BlahBlahYouToo
Lifer
not much different than that of those who belong in a police, fire, teacher's union.
money off the backs of tax payers by raising taxes so they can enjoy yearly pay raises despite the current economic conditions.
money off the backs of tax payers by raising taxes so they can enjoy yearly pay raises despite the current economic conditions.
Arguments for and against the Port Authority of New York and New Jerseys planned increases in fares and Hudson River crossings came down to those who didnt have jobs and need them, and those who had jobs but are just scraping by.
The meeting room in the Port Authoritys Jersey City Technical Center was filled to standing room Tuesday morning for one of nine hearings on the proposed hikes, with unemployed laborers in orange shirts that read Port Authority = Jobs! the most visible sight upon entering.
While opponents had sympathy for the unemployed workers, they had little to none for the agency proposing the increases and called for an audit of the Port Authoritys books and another, better located, well-publicized round of hearings.
The speakers ranged from an almost tearful unemployed construction worker on the verge of eviction to a Spanish-speaking PATH rider who said poor people like her cant afford another dollar.
But unlike many of these hearings that pit labor against opponents of a plan, there was something different in this room a little mutual respect and empathy for the other persons plight.
I need work so bad. Im hurting so bad I need this to be passed. I am on the mercy of this program, said Randy Bostick of Irvington, an unemployed union laborer who said hes exhausted employment and welfare benefits, has borrowed money from family members and owes $2,100 to his landlord.
Bostick fought back tears as he told the crowd that hes been a union member since 1982 and said he doesnt even have the money to put his possessions in storage and move in with family out of state.
The Port Authority has said the proposed two-phase toll and fare increase would fund a $33 billion, 10-year capital plan would would generate 167,000 jobs.
On the other side was Elana La Rohena of Jersey City, who said the increases will affect thousands of the working poor and will make it harder for her to take the PATH train to seek work.
She also had a warning: Tell Gov. (Chris) Christie this fare hike affects poor people and will cause us to live in misery, and well get him in the next election, she said through a translator.
The proposal calls for bridge and tunnel tolls to be raised by $4 in September and another $2 in 2014, and for PATH fares to increase $1 to $2.75 a trip. Cash customers who dont have an E-ZPass tag would see higher tolls.
The Port Authority board of commissioners is scheduled to vote Friday, and the governors of New York and New Jersey have to sign off on the plan.
An online hearing Tuesday afternoon had 282 people participate, said Port Authority spokesman Ron Marsico. Others submitted comments to the Port Authority website.
Many of those who spoke against the plan in Jersey City said they sympathized with the unemployed union members and agreed that the infrastructure repair projects the increases would fund are needed, but that there had to be a better way to fund them.
I support the workers. Ive been unemployed, said Dan Pelic of Jersey City, who rode a bicycle to the hearing. I think the people who need work and the Port Authority need to meet in the middle. This is being rushed through.
Union members said they sympathized with commuters but argued the infrastructure improvements are needed to keep the region competitive.
Frank Castillo of Long Branch, a member of New Jersey Laborers Union Local 325, felt it was important enough to drive to Jersey City to speak in favor of the infrastructure plan.
The plan is worth supporting, It will address every mode of transportation and will address the right priorities, Castillo said. I come to New York every day, and Im not looking forward to paying the toll increases, but I support the plan.
Several union members said theyd pay the increases, too, but said the projects to be funded, such as raising the Bayonne Bridge to permit larger container ships to access the port, would have a greater positive effect on the region.
The tolls will be burden on everybody, but people who are not working wish they could go back to work, said Vincent Stisto, a member of the laborers union. Im sure the people who are working have a relative whos not working and they can understand where were coming from. Its important we pass this.
But not all the speakers were as kind to the Port Authority, and several questioned why toll and fare-payers have to finance the multibillion-dollar rebuilding of the World Trade Center site.
Ive been unemployed for four years, and work temporary jobs. Raising the fare will impact me. A lot of people are just getting by, said Christine Bamberger of Jersey City, who said the Port Authority should reconsider the World Trade Center redevelopment. Let the banks pay for that project instead of us. Shame on you. Do not raise the tolls.
Eric Anders Nilsson of the Jersey City Peace Movement criticized the locations and times of the hearings, which were held at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday at various transportation facilities, and online at 2 p.m.
There should be several days of hearings so working people can come out, he said. I call for an audit of the Port Authoritys books. If this (toll increase) goes through, I call for Gov. Christie to veto it.
Representatives of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Jersey City officials called for a probe to find out why the Port Authority is in the fiscal position where it must seek the increases.
Were not against jobs, we support labor. The concern is the long-range cost of this on everybody is it helping or hurting? said Kabili Tayaki, deputy mayor of Jersey City, who was among those who called for an audit of the Port Authority and several additional, better publicized and easier-to-reach hearings.
Three state legislators, Sen. Jennifer Beck and Assembly members Declan OScanlon and Caroline Casgrande, all R-Monmouth, were also critical of the hearing schedule they said was inconvenient for commuters.
This will be one more barrier to economic activity in the tri-state area, and a tax increase on people who already (are) having a hard time making ends meet, OScanlon said in a prepared release by the three lawmakers issued later Tuesday.
Comments submitted online from the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers and the state chapter of the Sierra Club also rapped the Port Authority for the inconvenient hearing times and locations for working commuters. Passenger association officials said that because 80 percent of PATH riders are from New Jersey, they will be unfairly subsidizing the increased cost to rebuild the World Trade Center.
A compromise position suggested by Vincent Pellecchia, general counsel for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, modifies the amounts of the toll and fare hikes to keep the projects moving, and to give the traveling public relief by offering off-peak discounts and congestion pricing.
