blue streak 1 MidlandMike It showed something of a contrast between the utility companies which were now hardening their facilities with concrete and water proof vaults, and the subway which was building a plywood wall and inflatable barriers. The electric Utility has far fewer locations to harden. all the subway vents to the surface number what ? ( 2 - 6 per bock for each line? ) Henry help ? ?
MidlandMike It showed something of a contrast between the utility companies which were now hardening their facilities with concrete and water proof vaults, and the subway which was building a plywood wall and inflatable barriers.
It showed something of a contrast between the utility companies which were now hardening their facilities with concrete and water proof vaults, and the subway which was building a plywood wall and inflatable barriers.
I was comparing the utilities use of concrete & steel to the subways plywood & plastic. Also, the electric utility has vaults, manholes, tunnels and cable to every building in Manhattan. The subway is just one of their millions of customers.
blue streak 1 PBS running a story about Sandy at 2100 ( 9:00 PM ) tonight.
PBS running a story about Sandy at 2100 ( 9:00 PM ) tonight.
As I've said before, "The Record" is a Democratic newspaper, has been for decades, and has never passed up a chance to hammer a Republican office holder, so in this case Christie's going to get the hammering.
That being said, they SHOULD press for answers on this fiasco, someone has to be held accountable for this tremendous waste of the taxpayers money, Republican, Democrat, or otherwise.
Can't argue with 'em on this one.
Today's (Sunday) lead editorial in the Bergen Record:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/226631971_The_Record__Weinstein_s_friend.html
Basically, it repeats the issues in the previous days news, and hammers NJ Transit's Executive Director, James Weinstein.
It appears that the Record has not tired of this issue, and will keep pressing the Christie Administration for answers.
I can just imagine the gist of a lot of those e-mails...
Whadda ya mean I moved the trains? I thought YOU moved the trains!"
"Well I didn't move 'em, I don't know where to move 'em to! I thought YOU moved 'em!"
"Not my job to move 'em, it's YOUR job!"
"Not my job neither!"
I suppose if an NJT official perished in the storm they'd be playing the "blame the dead guy" game by now. At any rate I find it hard to believe a mid-level or low-level manager has this kind of responsibility. Somehow I suspect they're looking for a "fall guy".
And Chris Christie? I suspect the daily operations of NJT are something he's paid very little attention to. Possibly James Weinstein didn't even pay attention to the everyday "nuts and bolts" operations. OK if everything goes right, but when things start to go wrong...
The military has a hard and fast rule that goes like this: The commanding officer is responsible for everything his unit does, or fails to do. All successful CO's know this rule and live by it. The civilian world could profit by the example.
It is pretty amazing that Governor Christie should make such blunders in his interview with The Record:
--He said the decision to store trains in Kearney and Hoboken was made by a low level manager who never told anyone else. But the e mails show that is false.
--He said that the person who made the decision could not be effectively disciplined because Civil Service rules prevent it. But that statement is also false. New Jersey Transit is not governed by Civil Service rules.
Another article in the Bergen Record about the NJ Transit failures during Superstorm Sandy, this time going into great detail comparing Governor Christie's statements to actual facts.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/NJ_TRANSIT.html
Another article from the Bergen Record about Gov. Christie's comments on the response of NJ Transit to Superstorm Sandy.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/politics/Christie_says_NJ_Transit_chief_wasnt_to_blame_for_loss_of_rail_equipment_during_Superstorm_Sandy.html?page=all
Of interest is the Governor's remarks about Civil Service rules protecting the guilty, and the Record's noting that NJ Transit is not Civil Service.
sandyhookkenI can't remember this type of continuous reporting/editorializing by the Record, even during the (many) political corruption cases. This is almost a year, and the Record is still hammering Transit.
I have to agree with you, Sandy. My newspaper, The Star-Ledger, has reported the transparency issue but has not been critical and in general has not been nearly as critical as The Record.
Among some people NJT has a reputation for being very high handed and for having too many highly paid management officials. For example, a few years ago NJT decided to stop offering off peak tickets. This, with the 25 per cent increase imposed, resulted in an effective increase of about 65 per cent over night. It left a lot of bad feeling. The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers reports NJT has the highest commuter rail fares in the nation. And yet NJT, almost a year after Sandy, still offers its riders outhouses at Hoboken Terminal. It is easy to see why The Record is so unhappy.
Of course NJT management runs NJT. No newspaper does. Yet over time I see these editorials as eroding the public respect for NJT.
That's interesting Sandy, I was on NorthJersey.com this morning and don't know how I missed this. Probably because I've been following the Mazurs Bakery blow-up. Lady Firestorm was a Mazurs customer yeas ago and like Captain Renault in "Casablanca" she's "Shocked! Shocked!"
Like John the Baptist the "Record" seems to be a voice crying in the wilderness concerning NJT at this point. Or maybe since they're a Democratic newspaper they're using it as a tool to atttack Chris Christie, albeit by a back-door method.
The trouble as I see it is too many people in New Jersey have a habit of thowing their hands up and saying "Ah, what are you gonna do?" It was true when we moved away 26 years ago and it's true now. Sad.
Another editorial in the North Jersey Bergen Record lambasting NJ Transit management.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/223795151_The_Record__Transit_secrets.html
This is the fourth consecutive day that the Record has had coverage of NJ Transit; the three previous days were news articles with derogatory comments by the staff writer.
I can't remember this type of continuous reporting/editorializing by the Record, even during the (many) political corruption cases. This is almost a year, and the Record is still hammering Transit.
