Gasoline Tax Considered
There are suggestions to end the gasoline tax to lower it price. But this tax is used to pay for the costs of roads.
Electric vehicles do not pay this tax. Their heavier weights from batteries puts more stress and wear on roads. If an accident spills battery acid on roads that is also extra wear. Who will pay their share?
Ronald A. Sobieraj
Look Up, You’ll Never Know What You’ll Find!
Last year I wrote about the prolific number of dwellings in Perth Amboy that have air conditioning in their attics and basically, I left it at that. Does anyone ventilate an attic if there’s no one living there? Did the owners of these homes get permits to have electrical work and/or construction done to make these places habitable? If so, did they use licensed contractors? Are there smoke detectors there? Do they claim rental income on their state and federal taxes? Are they receiving credits on their taxes for mortgage payments using the money received from these more than likely illegal units? I’m sure that there are a whole host of other questions I could think of if I strained my brain. So, I’ll just advise the city’s code inspectors to look up, you’ll never know what you’ll find! The possibility of fines could be a bonanza to the coffers of Perth Amboy and tax penalties to the state and federal governments!
Thank you!
The Honorable
Michael Rusznak
Statement by Viridian Partners
Regarding New Residential Complex Surprisingly Unveiled by City of Perth Amboy
April 6, 2022
PERTH AMBOY– “It is both disappointing and unconscionable that the Perth Amboy Redevelopment Authority (PARA) announced a new redevelopment plan for the Downtown Gateway Project at last night’s meeting, when no such proposal has gone through the public process or included the redeveloper that has been publicly designated since 2015. Also shocking, is the fact that this new plan calls for substantial housing, which City Council and the residents of Perth Amboy have vehemently opposed for the past ten years, due to increased traffic and the detrimental impact to Perth Amboy’s already overcrowded school district.”
“In stark contrast, Viridian Partners, who has been the designated developer for this site since 2015 and who invested more than $2 million while securing over 99% of this property, has been prepared to deliver a development that will produce millions of dollars of new tax revenue for Perth Amboy taxpayers.”
Statement by Viridian
Partners
PARA’S Back-Room Surprise Plan is
Costing Perth Amboy
Taxpayers
April 11, 2022
On Monday, April 5th, the Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency (PARA) unveiled a surprise plan for the redevelopment of the Gateway Redevelopment Area. PARA’s plan, prepared by architect Dean Marchetto, features 6,000 units of housing, 7,000 parking spaces, and approximately 200,000 square feet of retail. PARA spent $17,500 of public money on this plan. Incredibly, PARA, by its own admission, has no idea whether the plan is economically feasible to be built or what the impacts of such a large housing development will be on current Perth Amboy residents.
Viridian Partners is the contract purchaser of over 95% of the area and is the designated redeveloper for this site. Inexplicably, PARA has refused to meet with Viridian regarding a plan for this site which will benefit Perth Amboy. Viridian engaged Robert Powell and Richard Reading, two of New Jersey’s most renowned real estate economists, to study PARA’s plan. Their independent conclusions are that PARA’s plan: 1. Will never be built because it is not financially feasible; and 2. Even if it were built, the impacts on school overcrowding, traffic, water, sewer utilities and the like would be a disaster for Perth Amboy.
Viridian has formed a website, saveperthamboy.com, to educate and engage the public. Detailed financial reports by Mr. Powell and Mr. Reading will soon be accessible to the public on Viridian’s website.
There’s an old saying, “doing nothing is doing something.” By doing nothing, PARA is costing Perth Amboy residents $5,997 every day it fails to work with Viridian on a redevelopment plan that will get built and benefit Perth Amboy. Since Viridian has been attempting work with PARA on a viable redevelopment plan for this site, Perth Amboy has lost $5.643 million in tax revenue from this site.
The time is now for PARA to engage with Viridian to work on a plan that benefits Perth Amboy.
Why Leave Discretionary Federal Transit Administration Funding on The Table?
On April 6, 2022, the Federal Transit Administration published Federal Notice of Available Funding for Federal Fiscal Year 2022. The accompanying tables by funding programs make for very interesting reading. Governor Murphy, Senators Booker and Menendez, the Congressional delegation and other elected officials constantly complain that Washington shortchanges New Jersey. Yet none of them has ever said a word about the following.
Why have the following recipients all been unsuccessful in applying for the following older FTA discretionary funded project allocations that are worth a total of $17,592,076 dollars? Under Table 14 Prior Year Unobligated Section 5307 Passenger Ferry Grant Program, (1) FY 2018 NJD2018-PFGP-010- City of Bayonne, ferry mooring platform deck and landside improvements – $656,800, (2) FY 2018 NJD2018-PFGP-013 Port Authority of NY&NJ – Commuter ferry vessel power and propulsion retrofit program – $2,480,000, (3) FY 2019 NJD2019-PFGP-009 New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection – Ferry slips, reconstruction upgrade at Liberty State Park – $5,900,000 and (4) FY 2020 NYJD2020-PFGP-010 City of South Amboy – Radford Ferry project – $5,300,000. Under Table 17 Prior Year Unobligated Section 5309 Low or No Emissions Program, (1) NJD2021-Bus LWNE-027-New Jersey Transit – Purchase battery-electric buses and associated infrastructure – $3,255,276.
Why have they failed to see funds obligated under approved grants? Have NJ Transit, Port Authority, NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection, City of Bayonne and City of South Amboy entered formal grants in FTA’s Transit Award Management System (known as “TrAMS”) used to award and manage federal grants? Have they addressed all of FTA’s concerns and issues as part of any ongoing grant review? These funds will eventually lapse and be lost.
As each year goes by, the project costs increase. The dollar value of the earmark does not. In the end, taxpayers and commuters are the losers. With a $30 trillion and growing long term federal deficit, every dollar counts. When will NJ Transit, Port Authority, NJ Environmental Protection, City of Bayonne and City of South Amboy make this a priority and secure their respective FTA earmarks?
Sincerely,
Larry Penner
(Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 NY Office. This included the development, review and approval of billions in grants to NJ Transit, NY MTA, NYC Transit bus, subway, Staten Island Railway, Long Island Rail Road and Metro North Rail Road which funded capital bus, subway and commuter rail improvement projects and programs along with 30 other transit agencies in NY & NJ.)
