SECAUCUS – On Oct. 14 Mayor Michael Gonnelli of Secaucus drafted and mailed a letter to the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey complaining about the deplorable conditions at the gates frequented by bus commuters from his town. This week he received a response from PA Deputy Executive Director Deborah Gramiccioni.
In her letter, Gramiccioni promised to clean up and make certain improvements to the areas in question. “We have been working with a heightened attention to address shortcomings with a vigorous maintenance program for critical assets and terminal conditions throughout the building,” she wrote.
Among the issues raised in Gonnelli’s letter were piles of garbage littering the waiting area and an abandoned dispatcher booth. An accompanying photograph taken at the Secaucus platform in Port Authority depicted a column in a public area covered in plywood.
His letter began with, “Empty wrappers, trash, dirt and indescribable grime, the stench of urine, vomit and other unidentifiable substances smeared on glass and walls… all of these are conditions that my constituents from the Town of Secaucus face on their daily commute through the Port Authority Building.”
He went on to describe escalators that are turned off due to overcrowding so that lines of commuters can snake down the halted stairs, and the increasing number of complaints the town received from residents utilizing NJ Transit buses.
Subsequent to the exchange with Gramiccioni, Secaucus commuters have reported dramatic improvement to the bus platform. One resident wrote, “Looked like the 318 boarding platform floor was power washed, brick walls washed, dispatcher booth gone, plywood around the column now painted off-white, new or bigger watt lights as area was bright with good light color. The area is 100% better and really shows.”
Our Digital Archive from 2000 – 2016