I doubt NJT management's decision to leave our trains in a swamp is anything more than incompetence. In the time I have leaved here there has been almost no news of any kind of corruption at NJT. Waste and mismanagement at times but not corruption. There was one instance of an Executive Director who was caught charging personal expenses on his NJT credit card but that is the only one I can recall.
An active criminal investigation of NJT? I never thought of that. Corruption? Malfeasance? Book-cooking? If there's an investigation going on I doubt it's over the Sandy foul-up, that's just incompetance.
You just may be more right than you know.
You're welcome John! I thought of making it 500 myself but I didn't have anything interesting to say. Besides, I'm not greedy.
Wayne
Firelock76Congratulations John, you put the thread at 500 posts!
Thank you, Wayne. I hadn't noticed myself. You, of course, were the first person to exceed the 500 mark with the five hundred and first post.
John
Congratulations John, you put the thread at 500 posts! I wondered who was going to be the one.
sandyhookkenSomething we haven't heard about must have happened to cause this ongoing pressure.
No, we have heard about it. The last link--Blue Steak's--is to an article in The Record where an investigative reporter found NJT trying to hide the fact that it did have a plan and plan called for equipment to be moved to high ground. NJT Management never disclosed that plan. Somehow the reporter got wind of it but NJT made him file a Freedom of Information Request and made the newspaper pay to get it. The newspaper believes this is dishonest by NJT management. However, NJT management is well insulated from The Record. After all, this is the same management that 10 months after the storm is still providing out houses in Hoboken Terminal. But NJT is part of the Executive Branch of Government and Governor Christie is the Executive. As the article makes clear, NJT even hid the plan from Governor Christie. And The Record is going to put as much pressure as possible on him as it can to try to get him to act.
Actually, I wonder why Governor Christie does not act. He is known for demanding accountability from government employees. It is hard to understand why NJT management should get a free pass.
Another editorial from the Bergen Record about Gov. Christie and the NJ Transit Sandy debacle.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/221434481_The_Record__Christie_on_the_grid.html
This much press by the Record on one issue is more than I remember on any of their previous crusades. Something we haven't heard about must have happened to cause this ongoing pressure.
Maybe Cristie is finally getting to know the incompetence of NJT. If he is acknowldging that NJT had plans that they did not use ------ / ? ? ?
http://www.northjersey.com/news/Christie_No_knowledge_of_NJ_Transits_hurricane_plan_before_Sandy_hit.html
I'm surprised Governor Christie did not loose his composure in response to these repeated questions from Record reporters. He is known for his explosive outbursts at similar questions.
He does believe that over all people are satisfied with his response to Sandy and there is certainly truth in that. He was right there with Sandy's victims and he embraced President Obama when the President came to see the damage even though the President is a Democrat and he is a Republican.
But his latest excuse for doing nothing about NJT seems not very believable. He says he hasn't had time to assess NJT management's response to the storm. The storm was last October. How much time does he need? The Star-Ledger reports he met with Obama Administration officials about backing up NJT's electric power grid. Many of the comments to that story question his reluctance to call anyone to account over the equpment NJT managers stored in a swamp.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/08/christie_announces_plans_for_backup_electrical_grid_to_keep_trains_moving_during_future_monster_stor.html
And the hits just keep on coming!
Another article in the Bergen Record about Gov. Christie and NJ Transit's Sandy Debacle.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/10_months_on_Christie_declines_to_assign_blame_for_damage_to_NJ_Transit_rail_equipment_during_Sandy.html?page=all
The Record just keeps pounding away. Christie is running for re-election primarily on his response to Superstorm Sandy, which even I had to admire. He projected authority and compassion; NY Gov. Cuomo came across as a whiner.
Christie is not going to do anything to call attention to the one massive mistake in his administration's storm preparation and response until after the election, if then.
Wayne,
I don't understand Governor Christie's non response either. He is known for demanding accountability so why he should give a free pass to NJT management is puzzling.
Hi John! Having grown up in Bergen County I can tell you the "Record's" a Democratic newspaper, has been for decades, so any chance they get to hammer Christie, or any Republican for that matter, they're going to take.
Watching from afar as I am now, I still can't figure out Chris Christie's non-reponse to the NJT disaster either. I might have thought Christie would have had heads rolling along the right-of-way by now. As I've said before, the NJT brass must be incredibly well-connected to both parties to have come through this and not lost their jobs. Nothing else makes sense to me.
I agree, Sandy. The Record will continue with this issue whether or not Governor Christie wins the election. As I recall Bergen County has the largest population of any county in the State. And it has a great many NJT riders. Shortly after he was elected Governor Christie cut transportation aid; the result was a 25 per cent increase in monthly commuter passes. For occasional riders the increase was about 60 per cent. I'm sure Bergen County voters have not forgotten it and these articles continually erode support for Governor Christie. He is still ahead in the polls and most likely will win re-election but The Record will do what it can to see that the Governor pays a price for his inaction after the Sandy fiasco.
All I can say in answer to you is that I find NJT management as incomprehensible as you do. There is no logical explanation for their action. The storm was well known to everyone. Moving their rolling stock to high ground would have had minimal cost relative to to cost of repair. And high ground was available.
Another editorial in today's (Sunday) Bergen Record about NJ Transit's Superstorm Sandy debacle and Gov. Christie's non-response. The Record also published a long article this week about the same issues; for some reason, this article never made the on-line edition of the paper, so I couldn't post it.
It appears that this issue has now become a holy crusade for the Record, with recent articles by several staff members and recurring editorials.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/220977651_The_Record__NJ_Transit_answers.html
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