Christie's big mass-transit screw-up is back in the news

Crowding in the NJ Transit waiting room at Penn Station in New York, above; delays and the stampede to get a seat on the train, below, are likely to get worse now that Amtrak will be closing two tunnels longer than before to repair damage from Superstorm Sandy nearly two years after corrosive saltwater flooded them.

Even if rail commuters could take an NJ Transit bus back to North Jersey, the antiquated Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan couldn't accommodate them. That terminal is hopelessly gridlocked weekday afternoons, when home-bound commuters face huge delays, with little relief in sight.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In the four years since Governor Christie scrapped two new Hudson River rail tunnels, crowding on trains and buses, and traffic congestion have only gotten worse.

But until recently, The Record has largely ignored problems with the region's mass-transit system, following an agenda set by Christie himself.

Now, The Record reports, Amtrak says it will have to close two existing tunnels longer than before to repair damage from Superstorm Sandy, aggravating delays faced by thousands of NJ Transit riders at Penn Station in Manhattan (A-1).

Today's story reviews the October 2010 decision, noting the GOP bully exaggerated the potential cost overruns he cited when he killed the tunnel project, according to the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (A-6).

The new tunnels would have accommodated more trains, and provided more seats for commuters.

The story by transportation reporter Christopher Maag doesn't explain why it took Amtrak nearly two years to determine Sandy damage is far worse than initially thought.

Maag reports closing the tunnels for "additional hours every week ... will mean fewer trains and longer waits for [rail] commuters," but he doesn't mention existing delays or standing room only on rush-hour trains.

Tunnel vision

Even though Christie diverted hundreds of millions from the cancelled tunnels to road projects, Democrats are still having trouble getting behind a hike in the gasoline tax to revitalize the state's Transportation Trust Fund (A-3).

In an interview with The Record, Senate President Stephen Sweeney wouldn't commit himself to a method for raising the $2 billion he wants to spend on transportation annually, including extending light rail service to Englewood.

And it doesn't sound like Staff Writer John Reitmeyer asked Sweeney point blank whether he supported a gas-tax hike, which, basically, means drivers would pay to repair the roads and bridges they use every day.

The Record's editorial writers also haven't backed an increase in what is the nation's second-lowest levy, one that hasn't been raised "in more than two decades" (A-3).

News judgment?

When irate customers complained Ramsey luxury car dealer Afzal "Bobby" Kahn sold their cars on consignment and didn't pay them or that they didn't get title to the cars they bought from him, the story was buried inside Local.

Now that the son of Pakistani immigrants has hired a lawyer to "help sort through the complaints and make things right," the story is played on Page 1 today.

Shouldn't the front page be reserved for successful resolution of Kahn's alleged cons? 

Other car dealers

Don't hold your breath for The Record to expose unscrupulous practices at the full-line car dealers in North Jersey, a major source of North Jersey Media Group's ad revenue.

The Woodland Park daily apparently has no plans to replace long-time consumer columnist Kevin DeMarrais, who retired in March.

Hackensack news

A story on the Local front today reports the Upper Main Alliance is "a group of 153 property owners representing 375 businesses along Main Street" (L-1).

But Staff Reporter Todd South doesn't point out the property owners hope to profit tremendously from the downtown Hackensack redevelopment they have been pushing for a decade.

Now, the group says it is ready to spend $20,000 or more for a consultant "to kick start the creation of a local arts team."

That contrasts with the group's recent refusal to contribute to the creation of open space on Atlantic Street, replacing city owned parking lots with a park and amphitheater.

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Are Trenton reporter, columnist covering same event?

The NJ Transit transfer station in Secaucus is a pleasant place to wait for a train, but it loses points for not having one of those grand railroad clocks. Instead, small, hard-to-read digital time displays appear in the corners of four boards displaying train schedules and tracks.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

Readers who plowed through two versions of Governor Christie's first town meeting in a while may have thought they were at two different events.

Staff Writer Melissa Hayes and Columnist Charles Stile of The Record were assigned to "a town-hall-style" meeting in Middletown, where Christie was blasted by residents who have so far been screwed out of Superstorm Sandy aid.

