With all the major issues facing town hall these days, like the possible construction of Allied Junction train station and associated commercial elements and the need of a new DPW, what Secaucus really needs is a bowling alley.
At least that’s what bowling aficionado Michael Mercurio Jr., who as a town employee thinks politicians may be missing the point about what is important in life.
Sure, Mercurio has opinions about such major issues as the Allied Junction commercial rail link project. But a larger issue in his life is the 20 to 40-minute drive he has to take (depending on traffic) to get to the nearest bowling alley.
“Quality of life is the real issue. I don’t know if the town will be different if Allied Junction comes in. I suppose so. But I guess if it helps take cars off the road it might be a good thing. But what we really need in Secaucus is a bowling alley,” he said.
Mercurio reflects a lot of people’s opinions around town to whom Allied Junction is less real than everyday problems and concerns, and in many bar rooms around town, it isn’t Allied Junction people talk about but jobs, traffic, and of course, O.J. Simpson.
A local resident
At 42 years old, Mercurio worries about things like getting to the bowling lanes on time and whether or not the lanes have been oiled properly for him to bowl a good game. Born in Guttenberg, he came to Secaucus when his parents moved here in 1955. After going through the local school system, Mercurio attended a two year college and then started work in the police records room in 1974. He was initially hired as a bookkeeper, but found himself doing all sorts of odd work, typing crime statistics, fingerprint cards, tax information, liquor licenses and other tedious items. Over the last few years, he’s been putting police records onto microfilm, a long monotonous job with records going back to 1945.
“We’ve just got into the 1990s,” Mercurio said, who has perhaps a better idea of crime trends than most people, since he’s watched them close up for years.
“Sure, crime has increased in Secaucus,” he said.
“That’s largely because the town has grown. We’ve got the malls and outlets now. We didn’t have them when I first started.”
Secaucus used to have many
But the job isn’t Mercurio’s life; bowling might be, and he says he misses not having a bowling alley in town.
“We used to have two,” he said. “We used to have a small one in the Plaza and another over near Woods Avenue.”
Actually, there were four bowling alleys in town over the years, said Mayor Anthony Just, who picked up spending money from a place called Schuele’s on the back end of town, spotting pins as a kid.
“When you hang around there’s always an opportunity to make a few cents as a pin boy,” Just said.
Almost all of them closed down before or during the 1960s. Rudy’s in the Plaza had ten lanes. Tito’s on County Avenue had a few lanes attached to a restaurant. The big Bowl-a-Rama on Woods Avenue burned down and was never rebuilt. The foundations for what was once a fifty lane facility are still visible among the weeds. The location, which used to be ideal because of a one-time left lane exit ramp off route 3 has been contemplated for use for a variety of things, including a possible park and drive facility.
“A fire leveled it,” Mercurio said, remembering fondly just how advanced it had seemed when he started playing there as a boy.
Up and down popularity
The popularity of bowling varies from generation to generation. During the 1970s, it was an extremely popular entertainment. During the 1980s, its popularity waned. Now, it has become popular again, although no new bowling alleys have been built in the area since the 1960s. Many have replaced by other businesses owing to their prime locations. The Bowl-a-Rama in Clifton became a Ford dealership, and similar fates befell many other former highway bowling alleys. Insurance costs have skyrocketed, putting even more pressure on an industry whose overhead in equipment and lane maintenance make it a significant ongoing investment. The owners of Eclipse Lanes on Route 17 in Moonache have been debating closing their doors under these pressures. Such closings are leaving many bowling enthusiasts like Mercurio fewer and fewer options.
North Arlington still has a bowling alley just off Schuyler Avenue. Wallington has a large set of lanes on Paterson Plank Road, where Mercurio pays $15 dollars to join each league. He bowls there Mondays and Wednesdays, and substitutes on Thursdays. On Sundays, he goes to lanes in Hackensack. In many ways, bowling has become as big part of his social life. He’s not married and says he’s at that age when he’s not sure he should. With a grin, he says bowling alleys are wonderful places to meet girls.
Mercurio first became interested in bowling through the Town’s Police Athletic League, and wishes that PAL still existed. His highest score was 272, a score he’s not been able to approach again, though he has managed to achieve relatively high scores as a team player. He uses a variety of balls. He owns twenty bowling balls, and says he gets more bang with a heavy ball of about 15 to 16 pounds, but more control with a light one.
“Lane conditions make every game different,” he says. “Even on the same night, the oil they put down wears away and changes how you play the game.”
An indoor activity
Mercurio says with all the brouhaha over recreation programs, the town should consider finding a way to bring back bowling to Secaucus, making it part of recreation.
“We have a lot of outdoor activities, but not a lot indoors,” he says. “I would like to see more kids involved with bowling and bring people in to Secaucus again.”
So where would Mercurio put a bowling alley if it were left up to him? Not in the center of town, he says, nor over by Meadowlands Parkway where there is lots of land, but also lots of flooding and substandard roads.
“I’d probably put it back where it was on Woods Avenue,” he says. “That’s the place it makes the most sense.”
But under budget restrictions, the town of Secaucus isn’t likely to build a bowling alley. Of course, some of the more lighthearted jokers in the local bar rooms suggest they ask Allied Junction for one.