Aerial gondola envisioned for Staten Island-Bayonne commute
A design contest for a conceptual gondola that would connect Staten Island commuters to Bayonne’s 8th Street Light Rail Station has been announced by the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation (SIEDC). Leitner-Poma, the same company that manufacturers Bayonne’s wind turbine, submitted and won the contest for its gondola concept that would shuttle commuters from Elm Park over the Kill Van Kull in six minutes to catch a Hudson-Bergen Light Rail train. The project would build upon a proposed light rail system on Staten Island’s West Shore, reducing commute times for the island’s residents to 33 minutes from Staten Island to Manhattan.
“This is not your traditional transportation system,” said Steven Grillo, First Vice President of SIEDC. “It has plausibility but at this point it’s supposed to get people to think outside the box in terms of alternate modes of transportation.”
Grillo said the project would cost around $60 million, compared to an entire light rail system extending over the Bayonne Bridge, which would cost more than a $1billion. “It’s really a cost-effective way of moving people,” he said.
Bayonne resident charged in West New York homicide
Bayonne resident, Thomas Longobardi, 50, was arrested and charged with the murder of Randall Goya, 57, of West New York, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez.
On Wednesday afternoon, a building superintendent at 5608 Palisade Avenue in West New York found Goya dead in his apartment. He had multiple injuries to his upper body, according to the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.
Longobardi was arrested on Thursday, September 22, at 23rd Street and Broadway in Bayonne. He was charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon. His bail was set at $1 million cash only, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
City Council ends free weddings at City Hall
The City Council this week passed a measure that will charge residents $50 for a wedding at City Hall and $100 for nonresidents after city officials said the number of nonresident weddings has risen, due in part to the service being free. Other Hudson County municipalities, such as Kearny and Jersey City also charge their residents for weddings, while the rest do not charge.
Cancer Survivor urges lawmakers to increase cancer research funding
Bayonne resident Pam O’Donnell, a survivor of a very rare form of cancer who also lost her husband and one of two daughters to a tragic automobile accident at the time she was being treated, met with Senator Cory Booker, Senator Robert Menendez, Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, and an aide to Congressman Donald Payne last week to discuss the need to support an increase in federal funding for cancer research. She also asked them to advance legislation that works to improve patients’ quality of life, and to support legislation that would close a loophole in Medicare that often results in surprise costs for seniors when a polyp is found during a routine colonoscopy.
Last week more than 700 cancer patients, survivors, volunteers, and staff from all 50 states and nearly every congressional district came together in Washington, D.C., as part of the annual American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Leadership Summit and Lobby Day. Advocates urged Congress to take specific steps to make cancer a national priority and help end a disease that still kills more than 1,600 people a day in this country.
“This year, nearly 1.7 million Americans will hear the words ‘you have cancer,’” said O’Donnell. “Congress has a critical role to play in helping us reduce that number in the future. As a cancer survivor, I am urging Senators Booker and Menendez and Congressmen Frelinghuysen and Payne to commit to ending cancer as we know it by increasing federal funding for cancer research, supporting improvements to patient quality of life, and eliminating surprise costs for seniors getting colorectal cancer screenings. Making these lifesaving policies a priority and moving them forward this year will help eliminate death and suffering from cancer.”
“We need a full and unwavering commitment from Congress to take action to help prevent and treat cancer,” O’Donnell continued. “One in two men and one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Their lives may depend on the decisions made by our lawmakers today – we can’t afford further delays. We want Congress to know that volunteers from New Jersey, and from every state across the country, are counting on them to take action now.”