Sloppy editing

But Friday's news story and column clashed on important details and left out the best Christie quote -- on his seemingly slow weight loss since lap-band surgery a year ago (A-1 and A-6). 

Hayes' news stories on Christie read like columns -- where a reporter is encouraged to express a point of view -- and she has shown herself to be an unabashed admirer of the GOP bully.

Her Page 1 story on Friday begins like a column, and in the third paragraph, she asserts Christie was welcomed in Middletown "with a standing ovation and applause."

Stile, the columnist, sounds more like a reporter writing a news story, always careful to put criticism of Christie in someone else's mouth, beginning his report this way:

"Recast by scandal as a bully whose aides closed off part of the George Washington Bridge as a political revenge plot...." 

Recast by scandal, not by Stile (Friday's A-6).

Hearing problems

But later Stile completely contradicts fellow staffer Hayes, reporting:

"Christie was given a warm applause, but not the rousing ovations he normally receives."

"A warm applause"???

Earlier, Stile said, "The crowd lustily applauded" a Sea Bright man who confronted Christie about his use of private contractors to handle storm recovery, "not Christie."

Do we attribute this factual contradiction to The Record's famously inept editing -- on the assignment, news and copy desks?

If you are going to assign a reporter and columnist to the same event, make sure the same set of editors go over the results, if for no other reason than to get the two staffers to at least agree on basic facts.

Assignment problem?

And maybe Editor Marty Gottlieb should rethink his practice of sending columnists to cover news stories and spin endless pieces on Christie's image, presidential potential and politics, while ignoring the impact of his policies on state residents.

The GOP governor's corrosive politics reach into high places, including the Port Authority and NJ Transit, and hurt residents in myriad ways; Christie's politics shouldn't intrude into the Woodland Park newsroom.

And what's the explanation for Friday's news story and column omitting Christie's answer to why he doesn't seem to be losing that much weight:

"Rome wasn't unbuilt in a day," the governor answered, according to HBO satirist Bill Maher.

Christie comparing himself to Rome? That's rich.

Silver Spoon factor

You know multimillionaire Publisher Stephen A. Borg is running things on the Editorial  Page when the paper reacts to the state's record $40 billion debt by calling on legislators and Christie "to put away the credit card."

There is no mention in Friday's editorial on A-18 about a tax surcharge on millionaires -- which Christie has vetoed time and again -- or raising the state's low gasoline tax to pay for road repairs and mass transit.

The editorial notes Christie has borrowed "about $875 million" for transportation projects.

More snow jobs

A letter to the editor Friday praised Tenafly Mayor Peter Rustin for operating a plow and clearing a resident's driveway after last week's nor'easter.

Residents of Hackensack and many other North Jersey communities could have used the help of their mayors, but instead were left at the mercy of incompetent Departments of Public Works.

The editors, who have short attention spans, quickly ended their focus on uncleared sidewalks, crosswalks, bus stops, streets and highways -- which endanger drivers and pedestrians.

Today's paper carries a Page 1 story on uncleared fire hydrants.

Today's front page also is dominated by Ukrainians in North Jersey (A-1) -- hardly a local story, when compared to residents who pay high property taxes and get such shoddy service from their so-called public servants during snowstorms.

Wrong editor

On Friday's A-2, the correction of a wrong phone number published in the paper shows six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton has failed to drill a basic lesson into her copy editors:

If a story includes a phone number -- such as the Wednesday's elaborate Better Living piece on the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Bergen Community College -- the copy editor should call the number to make sure it is correct.

When I worked as a copy editor at The Record, I caught a wrong phone number in a restaurant review filed by a freelancer, and she was fired by the food editor.

Given the hundreds of errors that have appeared in The Record under Houlton's watch -- including in the famously flawed Road Warrior column -- she should be the one fired now.

Unappetizing

Dhoom in Secaucus, an Indian restaurant on that speedway called Route 3, is, well, doomed to failure.

I continue to wonder how Staff Writer Elisa Ung can give a "good" rating to a kitchen that prepared a $36 order of tandoori lamb chops and served them "mushy" and "almost unrecognizable as meat," or a $36 lobster dish that "emerged tough and stringy" (Friday's BL-14).

