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NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE RESIDENTS OF SUMMIT, BERKELEY HEIGHTS AND NEW PROVIDENCE

 

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OPINIONS

March 2008

 

March 26, 2008

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NJT-34TH STREET TUNNEL

The worst possible new tunnel location is being promoted by false advertising.

 

 

By:  Jefferson Chase

 

The support of editors and politicians for the proposed NJT 34th Street Hudson River tunnel is based on acceptance of the proponents’ arguments as honest information. But the new tunnel is in fact being promoted by misleading claims. They say that it will benefit NJT commuters, that it will produce a reduction of thousands of auto trips each day, that it will provide redundancy to diffuse the risk of damage to present rail lines, and that it will ensure access to the future development planned for Manhattan’s Far West Side Rail Yards.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Here are the unpleasant facts.

 

     Truth #1. It will not provide any advantage for most NJT commuters because most of them do not work within walking distance of 34th Street so most of them would still have to transfer to a subway or bus to get to work. The proposed connecting tunnel to Grand Central has the same flaw – most NJT commuters don’t work near Grand Central either.

 

     Truth #2. There will not be any reduction of auto trips because the proposed tunnel will only take people to the same area as the present one. In contrast, a rider-proposed  properly-placed tunnel offering those drivers a no-transfer ride to their upper-Midtown jobs would induce thousands of present auto users to switch to NJT rail (see map A).

 

     Truth #3. A new tunnel to 34th Street will not provide redundancy to mitigate the effects of a terrorist attack. In fact, another tunnel to the same area would increase the risk of terrorist attack, and the planned deep-cavern station would exacerbate that danger.

 

     Truth #4. A 34th Street tunnel would not “ensure access to the projected Far West Side development” because the new station would not be anywhere near that growth.

 

The rider-proposed plan is far superior.

     

A 4-track tunnel across 49th/50th Streets with East Side and West Side stations (used by both the NJT and LIRR) would give Jersey residents rail and subway access to New York City jobs, expositions at the Javits Center, and other city activities – and also give New York City and Long Island residents rail and subway access to jobs and events at the huge Meadowlands sports/entertainment complex (see maps B&C). It would also provide an alternate route to work in case of a terrorist attack, and support the future economic growth of the entire New York-New Jersey metro area.  And equipment compatibility is not a problem; Amtrak runs “through” trains every day.  NJT and LIRR can do the same.

 

But this will cost more – where will the money come from?

     

Sensible transit planning is not done to fit the funds presently available but to define what will best handle the area’s projected growth. You plan projects to meet those needs, then build as much as you can as fast as you can. The $17.2 billion budgeted for the NJT 34th Street tunnel, #7 subway extension, and LIRR East Side Access should instead be used to start work on this superior proposal. Most of the rest should come from federal sources, especially the Department of Homeland Security because this tunnel provides an alternate route to work for LIRR/NJT commuters in case of damage to existing rail lines, and the Meadowlands could be needed for emergency hospitals and shelter in a disaster.

 

All that is needed to implement this superior plan is forceful leadership from the two Governors to demand cooperation between NJT and LIRR management.  And since any new rail tunnel will last for hundreds of years, it is critically important that we do it right. 

 

Jefferson Chase is a resident of Woodside, New York.

 

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March 21, 2008

 

The Other Half of the Story

By:  Thomas Pirone

When Councilman John Bonacci published a statement about the cost of Stanford Drive to taxpayers he leaves out the following. 

Stanford Drive was zoned for attached housing.  Attached housing can be apartment buildings, condominiums, or townhomes.  Stanford Drive was to be developed; the proposal at the time was for 259 units.

In 2006, the average property tax burden on a single family home in Berkeley Heights was twice as much as an attached housing unit with the same size interior square footage of living space.  Every attached housing unit shifts the property tax burden to single family homeowners.  How many school age children would live in the 259 residential units?  Providing for their education alone may have cost more than the taxes collected from those units.

When John looks at "loss in tax revenue" he must also consider the additional cost of providing services.  The cost of providing services to attached housing outstrips the property tax revenue collected.  Businesses are quite the opposite - the cost of providing services to a business is far less than the property tax revenue collected.  The lowest tax burden would have been if Stanford Drive had been zoned only for business many years ago.  That predates my involvement as either an elected or appointed official. 

As residents we must deal with the present situation.  Presently part of Stanford Drive is owned by Union County and is being converted to a park with walking paths, a toddler playground, and two ball fields.  The other part of Stanford Drive is owned by Berkeley Heights.  In November Berkeley Heights residents will vote either to leave that section as weeds behind a chain link fence or build a Community Center.

