Submitted by Angelo T. Mack, May 15, 2007 13:45

Just across the Liberty Corridor, Bayonne's Ol' Military Ocean Terminal ( M.O.T.B.Y. ) now referred to as the Peninsula, is going thru similar arguments as Red Hook, Brooklyn.

A place where 3000 Bayonne residents went to work for decades until the Army bases around the country were shut down in 1999.

Bayonne has seen much of its industry pack up and go south. As a whole, the economic engine that once aided to offset taxes for the home-owners is no longer in existence.

Until December 18, 2002, when the Department of Defense signed an agreement with the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority ( B.L.R.A. ) to give back this parcel of land at no cost to the citizens. This land being said worth of approximately 4-500 million dollars. Giving this land to the citizens of Bayonne for free would soon have a price to pay !

The 430 acre Penisula is divided into 6 sections. Harbor Station north and south lies to the west. The Maritime section to the north. Bayonne Bay, the Landing and Loft District make up the south while the Bayonne Point lies to the most eastern part. Currently a dry dock facility, was once the largest dry dock in the eastern seaboard. Now an iterim tenant that has 8 years left on thier lease before being pushed out to make way for a marina where the wealthiest will no doughtedly keep thier yachts.

The largest parcel of subdivisions within the Peninsula (150 acres) is the Maritime Industrial section. Allowing a Container Port to be built and create hundreds of thousands of jobs from the first day it opens its doors. It lies to the north of the other varying condo developments and just south of the other Container terminal operator Global Terminals. Both facilities would share the Port Jersey Channel currently being dredged down to 52'. By building a second Container facility in Hudson County, the state would then be eligible to cash in the 300 million grant reimbursement that was set up to offset the dredging expenses.

The five future condo sections, lying west, south and east would all touch the Maritime section. These condo developments varying in size, will all view a beautifully built sound attenuating wall, blocking out the view of near by Global Container Terminal just across the Port Jersey Channel to the north as well as any noise from either operation.

Future development by the Port Authority of NY & NJ will build a third Container Port called "Terminal - X". This currently is a car operation that lies east of Global Terminal and runs paralel with the Peninsula into the Liberty Corridor.

The Department of Transportation told the B.L.R.A. to keep within the safety regulations and to build out a maximum of three and a half thousand homes. Well the B.L.R.A. has planned to ignore the D.O.T. and build out to more than 7,000 homes. The B.L.R.A. hasn't even done an economic analysis on the facility.

This is why they still don't have a shovel in the ground to date!

November 2006, the Bayonne Bay Developers told the B.L.R.A. that they won't move forward on building a condo development as long as there is a possibility of a Container Port facility being built. Henceforth, an illegally placed "restrictive covenant" was placed on the Maritime District and allowing only for a light maritime industry to be put into place while reserving the right to convert the Maritime District into a low level condominium development. Ultimately revealing the game plan that we Longshoremen continue to fight to this day!

If an economic analysis would have been done by the B.L.R.A., it would show how a Container Port vs. light maritime industry would undoughtedly be better for the taxpayer, renter, county, region as well as the state! In addition to number of jobs that would be created, pollution being reduced by introducing the railway from the near by Greenville Yards into the ports as well as a redirected Industrial exit off of the N.J. Turnpike dedicated to Global Terminals and Bayonne Container as well as allowing the Cruise ship passengers to utilize the same road and pay a toll to help with the expense of it all!

In our travels to Senators; Menedez & Lautenberg as well as State aides to Corzine and soon to be Codey, they all share the same sentiment. Buliding a Container Port would benefit the region not just the city of Bayonne. To leave this decision up to the B.L.R.A. is more then just selfish its throwing away nearly a billion dollars of revenue that the tax payers have to swallow.

The citizens of Bayonne are in thier last quarter of fiscal year 2006 and are being raked over the coals with a tax increase soon upon them. On average, each will receive a fifteen hundred dollar tax increase just this quarter!!!

The Peninsula should be used as an asset rather than a deficit. Allowing the B.L.R.A. to place a restriction on the type of industry it chooses without research involved is a set up to fail!

Many states are sharpening their knives as they await our lost revenue in the Maritime Industry to move south like the rest of Bayonne's industry.

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