She also accomplishes nothing by telling readers the lamb chops are from Colorado, when she should be saying whether they were naturally raised.

And you'll forgive me for noting that photos of two dishes she liked, cooked spinach with cheese and lentil stew, look more like something you'd encounter in a public toilet, not at a pricey restaurant.

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Editors sell out to NFL's publicity juggernaut

Snow began falling during the night, transforming Hackensack into a winter wonderland.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

As a pro football game, it was almost as boring as The Record's Sunday paper.

Still, Editor Marty Gottlieb completely transforms today's edition into what reads like a National Football League house organ.

Virtually all of Page 1, the Local front and the Better Living cover are filled with stories about Sunday's Super Bowl, the parties and the hype readers have had to endure for two years.

Bridgegate

The latest developments in the Bridgegate scandal were demoted to A-3 and addressed in an editorial (A-13).

Governor Christie was booed at a Super Bowl event in the city on Saturday, and one of his aides, Christina Genovese Renna, resigned on Friday "before she was to deliver documents" to investigators (A-3).

A surprisingly large number of last-minute shoppers showed up at Whole Foods Market in Paramus on Sunday afternoon, about 6 hours before the Super Bowl began.

Bellyaching

Commuters' complaints about NJ Transit service have fallen on the deaf ears of the Road Warrior and the lazy assignment editors for more than a decade.

But today's Local front leads with "rail backups" and long lines experienced by 33,000 fans who took mass transit to the Meadowlands, not the 28,000 I mentioned earlier (L-1).

Story loses fizz

On the Better Living front, Staff Writer Virginia Rohan's appraisal of Super Bowl TV ads contains a glaring omission:

No mention of actress Scarlett Johansson, spokeswoman for Soda Stream, a home seltzer maker, or censorship of the words that ended the spot, "Sorry Coke and Pepsi," two sponsors of the sports farce. 

Johansson says the homemade seltzer is "better for you," made with less sugar and saves bottles.

NPR scoop

Today, New Jersey Public Radio (WNYC-FM) is reporting 10 companies that received Superstorm Sandy relief contracts contributed to the Republican Governors Association, which Christie heads.

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Sandy, Chris, Marty, Charlie, John and Denisa

A jitney at Main and Thomas streets in Paterson, in front of Aleppo Restaurant. The jitneys appear every 5 minutes or so, providing more seats to and from New York than NJ Transit buses. Some argue the jitneys' success can be traced to the inability of the state public transit agency to meet the demand from commuters and others.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

The anniversary coverage of Superstorm Sandy dominates Page 1 today and Sunday, and I challenge any reader to get through all of it.

The Record's editors and columnists love anniversaries, which allow them to endlessly rehash the past and ignore contemporary events in North Jersey.

But does the upbeat coverage of the recovery from Sandy reflect reality -- such as the still-shuttered storefronts and boarded-up homes in Sea Bright and other shore communities nearly a year after the storm?

Today's Sandy story on A-1 is full of fractured English, leaving readers wondering about the fluency of the copy editors and Staff Writer Charles Stile, who delivers yet another adoring column about Governor Christie.

The front-page banger headline declares:

From despair,

hope triumphs  

Huh?

Then, the sub-headline invites readers to meet "area families." What area? And the headline insists the families "bask in their hard-earned normalcy."

Readers shaking their head over those headlines will find more awkward language in the Political Stile column, which calls the post-Sandy Christie "a worried crisis commander in triage mode."

And that's in only the second paragraph. This and past columns about the GOP bully show Stile probably has more come on his face than any other staffer.

Brainwashed

At the end of his shameless column, Stile notes Christie's "communication staff runs the most aggressive and creative marketing machine that has ever operated out of the State House."

"Almost on a daily basis," Stile says, "it casts Christie as the savoir of Superstorm Sandy."

But isn't that what Stile, Editor Marty Gottlieb and The Record's adoring staff have done, too?

On A-7 today, a story by transportation reporter Karen Rouse declares NJ Transit train service "has largely returned to normal," but she doesn't say "normal" is standing room only -- on both buses and trains -- during the rush hour.