Editor’s Note:  Thomas Pirone, a resident of Berkeley Heights, formerly served on the Berkeley Heights Township Council.

 

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March 16, 2008

 

 

THE NAMES AND ORDER OF
THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

How many books are there?
What languages were they written in?
Why were the Hebrew and Aramaic Scriptures Translated into Greek?

 

by R.L.B.

 

Our modern English Bibles list 39 books in the Old Testament, beginning with Genesis and ending with Malachi, and 27 books in the New Testament, beginning with Matthew and ending with the Apocalypse (a Greek word meaning “unveiling” or “revelation”).

 

The ancient traditional ordering of the books of the Hebrew Scriptures, (commonly referred to in Christian circles as the “Old Testament”) differs somewhat from that found in familiar English Bibles.  The ancient Jewish Rabbis divided the Hebrew Scriptures into three sections:  The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (or Psalms).  This threefold division of the Hebrew Scriptures is confirmed by the Lord Jesus Christ when “He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45):

 

     “These [are] the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all that is written concerning me in the law of Moses and prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44)

 

The three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures mentioned by the Lord Jesus are preserved today in modern Jewish versions of the Bible.  Note the following order of the books as they appear in current Jewish editions.

 

Included in The Law (Torah) are the five books of Moses

  1. Genesis
  2. Exodus
  3. Leviticus
  4. Numbers
  5. Deuteronomy

 

Next, The Prophets (Nebi’im)

  1. Joshua
  2. Judges
  3. Samuel
  4. Kings
  5. Isaiah
  6. Jeremiah
  7. Ezekiel
  8. The Twelve (Minor Prophets) – considered one book

  (1)   Hosea

  (2)   Joel

  (3)   Amos

  (4)   Obadiah

  (5)   Jonah

  (6)   Micah

  (7)   Naham

  (8)   Habakkuk

  (9)   Zephaniah

  (10) Haggai

  (11) Zechariah

  (12) Malachi

 

Finally The Writings (Kethubim), or Psalms

  1. Psalms
  2. Proverbs
  3. Job
  4. Song of Songs
  5. Ruth Lamentations
  6. Ecclesiastes
  7. Esther
  8. Daniel
  9. Ezra
  10. Nehemiah
  11. Chronicles

 

            In the above traditional Jewish arrangement, First and Second Samuel are combined into one “book,” as are First and Second Kings, also First and Second Chronicles.  In addition, the twelve “minor prophets” are combined into one “book” making a total of 24 books, rather than 39.  Let me be quick to point out that the entire text of the Holy Scriptures is equivalent in both the ancient Rabbinical arrangement and in our modern English Bibles.  None of it is missing.  Only the arrangement of the individual books differs.

 

The 24 books of Holy Scripture were written in the Hebrew language, with small portions of several books written in Aramaic.  Between 300 and 200 BC a Greek translation (known as the Septuagint, or LXX) was made of the Scriptures by 70 Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt.  It was produced because many Jews who had spread throughout the known world were no longer fluent in the Hebrew or Aramaic languages.  Originally only the recognized “canonical” books were translated into Greek, but eventually the 70 scholars translated several additional writings which, while they are historically interesting reference books, were never included in the canon of “Holy Scripture.”  These non-canonical books are sometimes referred to as the “Apocrypha,” although most Orthodox Jewish and Protestant theologians reject their authority. 

 

It is also interesting to note that most of the many quotations of the Hebrew Scriptures by New Testament writers used the Septuagint translation, much as we today make use of translations of the Scripture in our own familiar languages.  However, the New Testament writers never quoted passages from the Apocrypha since they did not consider those writings to be “inspired.”

 

In the years that transpired between the last written Hebrew Scripture and the Christian era, Biblical Hebrew had become a dead language, not understood by common people, and certainly not understood outside of Judaism.  The new language understood throughout the world was Greek.  For this reason all 27 books of the New Testament were written in “Koiné” Greek, (the dialect of Greek spoken in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, from about 300 B.C. to A.D. 500).  The order of these 27 books in our Bibles is not chronological, but is a sequence that came to be accepted in the early church.  These New Testament writings were eventually translated into Latin, and this Latin translation was revised by Jerome.  The modern order of the books is the same as given in Jerome’s Latin Vulgate.

