Developers still have their hooks into Hackensack

NJ Transit's Jersey Avenue local left New York's Penn Station a few minutes after its scheduled 2:29 p.m. departure on Friday. Seats on this older rail car freed up only after the train stopped at Secaucus Junction and Newark Penn Station. The discomfort of many rail and bus rider is of little concern to The Record.By Victor E. SassonEditor Even after a reform City Council slate is sworn in on Monday -- as reported today by The Record --Hackensack...

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Editors wary of covering transportation on the ground

In a photo taken appropriately on April Fool's Day this year, the new World Trade Center taunts commuters who pay exorbitant Hudson River tolls to help  cover its huge cost overruns. Of course, if they try to switch to buses or trains, they won't find any rush-hour seats, thanks to the Port Authority's and Governor Christie's regressive mass-transit policies.By VICTOR E. SASSONEDITOR Is it really front-page news that Port Authority Commissioner...

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The Borg siblings to Hackensack: Drop dead!

The Record's eyesore property in Hackensack, above and below, stands in stark contrast to the flattering photo that appears on Page 1 of the Woodland Park daily today.A developer likely will pay more than $20 million for North Jersey Media Group's 19.7 acres along River Street. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed in The Record's story.No dumpsters in this view, similar to the A-1 photo.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorIf developer Fred Daibes follows...

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Christie is boss and we are his faceless mob

Part of Euclid Avenue in Hackensack before it was patched a couple of months ago. City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said today that contrary to recent press reports, all 5 blocks of Euclid, between Main Street and Summit Avenue, will be paved with proceeds from a bond. Bids for the work came in lower than expected, he added.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditor Wilting under the endless coverage of actor James Gandolfini's untimely demise, readers got some good...

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Long, involved stories that excite only the editors

A Juneteenth celebration on Saturday in the Ridgefield Park section of the new Overpeck Park, above, included a lot of great food, such as this fried whole red snapper prepared by the Church of God of Prophecy in Englewood, below.Call them retrospectives or process stories, the three takeouts that start on Page 1 of The Record today excite only the editors and reporters who worked on them, and put the rest of us to sleep.How can Staff Writer John...

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Too much 'Sopranos' fluff, too little substance

Construction on West 34th Street in Manhattan slowed New Jersey drivers heading to the Lincoln Tunnel on Friday afternoon, and some cars displaced pedestrians at this intersection. The Record continues to ignore the region's nightmarish traffic congestion and the need for more mass transit.Newsroom boss Marty Gottlieb whipped his staff into a frenzy after the premature death of actor James Gandolfini, 51, a Bergen County native who portrayed mob...

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Don't expect a focus on the causes of heart disease

Hackensack Police Director Mike Mordaga got some good news today from a federal judge, who threw out a lawsuit filed by a dead mobster's family against Mordaga, who was then chief of detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, according to a front-page story in The Record.Hit men couldn't bring down Tony Soprano, but the actor who portrayed him on TV was killed prematurely by "a massive heart attack" on Wednesday in Italy.The Record apparently...

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Boring news, prostate problems and a recipe for pickles

Paterson Mayor Jeffery Jones is back in the news today, and it has nothing to do with the odd spelling of his first name. Recent stories about Jones in The Record have been supplied by Paterson Press, an online news site that has a content-sharing agreement with North Jersey Media Group, owner of the Woodland Park daily.Today's front page from Editor Marty Gottlieb of The Record is about as dull as you can get, with stories or photos about Leonia,...

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Editors seem to be giving better play to the dead

Paterson Mayor Jeffery Jones is shrouding in mystery a proposal for a 22-story hotel above the Great Falls, The Record reports today. A photo of the design -- a cocoon-shaped mesh of steel and glass -- appears on L-1,  but the story doesn't tell readers until the continuation on L-6 it is a salute to the city's once-great silk industry. The obituary of Wilson R. Kaplen, a philanthropic real estate executive from Tenafly, appears on the...

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Columnists Kelly, Cichowski are readers' real enemies

Commuting by car into Manhattan or around North Jersey has become a daily nightmare, above and below, yet Road Warrior John Cichowski continues to ignore the need for an expanded mass-transit system.The headlights stretch for as far as you can see on antiquated, two-lane Passaic Street in Rochelle Park during a recent commute.Columnist Mike Kelly still hasn't recovered from the heart surgery he had 7 months ago -- as his Father's Day confessional...

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