Hackensack dreams

In Hackensack news today, Staff Writer Hannan Adely reports city officials envision the development of hundreds of apartments, and tenants patronizing shops and restaurants on a revived Main Street (L-1).

That's a gamble that Engelwood took and lost, as the shuttered storefronts on Palisade Avenue demonstrate, including those on the ground floor of a luxury apartment building.

Of course, that didn't stop Chairman Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg, who lives on Englewood's East Hill, and North Jersey Media Group from signing a contract with a luxury apartment developer who wants to purchase nearly 20 acres in a flood zone along River Street in Hackensack -- former headquarters of The Record.

Price up, quality down

Meanwhile, a reader on the northern fringe of the circulation area reports the price for a 52-week subscription to The Record of Woodland Park  has gone up, even as the paper appears to be on a crash news diet:

"The 52-week subscription price for The Record has gone up more than 13 percent, as the paper grows skinnier and skinnier, while new names appear daily and valued bylines disappear. For example, the byline of Denisa R. Superville has been missing for a month. Has there been a purge of established reporters and a wave of hiring of novices? Even the cachet of Tatiana Schlossberg has been missing for months."

Superville's byline appears today on one of the Sandy stories (A-7), but Schlossberg may have gone on to bigger and better things, as have legions of Record staffers before her.

Schlossberg's mother, Caroline Kennedy, has been confirmed as ambassador to Japan.

On the road?

Someone else who appears to be missing is Road Warrior John Cichowski, who hasn't had a column in the paper since Oct. 20, according to a concerned reader, who adds:

"The Road Warrior is either in the doghouse, the nuthouse, ICU, or hung out to dry."

In his column on Oct. 19, Cichowski committed a multitude of sins, according to the reader, who has set up a Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers:

"In his Saturday column, the Road Warrior put children, teenagers and drivers at risk with his contradictory and confusing explanations about safety and New Jersey or New York laws regarding seat belts, stopping for school buses and graduated driving licenses (GDL).

"I feel sorry for all New Jersey parents and teenagers who believe the Road Warrior's false premise that New Jersey GDL laws are applicable in New York and his failure to mention that New York GDL traffic laws, which in some cases are more restrictive than New Jersey's, are applicable to New Jersey teenagers with Graduated Driving Licenses.

"Road Warrior's confusing, illegal interpretations of driving laws contradict New York and New Jersey state police and traffic safety agencies.

"After their teenagers receive unnecessary tickets, fines and points for their violations in New York, perhaps New Jersey parents can send their bills and legal fees to John Cichowski."

Click on the following link:

Road Warrior's mind is on vacation

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We've read, seen and heard this ad nauseam

The construction of booths in the parking lot of 150 River Street in Hackensack appeared complete on Sunday. Bergen County apparently will begin charging attorneys and visitors for spaces at the old headquarters of North Jersey Media Group, publisher of The Record, which left Hackensack in 2009. The spaces have been free since the lot opened in late July to make way for a new building on the old Bergen County Justice Center parking lot opposite Pep Boys.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

A week ago, the front page of The Record was dominated by an assessment of how business at the shore was affected by Superstorm Sandy under this headline:

"A toss-up on Shore success"

Then, in the following days, the same story was covered on TV and radio news, with lots of interviews with Governor Christie, who gave his take on lagging business at the shore.

You'd think that would be enough.

Shore weary

But Columnist Mike Kelly decided he had something unique to say, and raced down to interview an ice-cream shop owner in Asbury Park for today's front page.

Instead of landing a great story, the columnist known as "The Shit-Eating Grin" got sun stroke.

And he just added hundreds of wasted words to the avalanche of shore coverage that has alienated North Jersey readers since last October.

T&A on Page 1

Meanwhile, the photographer who made the photo of ice-cream seller Eddie Catalano that runs with Kelly's column seemed distracted by the tattooed woman in the bikini.

A few other things are apparent: 

Production Editor Liz Houlton finally has abandoned the silly "superstorm Sandy" that was used for months after the storm; the style on lower-case shore has been changed to "Shore," and Kelly burned out long ago.

Above the fold, today's front page looks a lot like last Monday's -- shore-Sandy coverage and the off-lead on Syria.