 

The books of the New Testament are:

 

The Gospels

  1. Matthew
  2. Mark
  3. Luke
  4. John

 

The Acts of the Apostles

  1. Acts (written by Luke)

 

The Letters (or Epistles) of Paul  (those marked ** were written from prison)

  1. Romans
  2. 1 Corinthians
  3. 2 Corinthians
  4. Galatians
  5. Ephesians **
  6. Philippians **
  7. Colossians **
  8. 1 Thessalonians
  9. 2 Thessalonians
  10. 1 Timothy
  11. 2 Timothy **
  12. Titus **
  13. Philemon **
  14. Hebrews (probably written by Paul)

 

The General Letters (Epistles)

  1. James
  2. 1 Peter
  3. 2 Peter
  4. 1 John
  5. 2 John
  6. 3 John
  7. Jude

 

The Apocalypse (written by John)

  1. Revelation

 

            Regardless of the order in which the various books of Scripture are arranged, the message conveyed through these inspired books remains unaffected.  Hear the words of Paul the apostle regarding the importance of the Holy Scriptures in our daily lives (both Old and New Testaments).

 

     “All Scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

 

R.L.B., a resident of Berkeley Heights, hosts the www.ThyTestimonies.com web site. 
He welcomes your comments at webmaster@ThyTestimonies.com

 

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March 15, 2008

 

Trenton:  Chapter 11 or a New Chapter?

By:  Michael J. Vernotico, Councilman, Ward 2, Summit

 

In the 1970’s, Boeing Aircraft was in deep financial straights and the one time world leader in producing commercial aircraft appeared destined for a complete demise and threatened to take its home city of Seattle with it.   A billboard appeared which said, “Will the last person to leave Seattle shut off the lights?”  Will we see a similar sign near Trenton some time soon?

 

Debt provides a valuable service.   We all utilize it for benefits today as we use those benefits in the future.  It is why we take out mortgages to purchase homes and willingly sign on for car loans.   It is also a way for governments to appropriately distribute the tax burden over the period of time we benefit from capital improvements.  Borrowing to pay operating bills is a sign of trouble.   New Jersey is in trouble – big trouble.    New Jersey is already the third largest debtor of all 50 states.  

 

The Governor intends to cut state spending in the budget.  As a local elected official, I know that cutting spending means less funding for municipalities, who then fund these cuts through property taxes.  All this accomplishes is to replace a progressive tax with a regressive tax. 

 

It is time to put the shell game away rethink completely the way New Jersey does business.  When large companies are in danger of failing, they re-organize.  They cut and redeploy staff.  They develop a new business model.

 

New Jersey has 566 municipalities and 21 counties.  We actually have more school districts than we have towns.  We simply cannot continue this way.  New Jersey needs to re-organize and we should plan for a Constitutional Convention immediately.   New Jersey’s system of independent communities has long been a sense of pride.  Towns are already seeking shared services and it produces only limited results.   Communities with 10,000 or fewer residents are encouraged to merge in the new state budget.  While these actions are worthwhile, they are no where near enough.

 

The system needs complete and radical change.  In my opinion the best hope for change is to eliminate county government (as three states already have) and replace them with more efficient regional arms of state government as Senator Tom Kean proposed a few years back.  Municipalities are aligned in counties based on an archaic demographic and geographic distribution.  Millburn and Summit are sister cities with a great deal in common and have often worked together in the past to share equipment and services.  What does Millburn have in common with Newark?  What does Summit have in common with Elizabeth?  The answer – absolutely nothing.  Why is Millburn in Essex County and Summit in Union County?  Because they are.  Why do we need Essex County and Union County?  We don’t. 

 

The US Attorney Chris Christie spoke in Summit a few months ago and correctly opined that the more government you have, the more waste and corruption you have.  Union County spending is up again this year by $22 million.  We recently passed an ordinance to prohibit left turns out of Washington School onto Morris Avenue for two hours a day.   Since Morris Avenue is a County Road, it now must be approved by Union County and then the State.  This makes sense how?  The answer is – it doesn’t.  Clearly we need less government.

 

Newark and Elizabeth do not need County Government either.  Large urban areas should deal directly with the State, particularly with regard to state aid.  Communities of similar demographics and geographically aligned should be united under a regional arm of State government to broaden the realities of sharing and eliminating wasteful county government.  Smaller communities could then merge either completely or de facto.  Either way, we cannot afford the silo approach going forward.  We hear much talk of change in the presidential debates, but the real question is do we have the courage to take on the political obstacles and hysteria to really affect change.  Do we have the courage to take on the politicians?

 

We need to write a new chapter in New Jersey’s history because the chapter we are now writing is Chapter 11.  We are in a real crisis of energy due to a lack of synergy.  Will someone please turn on the some “energy” efficient lights in Trenton and turn off the lights in the County Seats of Elizabeth, Newark, et al?

 

Michael Vernotico can be reached at michael.landmark@hotmail.com

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