommended Carteret because of its location along the Arthur Kill.
The grant is the most significant recent step since a ferry was brought in to conduct test runs in 2015. That route took the Arthur Kill to the Kill Van Kull through New York Harbor, and ended at Pier 11 in New York. 
Work to get federal funding for various stages of the project started when now U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, D-N.J., was a congressman and Carteret was part of his district. 
“It was 22 years ago, that the Port Authority first found this would be an ideal place for ferry service into Manhattan,” Menendez said.  “So, I’ve long known what a new ferry would mean for this community – faster commutes, greater access to jobs, and better quality of life.”

Take a ferry from Carteret, NJ to NYC? Yes, coming soon Read More »

NJ asks feds to extend offshore-wind comment period


Governor asks feds for six-month extension to assess impact of offshore wind farms on state’s main fishing grounds

wind

Tom Johnson reports
for NJ Spotlight:


Gov. Phil Murphy is asking the federal government to extend the public comment period on proposed new lease sales for offshore wind in the New York Bight, a step that could delay the process for up to six months.
In a letter to Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior, the governor requested more time (180 days) because the areas in New York under consideration for wind-energy development include New Jersey’s main fishing grounds, including two that are closest to its coast.
The request, if granted, could slow recent steps taken by both states to expedite building offshore wind farms in waters near New York and New Jersey. All along the Eastern Seaboard, states are bidding to lure developers to build large wind farms off their coasts, a process that is becoming increasingly competitive.
New Jersey needs more time to adequately respond to the proposed lease sale, and more than a dozen issues raised by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in seeking comment from stakeholders, Murphy noted in his letter. New Jersey stakeholders have not yet been meaningfully involved in the process, including the state’s large and valuable commercial fishing industry.


Productive coexistence

“While New Jersey believes that wind energy and the fishing industry can coexist productively, it is critical that potential conflicts from these multiple uses be identified and planned for early in the process,’’ Murphy’s letter said.
In the letter, the governor cited his strong support for offshore wind, including setting a goal of 3,500 megawatts of capacity for the state by 2030. “We look forward to working cooperatively with BOEM and our New York neighbors to achieve this ambitious goal,’’ Murphy said.

NJ asks feds to extend offshore-wind comment period Read More »

Enviros want governor to block No. Jersey frack-gas plant


Michael Hill reports for NJTV News:

Environmentalists oppose the North Bergen Liberty Generating Plant. A subsidiary of Mitsubishi wants to build the fracked gas-fired plant in New Jersey and have its electricity power Manhattan. Critics say that’s incompatible with candidate and Gov. Phil Murphy’s pledge.
“I remain and we remain committed to a new energy master plan, one that we have not had in a long time in this state that would see our state achieve 100 percent clean energy by the year 2050,” Murphy said last December.
Environmentalists feel empowered by the governor’s words and on Tuesday made a big demand of the governor.
“Today we’re calling on Gov. Murphy to sign an executive order putting a moratorium on all new power plants that are from fossil fuels,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.
Murphy replied to the plan on Tuesday, saying, “I always scratch my head with something that is being done here that some other state will benefit from, but beyond that I don’t an opinion.”

Enviros want governor to block No. Jersey frack-gas plant Read More »

Lowest property towns taxes in each of N.J.’s 21 counties

Atlantic County sceneSamantha Marcus reports for NJ.com:
New Jersey’s average property taxes may
have hit a new record high last year, but you can find plenty of property tax
bargains in all of of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
So which towns have the lowest property taxes in your county, as well as
all the others? We’ve charted 63 towns where homeowners are lucky enough to
have some of the lowest tax bills in New Jersey.
You can find at least three towns where the property taxes are lower
than the state average of $8,690 in 20 of the 21 counties. The other county —
Passaic — has two towns in that category.
And some counties have towns where the property taxes are but a fraction
of the state average. A low property tax bill for Cumberland County is quite
different than a low tax bill for Passaic County.
See for yourself below, as we go county-by-county to find
the lowest average tax bills, based on data from the state Department of
Community Affairs.

Lowest property towns taxes in each of N.J.’s 21 counties Read More »

NYC commercial waste change leaves everyone unhappy

City wants collection zones, competition too

Matthew Flamm reports for Crain’s:
Three years ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city
would look into a radical new system for the private pickup of commercial
waste. Exclusive collection zones, his plan suggested, might reduce the hazards
and pollution that come with scores of carting companies operating randomly
across the five boroughs.



The analysis, released a year later, forecast big benefits from
zones served by a single hauler, but it sparked fierce opposition from carters,
real estate interests and the wider business community. Now the Department of
Sanitation is floating a compromise: zones with two to five franchisees each,
perhaps with subcontractors as well.

The controversy didn’t die.


NYC commercial waste change leaves everyone unhappy Read More »

Opinion: Why should NJ families subsidize nukes in PA?

PSEG's nuclear station in Salem County.

PSEG’s nuclear station in Salem County.

Columnist Tom Moran writes for The Star-Ledger:

New Jersey families and businesses are likely to be hit soon by a $300 million annual surcharge on electric bills to subsidize PSEG’s nuclear plants.

Now, we learn that a good chunk of that money could be exported to Pennsylvania, to support its nuclear plants.
That’s right. Pennsylvania would get the jobs. We would pay the bill. Ralph Izzo, the boss at PSEG, just confirmed that in a conference call with investors.
This is the worst bill to win approval in years. The cost could amount to $3 billion over the next decade, a staggering sum. And the money would be raised in the cruelest way possible, through higher electricity bills, not progressive taxation. The poor pay the same rates as the rich, and if they can’t keep up, PSEG can turn out the lights.
It was muscled through the Legislature by Senate President Steve Sweeney, D, Gloucester, whose district is home to the three PSEG nukes in New Jersey. He set up bogus hearings where legislators who barely understand the energy markets passively listened to a parade of compelling protests from businesses, environmentalists, consumer advocates, and PSEG’s competitors – all of whom are begging Gov. Phil Murphy to veto this bill.
How bad is it? For the first time in history, the Ratepayer Advocate, the one person whose job is to keep a lid on electric bills, would lose the right to be present when these subsidies are discussed at the Board of Public Utilities. She’d need special permission, which could be denied. That’s revealing.

Opinion: Why should NJ families subsidize nukes in PA? Read More »