Parking news

At the old headquarters of The Record in Hackensack -- where Bergen County is leasing 540 spaces for visitors, attorneys and jurors -- the free ride appears to be over.

Two booths have been built, and the county is poised to begin charging for spaces that have been free since the lot opened in late July.

The county apparently will recoup part of the $777,660 it is paying to lease 540 spaces owned by North Jersey Media Group, publisher of The Record of Woodland Park.

Why the county agreed to pay that much for parking spaces that had baking in the sun for years is a mystery.

Flood zone

The lease will end in July 2015, apparently delaying any plans by Edgewater developer Fred Daibes for luxury apartments, retail and possibly a hotel on the 19.7 acres he reportedly has agreed to buy from NJMG.

NJMG, the Borg family and Daibes haven't explained why they think it is a good idea to build hundreds of luxury apartments in a notorious flood zone.

Many of the spaces the county is leasing will be flooded during fall and winter storms, potentially damaging vehicles.

When The Record's newsroom was at 150 River St., staffers kept Hackensack River tide tables handy, and announcements were made, alerting staffers to race out to the lot and move their cars.

Still, employees' cars were flooded and, in some cases, ruined.

I recall one year when me and other employees reporting for work were instructed to board newspaper delivery trucks on Moore Street, a block from River Street.

The trucks delivered us to the employees' entrance -- which was surrounded by several feet of water.

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More flawed reporting on LTACH in Hackensack

Private homes at 324 Summit Ave., above, and 329 Prospect Ave., below, are among  four Hackensack properties that would make way for a 19-story acute-care hospital, in the unlikely event the controversial proposal is ever built.

The house at 329 Prospect Ave., which appears to be the only one of the four that is occupied, is across the street from the Prospect Heights Care Center, which is owned by the developer of the proposed hospital, called LTACH (Bergen-Passaic Long Term Acute Care Hospital).

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

LTACH is an acronym that makes Hackensack residents' blood boil.

That's especially true if they live on Prospect Avenue, where the 19-story hospital would be built, many blocks from the medical center that has already swallowed big chunks of the residential neighborhood.

The developer is challenging the January 2012 denial of his application by the Hackensack Board of Adjustment, and oral arguments in a lawsuit being heard in Superior Court ended on Monday, The Record reports today.

About 20 opponents, members of the Prospect Avenue Coalition, and their lawyer attended the oral arguments.

In the run-up to this year's May 14 municipal election, the coalition sponsored forums to question candidates about what the city is doing to fight the lawsuit.

The Record didn't bother covering the forums.

Missing information 

Stories in The Record today (L-1) and last week report the proposed tower would require demolition of 2 homes, not the 4 cited by opponents -- 316, 320 and 324 Summit Ave., and 329 Prospect Ave.
 
The stories mention 10 floors of patient rooms, a dialysis center and an adult medical day-care center for up to 180 adults, but omit a proposal for 5 floors of underground parking.

That part of the plan really worries Prospect Avenue residents who fear blasting for underground parking may trigger another parking garage collapse, like the one that paralyzed the neighborhood in 2010.

The Zisa factor

The Record's story today also reports Judge Alexander H. Carver III asked one of the city's lawyers about "candidates for mayor and council speaking out publicly at the beginning of the application process [on April 15, 2009]."

The reference is to then-City Council incumbents Michael Melfi, Karen Sasso and Jorge Meneses, who were seeking second terms in the May 2009 municipal election.

"The lawsuit says the city and zoning board engaged in a political scheme to deny the applicant a fair and impartial review," The Record reports.

Melfi, Sasso and Meneses, allies of the ruling Zisa family, left the council on July 1, when a victorious slate of reformers were installed.

The Record says the judge "will make a decision by Aug. 30, his expected retirement date."

More brown nosing

The Record's editors have turned from polishing Governor Christie's image in the upcoming November election to promoting him for a White House bid in 2016 (A-1).

All of this coverage of the next presidential election is a testament to how bored the paper's editors and  reporters are, and how they need constant stimulation.

Of course, hidden motives could include getting a job in the next Christie administration and riding his coattails to a presidential bid, which many observers say is doomed to failure.

