Money Talks

Think about this: people have no problem moving into Perth Amboy. They’ll buy a house or a building, then flip it over into “Illegal Housing”. Even businesses will move into town and turn them into “Phone and Dollar Stores”. Even drug dealers come into town with no problem and sales are high. Yes, there is money in Perth Amboy. The banks are doing well: “Cash in – Cash out”. Also, a great place for making babies – No problem! So, if you want to make money, Perth Amboy is the place.

Orlando “Wildman” Perez 

The Fall of Rome

A recent letter claimed Rome fell because of its debts. That is false or misleading. The plagues that sickened and killed huge numbers was the cause of the fall of the Roman Empire. Fewer people meant fewer taxpayers and soldiers to defend the Roman Empire.

You can read about the 14th century plague (the Black Death) and its effects from a history book from your library. There were no vaccines of antibiotics in that era.

Ronald A. Sobieraj

New Portal Bridge

Questions still remain after the recent announcement by NJ Transit that they have awarded a $1.559 billion contract for construction of the New Portal Bridge on the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak’s $305 billion Northeast Corridor High Speed project calls for the introduction of equipment that will operate at a speed of 180 mph. It is my understanding that the new Portal Bridge has been designed and will be built to accommodate increasing speeds from the current 60 mph to only 90 mph. This conflicts with Amtrak’s long-term plans to reduce travel time by increasing speeds up to 180 mph along the Northeast Corridor. 

What future track outages and service changes that might impact both Amtrak and NJ Transit customers will be necessary to support construction? How much time will lapse after construction starts and finishes before riders will see the benefits of this investment?

Commuters, taxpayers, transit advocates, elected officials, transportation reporters and project advocates deserve answers to these questions before the contractor completes mobilization of his own work forces and materials prior to the start of actual construction. At the end of the day, everyone is looking for safe and reliable service with capital improvements paid for that are fair and reasonable. 

Sincerely,

Larry Penner

(Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions in capital projects and programs for the MTA, NYC Transit, Long Island Railroad, Metro North Railroad MTA Bus, New Jersey Transit along with 30 other transit agencies in NY & NJ)