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: To the Editor:
: As a sophomore at Tenafly High School, I recently undertook a project to document the impact of a Light Rail service to Tenafly as outlined by New Jersey Transit's plan to extend its Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (H-BLR) Line.

: In the process of making the documentary, I sat down with Albert Cafiero, Tenafly Light Rail Committee member and former Bergen County Transit 
: Committee Chairman. Mr. Cafiero is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable on the subject of Light Rail. "Trolley service is the greatest modern technology we ever threw away," said Mr. Cafiero as we drove along the railroad tracks through Tenafly. In fact, even before the years in which Robert Moses and his Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority set out to dominate New York City's public works construction and starve mass transit of necessary development had the fall of rail to the automobile begun. The destruction of Pennsylvania Station made it a reality. The clear result; each morning on the George Washington Bridge cars full of 
: commuters claw their way into New York City for work. 

: The five towns along the proposed H-BLR route (Ridgefield Park, Palisades Park, Leonia, Englewood and Tenafly) would be provided with an efficient alternate to bus service and 
: automobile. In my research, I found Light Rail, in addition to significant travel convenience within its serviced towns and surrounding communities, would bring a boost to the development and economy of downtown areas (preparations 
: have been in effect in both Tenafly and Englewood). With passengers off the road and on the rail, the entire East Bergen area would feasibly be relieved of its chronic traffic congestion. 

: Unfortunately, at the center of the force standing to derail 
: these plans is Congressman Steve Rothman (D-Dist. 9). Rothman believes that getting trains to the newly developed Xanadu Family Entertainment Complex at the Meadowlands is a top priority. Yet the congressman should not be concerned with the unpredictable and unreliable estimates of ridership to a private interest as 
: Xanadu but on the solid, stable matter of fact that each and every morning and afternoon on a daily basis commuters are in dire need of an efficient alternative work commute. Granted, Rothman's plans to service the Xanadu complex do find an alternative for East Bergen communities along the planned H-BLR route; an alternative to the plan itself. The price to pay: diesel powered diesel multiple units (DMU) instead of the quick and quiet electric trolleys that have effectively serviced the existent HBLR from Hoboken to Bayonne, a route that I had the pleasure to travel with the highest regard. In addition to my personal reviews was a unanimous concurring of transportation experts interviewed for my documentary. This panel, including a former NJNJ Port 
: Authority engineer, a Metropolitan Transit Authority officer, Mr. Cafiero, and 
: Tenatly Mayor Peter Rustin all dwelled ecstatically on the success and efficiency of the electric trolley cars that Tenatly 
: could expect.

: Yet the chance for Congressman Rothman to fulfill his long-awaited dream of 
: opening the privately-owned Xanadu complex in addition to his constant advocacy of a cross-country railroad would ensure a spread of the congressman's influence beyond his district, the very district whose citizens elected Mr. Rothman to power and are in need of a faster commute. Yet Mr. Rothman seems to believe 
: the voting public can wait. At this moment, the citizens' needs are being overshadowed by the congressman's alternative agenda and a continuous silence on the issue of Light Rail, a project whose desperately needed Federal Transit 
: Administration funds are highly dependent upon Congressman Rothman's support of the program.

: Along with the downgrading of trolley cars would come the implementation of a plan even more detrimental to commuting than if we stayed with the current commute. Reaching Weehawken would require a train transfer instead of a direct
: shuttle. Congressman Rothman, who associates himself so strongly with transportation, should focus more on the success of the new Port Imperial Ferry Terminal. In addition to Port Imperial, a second project on the Manhattan 
: side of the Hudson River is part of an effort to fully utilize the rapidly growing usage and popularity of ferry service. These terminals will help ferry 
: service develop to its fullest potential as a valuable resource of New York-New Jersey travel while feeding directly into the H-BLR. However, DMU cars would be inaccessible to the new terminal because of a tunnel just north of the Light 
: Rail station being constructed at the port. Instead, because ofthe DMU's diesel engines unable to travel through the tunnel, all rail traffic north of Port Imperial along the H-BLR would be diverted to North Bergen where an inconvenient 
: change of trains would be required. 

: I urge Congressman Rothman to rethink his top priorities in an order that serves 
: the people he was elected to 
: represent. I second the call upon Representative Scott Garrett  (R-Dist. 5) to help lead East Bergen's future on the right track before we get stuck in traffic.

: Zach Silber


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