Tar and feathers

When was the last time Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, rode an SRO NJ Transit train to or from the city during the rush hour?

Never, judging from her call for a special legislative hearing on why NJ Transit didn't follow its hurricane plan in the days before Superstorm Sandy hit last October (A-1) -- a story that has been pursued relentlessly by The Record.

No-dessert zone

Record readers eager for tips on food shopping, nutrition, losing weight and dining out should consult my food blog:

Do You Really Know What You're Eating? 
 
 

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Christie is a political animal -- with emphasis on 'animal'

On Monday, crews paved 4 blocks of Hackensack's Euclid Avenue, between Prospect Avenue, above, and Main Street, for the first time in decades, according to long-time city residents. An elderly man walking his dog said he feared the work would be reflected in higher property tax bills.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

Governor Christie and his clumsy attempts to remake the New Jersey Supreme Court have been a continuing story since he took office in 2010.

But The Record's editors have sounded more and more like they are on the GOP bully's public-relations payroll, rather than working hard to uncover the truth for readers.

Editor Marty Gottlieb leads today's paper with a news story and column about Christie ducking out of a political battle with Democrats and looking forward to the 2016 presidential race (A-1 and A-6).

Court disorder

Of course, one reason Democrats would have opposed tenure for Assistant Justice Helen E. Hoens is that she is just as conservative and mean-spirited as Christie on funding affordable housing and public schools in poor districts.

The second is making Christie pay for his shameful, racially charged decision in 2010 to deny tenure to Justice John E. Wallace Jr., who was the only black member of the high court.

(Today, the news story fails to identify Wallace as African-American, but the Political Stile column does.)

Judge Fuzzy

But a third reason is evident: Christie's past nominees and his current pick -- a native of Santiago, Cuba -- are a bunch of turkeys.

Do we really want a state Supreme Court Justice with "Fuzzy" as his nickname?

Politics define Christie, including his putting his fat face into the Superstorm Sandy TV ads in an election year (A-3), and giving cleanup and other contracts to his wealthy supporters.

Cops and courts

Today's Local section from head Assingment Editor Deirdre Sykes is heavy with police and court stories.

Stories on L-1 and A-1 today raise anew the question of whether police are doing enough to enforce traffic and DWI laws -- a story The Record has been avoiding like the plague.

Page L-1 alone carries two stories and a photo about a chase and crash, a one-car accident that killed 3 and an inconsequential car fire.

The front-page story is about a Clifton woman who was killed in the street by an allegedly drunk driver.

Who wrote this?

A photo on L-2 shows an employee for the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway cleaning up the right of way, but the over line is a puzzling "OFF THE BEATEN TRACK."

There is a lot of wire-service filler in today's paper, including a long story from Chicago about Ford pushing Lincoln dealers to make expensive upgrades in a bid to sell the faltering luxury brand to younger buyers (L-10).

I guess The Record's business editors couldn't find anyone to pick up a phone and get a comment from a local dealer.

On the Better Living cover, Staff Writer Elisa Ung is peddling a vegetable-and-fruit juice that fits eveyone's budget: A 16-ounce jar is $12. 

Second look

Road Warrior John Cichowski continues to remain in the dark about when the Summit Avenue exit ramp on Route 17 will reopen -- the subject of his Sunday column and two earlier, though equally clueless, efforts.

The only work left is to activate traffic lights, according to a concerned reader who spoke to a project manager for the state Department of Transportation.

There are so many errors and so much misinformation and missing information in Sunday's column, I'll defer to the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers:

More incompetent Road Warrior reporting
 
 

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Will River Street be vacant for 2 more years?

Since The Record left 150 River St. in Hackensack, this marker has resembled a tombstone for local journalism. Now, Bergen County is leasing 540 parking spaces in the old Record lot from the Borg family's North Jersey Media Group.

This is one of the trucks and other pieces of equipment parked in the NJMG-owned lot near the U.S.S. Ling, generating more income for the Borgs.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

After Publisher Stephen A. Borg abandoned the Hackensack headquarters of The Record and North Jersey Media Group in 2009, city officials anxiously awaited word of redevelopment.

The Borgs were rumored to be flirting with Wal-Mart for one of its super-duper stores peddling low-quality food and other goods, and paying its workers slave wages.

But that fell through and, in June, NJMG announced that about 20 acres along River Street would be sold to a developer who promises to build hundreds of luxury apartments, retail and even a hotel.

A bad deal

However, nothing apparently will change until at least July 2015 and expiration of a $777,660 lease for 540 parking spaces at 150 River St.

Bergen County will use those spaces to provide free parking for jurors, attorneys and others during construction of a Justice Center and parking deck on the old parking lot opposite Pep Boys (Sunday's L-2).

But this is a bad deal for taxpayers in Hackensack and the county:

Besides paying NJMG more than three-quarters of a million dollars for the spaces, the county will give up tens of thousands of dollars in parking fees generated by the old lot.

In 2010, the publishing company -- which prints The Record of Woodland Park, Herald News, weeklies, (201) magazine and other publications -- paid these property taxes to the city of Hackensack: 

• 150 River St. -- $628,560 

• 80 River St. -- $36,084 

• 76 Bridge St. -- $12,238

The 2-year delay might give Hackensack officials time to figure out where to put schoolchildren from hundreds of new apartments on River Street, as well as a new residential building on State Street that is under construction.

Chris and Sandy

The lead story in The Record today reports that Governor Christie is funneling more Sandy aid to lower-income residents (A-1).

That's a real slap in the face to other low- and moderate-income residents in New Jersey, where Christie has tried and failed to abolish the state Council on Affordable Housing, and use $142 million in housing funds to balance his mean-spirited budget.

Leave it to readers

The GOP bully can do no wrong, according to The Record's editors, but readers like Bruce de Lyon of Dumont know better:

In a letter to the editor (A-11), De Lyon notes Christie has presidential aspirations and is "looking to firm up his standing with the extreme right of the Republican Party."

Contrary to being able "to work with adversaries," Christie cut state education aid "across the board" and "vilified teachers as 'drug mules' and public workers as the reason for the state's problems," says De Lyon, a retired superintendent of schools.

Readers in a funk

Editor Marty Gottlieb waste a huge amount of front-page space today on another silly piece from sports Columnist Tara Sullivan, the paper's own vagina monologue.

The sub-headline notes a "homer helps lift Yankees out of their funk."

Who will lift readers out of their funk?


Junk food on wheels


Certainly not the paper's food writers, who have been pulling out all the stops to promote a conclave of food trucks at Overpeck Park on Wednesday afternoon (Better Living cover).

Lots of unhealthy food will be offered -- strange, considering the main sponsor is Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck.

One of the trucks, Bacon on Wheels, appears to be offering fatty pork filled with harmful preservatives, antibiotics and growth hormones.

Maybe the hospital is trying to fill empty beds by luring unsuspecting people to the food trucks in the park. The trucks are  barred by many towns.

Fine food?

Food Editor Esther Davidowitz wrote today's cover story, claiming the mobil food vendors serve "fine food" and are "the rage ... in the new-rage-every-minute foodie world."

And that's just the first paragraph. 

Davidowitz, whose online photos appear to show a fit woman in her 60s, actually uses the phrase "like, duh," in her article.

More sloppy editing

Another food article -- the STARTERS feature on Pier 115 Bar & Grill in Edgewater -- was poorly edited.

Freelancer Joyce Venezia Suss describes a "miso Chilean sea bass featuring beer-battered cod fillet" (BL-3).

That's two fish in one dish, but the restaurant said today the specialty contains only oven-roasted Chilean sea bass -- which experts say is overfished and high in mercury.

Is cod on the menu?

Second look

Road Warrior John Cichowski appeared to be promoting NY Waterway ferry service in his column on Sunday.

But in his first paragraph, he associates the ferry with a sinking ship by comparing commuter Holly Wilson of Cresskill to actress Kate Winslet in "Titanic."

LOL.

Ung is back

Elisa Ung, The Record's restaurant reviewer, has ended an extended leave with a post on the Second Helpings blog about a new Italian restaurant in Midland Park.

Readers should brace for Ung's multiple orgasms over all of those artery clogging desserts she loves to sample at restaurants.

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